Tag: Brandon Hall

Oklahoma Sooners earn another crystal ball for highly sought 2025 safety

The Oklahoma Sooners continue to rack in predictions for one of the most sought-after 2025 products.

The Oklahoma Sooners have a chance to put together a special recruiting class in 2025. The Sooners currently sit with 10 commitments and rank No. 6 in the country.

Since their junior day in January, they’ve been getting numerous predictions in their favor for one of the most sought high school players, five-star safety [autotag]Jonah Williams[/autotag] from Galveston, Texas.

That continued on Monday as the Sooners gained one from 247Sports’ national recruiting analyst Mike Roach. Roach put in his prediction with a confidence level of six. Roach joins 247Sports director of football recruiting Steve Wiltfong, who issued a crystal ball prediction on Feb. 6.

Williams is a linebacker/safety hybrid, with the Sooners recruiting him more as a safety, but I could see him ultimately growing into the cheetah role for Oklahoma. He finished with 54 tackles, eight pass breakups, four interceptions, three interceptions returned for touchdowns and four punt and kick return touchdowns last season.

The No. 14 overall player in the country would be a major get for anyone in the country, but especially at Oklahoma, which is set to lose [autotag]Billy Bowman[/autotag] after this year. One thing we’ve seen, though, since this regime took over in 2022 is safeties coach [autotag]Brandon Hall[/autotag] can recruit and has done a good job at developing as well.

So, the Sooners have the right guy in charge of leading his recruitment it’s now just about closing the deal.

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Oklahoma Sooners transfer portal target listed as a rising star for the 2024 season by 247Sports

Oklahoma Sooners transfer portal target could be primed for a breakout season in 2024 per 247Sports.

The Oklahoma Sooners could potentially get a massive player via the transfer portal before the 2024 season. Michigan Wolverines safety [autotag]Keon Sabb[/autotag] entered the portal just last week.

Sabb originally was committed to the Clemson Tigers and [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] out of high school but elected to decommit and sign with Michigan after Venables departed for Oklahoma.

The defensive back has had a solid career so far at Michigan. Last year was his first year really seeing the field where he finished with 28 tackles and two interceptions. His best game came in the national championship game where he had six tackles and two pass deflections.

Due to that, 247Sports put out a list of players primed for a breakout season in 2024 and Sabb made the list.

Michigan will do everything it can to keep Keon Sabb on roster next season, but his decision to enter the transfer portal this week immediately gives college football’s free agent market a top-end option available at the safety spot. Sabb played in 14 games last fall as a redshirt freshman with increasing snaps as the season progressed, saving his best for last with a six-tackle performance in the national championship game against Washington. He’s a rangy defensive back who will assuredly start as an impact player in 2024 wherever he signs. – Brad Crawford 247Sports

Oklahoma does have a pretty loaded safety room already with [autotag]Billy Bowman[/autotag], [autotag]Peyton Bowen[/autotag] and [autotag]Robert Spears-Jennings[/autotag] coming back. But you never turn away a player that talented regardless of how loaded you are at any position.

It’s unclear how high Sabb is on the Sooners or even how hard Oklahoma is pushing but if they can land him, it would be a major get for one of the more experienced defenses in college football in 2024.

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Three more predictions favor the Sooners for 2025 5-Star safety

Oklahoma has put themselves in prime position for elite 2025 defensive back.

The Oklahoma Sooners are building something special in their [autotag]2025 recruiting class[/autotag] so far. There is still a long way to go before Early Signing Day but if the Sooners can continue this momentum, they could have a special class on their hands.

Saturday, the Sooners received a prediction from On3’s Texas insider Justin Wells for five-star safety [autotag]Jonah Williams[/autotag], but since then, three more predictions have come in in favor of the Sooners. One of which is from Texas A&M Insider Landyn Rosow. SoonerScoop’s Josh McCuistion and On3’s Sam Spiegelman also issued predictions in the Sooners’ favor.

The prediction from the Aggies recruiting insider is a big one. Texas A&M has been a thorn in Oklahoma’s side on the recruiting trail in recent years. Williams also reportedly canceled his visit to A&M that was scheduled for this weekend sighting a prior commitment.

