Tag: 2021 recruiting cycle

Oklahoma adds juco transfer from Kansas at center

Junior college center Alex Parades of Independence CC has announced his commitment to Oklahoma.

Despite the fact that Oklahoma’s spring football is officially over, we are nowhere closer to finding out who will be the man in the middle on the offensive line. Following the departure of Creed Humphrey to the NFL, Chris Murray, Robert Congel, and Andrew Raym are all battling it out for the starting spot.

Raym would get the start in the spring game over Murray and Congel, who both transferred into the program from the Pac 12 Conference. There could now be yet another name added to the mix. Independence Community College center Alex Parades Jr announced on Twitter that he would be transferring to Norman.

The expectation is that Parades will join the team as a preferred walk-on this season. He could find himself in the competition for snaps and playing time. While the Sooners haven’t established just who will be the starter, it is a good time to inject himself into the competition in fall camp.

Parades has no 247Sports composite ranking and is a two-star offensive guard according to his player profile.

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Texas target L.J. Johnson makes top 10 recruits available list

Texas target, L.J. Johnson makes the list for one of the top ten players still available in the 2021 recruiting cycle.

The Texas Longhorns and head coach Tom Herman aren’t quite done with their recruiting efforts for the 2021 recruiting cycle. They did secure 19 signings during the early period with the February signing day yet to come. Herman mentioned they have nine spots left to fill before it is all said and done.

Despite the fact that the Longhorns inked one running back already with Hallettsville’s Jonathon Brooks, there is another back in their sights. Cy-Fair running back L.J. Johnson is their next target to sign. He is likely the highest-rated player on the board outside of Ishmael Ibraheem.

According to USA TODAY Sports’ List Wire, Johnson is the No. 7 player on their top 10 unsigned recruits in the 2021 cycle. Johnson is still very much in play for the Longhorns with Texas A&M as the other top school pushing to sign him. Bijan Robinson has been one pushing to get Johnson to the Forty Acres. LSU and Oklahoma are the other two schools making up his top four, but it will likely come down to the former Lone Star Rivalry members battling it out for his commitment.

Johnson is the No. 3 rated running back in the country and No. 8 in the state of Texas per 247Sports composite rankings. Adding Johnson only makes this already stocked running back stable more dangerous with yet another playmaker.

The most recent activity on his crystal ball predictions is in favor of the Longhorns.

The other recruit to make the top 10 with Texas ties is Quaydarius Davis. Most believe that Davis is USC-bound but seems like that has cooled off a bit as of late. He committed to the Trojans back in May of this year.

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The Athletic is reporting that Juco football will move to the spring

The Athletic is reporting that the NJCAA is close to moving football to the spring. They would be the first league to do so.

In the ever-changing COVID-19 situation there have been reports of leagues cancelling football like the Ivy League. The Big Ten and PAC 12 conferences have decided to cancel all non-conference games. We await the announcements from the ACC, Big 12 and SEC to follow suit. At least that is the current expectation.

What about the Junior College circuit? How are they handling fall sports, specifically football? According to Max Olson of the Athletic, Juco football will be played in the spring*.

*Story requires paid subscription

The National Junior College Athletic Association is expected to announce Monday that it will move to a spring football season, two head coaches told The Athletic. Teams would play up to eight games with preseason practices beginning on March 1 and the regular season beginning at the end of March and extending through the end of May.

The NJCAA is the first college league to move their football season to the spring officially.

“We would like to play football this fall,” Parker said. “But I think from a national perspective, moving it is probably the right decision holistically.”

This is unfamiliar territory on the college recruiting front. As Max Olson mentions in his article, schools will have to make decisions on players they won’t even play this upcoming year. Almost a blind decision for major universities. The Longhorns are no strangers to Juco recruiting but this will be new for all parties involved.

Tyler Junior College head coach Thomas Rocco mentioned trying to have a few scrimmages in the fall. That would put some of these players on film and help the major colleges make decisions.