But this is the big one for Oklahoma, especially on the defensive side of the ball. This class has a lot of potential to be a special offensive line class, but there aren’t a ton of highly-touted defensive players Oklahoma is in the running for. So Williams could be the face of the class on the defensive side of the ball.

Now, it’s up to [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag], [autotag]Brandon Hall[/autotag], and the rest of the Sooners staff to bring it home and get pen to paper on signing day.

More: 2025 5-Star Safety Jonah Williams predicted to land with the Sooners.

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Oklahoma offers Courtland Guillory, a 2025 safety from Klein Oak High School

Oklahoma offered 2025 DB Courtland Guillory earlier this week. a versatile defender with nice size.

Billy Bowman and Peyton Bowen are likely your starters at safety in 2024, barring any health issues, and that gives Oklahoma as talented a duo on the back end as there is in the country. Billy Bowman spurned NFL opportunities to play one final season as a Sooner, while Peyton Bowen’s story as an emerging star will look to unfold this in 2024.

Behind them is some uncertainty, but there are plenty of intriguing names like Robert Spears-Jennings, Erik McCarty, and true freshmen Jayden Hardy, Michael Boganowski, Reggie Powers, and Mykel Patterson-McDonald as possible options. Each of the true freshmen safeties have received praise over their high school careers for their versatility and physicality.

As Brandon Hall and Jay Valai build their positional boards for the 2025 class, those two things stick out the most. That’s why it shouldn’t be surprising that Oklahoma recently offered 2025 defensive back Courtland Guillory.

Guillory has played cornerback for his Klein Oak High School team. He’s has also been positioned as a safety or middle-of-the-field player. His athleticism stands out, as does his 6-foot-1 frame. Whether he sticks at corner or safety remains to be seen, but early returns show he has the athleticism to play both, which makes him an exciting option for the Crimson and Cream.

Courtland Guillory’s Recruiting Profile

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Oklahoma Sooners set to host 2025 5-Star safety

Junior day is just around the corner and one of the top defensive recruits is set to be at Oklahoma.

The Oklahoma Sooners are hoping to continue their hot start to their 2025 recruiting class as they prepare for their junior day in just a few weeks. The Sooners are set to host several of the nation’s top juniors on Jan. 27, 2024.

One of the most high-profile players expected to be in attendance is Galveston, Texas native [autotag]Jonah Williams[/autotag]. The five-star is listed as a linebacker on most sites, but safeties coach [autotag]Brandon Hall[/autotag] is his primary recruiter, signaling where Oklahoma expects him to play.

The Texas Longhorns are currently the leader for Williams, according to On3’s recruiting prediction machine at 43.4%. But Oklahoma is a close second at 25.7%. Williams is also a highly touted baseball player, so I’m sure Oklahoma will use that to help land the safety.

They’ve had great success with that, landing two in the 2024 class. Williams finished last season with 54 tackles, four tackles for loss, eight pass breakups, a fumble returned for a touchdown, four interceptions, taking three for scores, and two punt and kick return touchdowns.

This was after an incredible 2022 campaign that saw him be named the Texas District 9-5A-I Overall MVP as a sophomore and help his school go undefeated in the regular season for a defense that only allowed 31 total points in 11 games, while the offense averaged 51 points per game.

Safe to say, this would be a huge win, and it starts with a great junior day visit.

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Billy Bowman named Oklahoma’s MVP for 2023 by ESPN

Billy Bowman had an incredible year for the Sooners which led to him being named MVP for the Sooners in 2023 by ESPN.

The 2023 season for the Oklahoma Sooners was a year of redemption. The Sooners bounced back from 6-7 the season prior to go 10-3 on the year.

Several key players took their games to a new level like [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag], [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag] and [autotag]Billy Bowman[/autotag] to name a few. Stutsman and Bowman will even be returning in 2024 for the Sooners.

ESPN licked the MVP of every top 25 team, and for Oklahoma, it was their All-American safety, Billy Bowman.

OU’s MVP choice sparked some debate, as a strong case could be made for quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who had 3,660 passing yards and 30 touchdowns, and heroically lifted the Sooners past Texas and several other solid opponents (SMU, West Virginia). But the Sooners’ turnaround in coach Brent Venables’ second season could be traced to the defense and players like Bowman, who earned first-team All-Big 12 honors after a season filled with big plays. “Everything you want,” an Oklahoma source said. “Consistent, hardworking, leader. Dillon was Dillon, too. Dillon was tremendous.” Bowman finished with six interceptions, which led the Big 12 and ranked second nationally, and returned three for touchdowns, most in the FBS. His 238 interceptions return yards also led the FBS. – Adam Rittenberg ESPN

Bowman was obviously great this past season and was huge for a secondary and a defense that took leaps in 2023. We’ll see if he can continue to improve his game and help the defense take another step in 2024.

An argument could have been made for Danny Stutsman in addition to Gabriel. The Sooners two losses during the regular season came when Stutsman missed a game and a half of action.

But what Bowman did was special. He had a fantastic season and made a number of game-changing plays.

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What does Zac Alley bring to the table as defensive coordinator?

The Sooners are expected to hire Zac Alley as their next defensive coordinator but what can fans expect from the new hire?

On Thursday the Oklahoma Sooners announced they would be mutually parting ways with Ted Roof who had been the defensive coordinator at Oklahoma since 2022. That immediately brought speculation about who the next guy would be for the Sooners.

Would they promote from within with [autotag]Brandon Hall[/autotag], [autotag]Todd Bates[/autotag] or [autotag]Jay Valai[/autotag]? Or would they look for someone outside the program? Reports started surfacing Thursday night the Sooners were expected to hire Jacksonville State defensive coordinator Zac Alley.

Now, it hasn’t been made official yet but let’s take a look at what Oklahoma could be getting from Alley as defensive coordinator.

Alley has a lot of familiarity with [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag]. He worked for four years (2015-18) under Dabo Swinney as a graduate assistant at Clemson. Alley spent the entire time on the defensive side of the football, where he worked primarily with the defensive tackles and linebackers.

He would leave there and head to Boise State to be the co-special teams coordinator and linebackers coach. His first opportunity as a defensive coordinator came from Louisiana-Monroe.

He turned what was the No. 125 ranked rushing defense in FBS in 2020 into the 69th-ranked rush defense in 2021. The Warhawks improved in 11 of 14 defensive categories from 2020 to 2021.

He took the same position with Jacksonville State in 2022. 2023 was their first season in FBS.

In 2023, they allowed 352.8 yards per game, 111.5 rushing yards per game, 241.3 passing yards per game and teams converted 32% of their third downs. They also ranked No. 8 in the nation in stop rate, in the 96th percentile in run defense success and 67th percentile in pass defense success.

Jacksonville State led Conference USA in almost every statistical defensive category including, total yards, rushing yards, yards per carry, sacks, forced fumbles, total touchdowns allowed and was second in interceptions.

More: Social media reacts to reports that Zac Alley will be the next defensive coordinator

From reports, Alley is a “mini” Venables. In fact, in an interview with the Post and Courier back on Nov. 2, 2023, he talked about the similarities.

“I laugh about it,” said Alley, the JSU defensive coordinator who learned the trade while working as a student assistant and graduate assistant when Venables was defensive coordinator on Clemson’s best teams. “But I talk like Coach V. I coach like him. My parents tell me my mannerisms are like him on the sidelines.” – exceprt from the Post and Courier article

He also requires the services of a “get back coach” just like his new boss used to. You can even see the similarities from practice when he was Mic’d up at ULM.

All signs pointed to this type of move. Bringing in someone Venables had trust in to run the defense and had a similar philosophy. Venables can hand his defense off to someone so he can be more of a “CEO” type of head coach.

That doesn’t mean he won’t have any part in the defense because he will. Every head coach still has a say in everything going on. It just means he can now focus on other things more because he has someone he trusts leading the defensive group.

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Oklahoma Sooners 2024 signee among On3’s best fits

The Oklahoma Sooners added to their already deep safety room with one of On3’s best fits of the 2024 recruiting cycle.

The Oklahoma Sooners have been on a tear on the recruiting trail since Brent Venables and his staff arrived. In three recruiting cycles since arriving in Norman, Venables has put together three top-10 classes.

The biggest difference in Oklahoma’s recruiting is coming on the defensive side of the ball. One area where Oklahoma has had a lot of success is the safety position.

Venables and Brandon Hall have added [autotag]Robert Spears-Jennings[/autotag], [autotag]Peyton Bowen[/autotag], [autotag]Daeh McCullough[/autotag], [autotag]Jaydan Hardy[/autotag], [autotag]Mykel Patterson-McDonald[/autotag], and [autotag]Reggie Powers[/autotag]. To go along with Billy Bowman, the Sooners may have one of the best safety groups in the nation.

The Sooners earned Powers’ commitment after he decommitted from Michigan State early in the fall. According to On3, Powers to the Sooners was one of the best fits in the [autotag]2024 early signing period[/autotag].

Reggie Powers could be the thunder to Peyton Bowen‘s lightning. Powers is 6-foot and already over 200 pounds that loves to play violently. His demeanor and attitude when it comes to playing near the line of scrimmage is rare for a secondary player. Bowen covers so much grass and is able to play as a true center field safety in the secondary, and he also plays a lot of man coverage in the slot. Having a player like Powers complement him as a downhill weapon from the secondary that can take on a heavier box role could be one of the better pairings in college football. – Cody Bellaire, On3 National Scout

More: Where do the Sooners rank in average team recruiting rankings for 2024?

According to On3, Powers was the No. 10 safety in the cycle and the No. 152 player in 2024. He is the seventh-highest-rated prospect in the Sooners’ 2024 class.

His combination of size, speed, and power, to go along with his versatility, will make him a great fit for the Sooners’ defense. Brent Venables loves to move his safeties around in his multiple defense. Powers could be deployed near the line of scrimmage as a strong safety or the cheetah or could be used as the deep free safety.

The Sooners’ safety depth chart looks like one of the deepest position groups on the roster for 2024. As Oklahoma continues to build its defense, Reggie Powers and the other safeties will be key to their success.

More: “He is serious about defense”: What led to Reggie Powers Oklahoma decision?

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Stock Report: Defensive line struggling heading into final regular season game

Oklahoma escaped BYU’s upset bid this past weekend. In our stock report we look at who’s trending up or down before Oklahoma takes on TCU.

Saturday’s win against BYU was all about willpower. Oklahoma didn’t play its best, especially from a defensive standpoint, and yet, the Sooners found a way to escape a scrappy BYU team playing on senior day.

There were some nice moments or individual performances to take away from the game, like Jayden Gibson’s big day, Billy Bowman putting forth his best performance of the season, and Gavin Sawchuk continuing to morph into the bellcow running back his head coach publicly claimed he was looking for.

There were other positives, too, like Jackson Arnold’s performance off the bench, that helped push Oklahoma to victory. With the good comes the bad, and Oklahoma’s front seven was a large part of that bad. They struggled most of the game and were a significant reason BYU was a threat to potentially upset Oklahoma.

When the dust settled, the Sooners came out on top, and with a short week before they play TCU, the Sooners must regroup fast.

In the meantime, here is our stock report to see who is trending up and down as the Sooners prepare for their final Big 12 home game.

Bedlam Stock Report: Sooners 2022 signees making an impact

Taking a look at what’s trending up or down right now in Oklahoma’s program following their lost to Oklahoma State.

Oklahoma is in a tailspin. If things don’t improve quickly, they could begin to resemble the 2022 team that started fast but fell apart against some of the better teams in the Big 12.

There are still three games for the Sooners. They can go out and finish on a high note. While slim, Oklahoma still has a chance to make the Big 12 title game. They would need some help, but they’re not completely eliminated from the conference championship game.

In the interim, it’s all about improving as a team and letting the rest fall into place.

It’s time for this week’s stock report as we look at how things are trending up and down for the Oklahoma football team.[anyclip-media thumbnail=”undefined” playlistId=”undefined” content=”dW5kZWZpbmVk”][/anyclip-media]