Tag: Brendan Radley-Hiles

How did Oklahoma football transfers perform with their new teams in 2021?

How did former Oklahoma Sooners like Tanner Mordecai and Chandler Morris perform with their new schools in 2021?

The transfer portal has created a new era of college football akin to NFL free agency. But without the contracts. Players get much more freedom to move than they did a decade ago and are taking advantage of the opportunity to find new places to play that might provide a better chance to perform than their original home.

2021 was a good year for some former Oklahoma Sooners who departed via the portal, some making significant impacts in the chase for conference championships across college football.

Though several will still be playing in bowl games as the 2021 season winds down, let’s take a look at how Oklahoma’s transfer portal departures performed in 2021.

Could DJ Graham emerge as a starter at cornerback for the Oklahoma Sooners in 2021?

A look at how Oklahoma Sooners CB D.J. Graham performed in 2020 and how he projects in 2021.

It’s been well documented that the Oklahoma Sooners have struggled to find consistency at all three levels of the defense for years now. In 2020, the makings of a top-tier defense began to take shape as the defensive line controlled the line of scrimmage and the linebacker and secondary groups started to carry their end of the bargain.

At cornerback, in particular, Alex Grinch and the Oklahoma defense began to find some players that could help lock down their passing game and create turnovers. Woodi Washington took over as a starter at one cornerback spot, and the Sooners will have some turnover at the others. Tre Brown and Brendan Radley-Hiles are gone, leaving opportunities for others to step up and show out.

Enter DJ Graham, the sophomore out of Keller Central High School. In Graham’s freshman year with the Sooners, he only saw 240 snaps as part of the defensive back rotation. Of those 240 snaps, 162 came in coverage. In that limited action, DJ. Graham was really good.

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In those 162 coverage snaps, Graham didn’t allow a touchdown, and his passer rating against was a mere 37.3, according to Pro Football Focus. He was targeted just 22 times in the passing game and allowed a reception just 10 times per PFF. That’s a 45.5% completion percentage against.

For reference, Radley-Hiles allowed a 57.1% completion percentage and a 77.2 passer rating.

Pretty good for a newcomer.

DJ Graham will compete for snaps with Jeremiah Criddell and Jaden Davis but has a chance to emerge as the starter opposite Woodi Washington.

Graham brings the length that Defensive Coordinator Alex Grinch covets on the outside, and in his limited snap count in 2020, Graham showed that he has a nose for the football. In his six games, he came away with one interception and one pass deflection.

When opposing quarterbacks threw DJ Graham’s way in 2020, they didn’t find much success. His length and coverage ability closed down passing windows and didn’t allow anything easy. He’s a player to watch as the Sooners prepare for 2021. His presence along with Woodi Washington will help the Oklahoma Sooners secondary take a big step forward, making the 2021 Sooners’ defense a force to be reckoned with.

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Oklahoma early enrollee Billy Bowman listed at defensive back

Oklahoma’s Billy Bowman officially listed at defensive back.

The Oklahoma Sooners certainly have no shortage of wide receivers on the team. Not a surprise given the recent successes of CeeDee Lamb, Marquise Brown, Sterling Shepard and others. Looking at the spring roster released on Thursday, the Oklahoma offense has 17 wide receivers. In the most recent recruiting class, they added Mario Williams, Cody Jackson and Jalil Farooq. The latter will not join the team until the summer.

How would this impact the No. 2 athlete in the 2021 recruiting class Billy Bowman? According to the spring roster, he is listed as a defensive back, not a wide receiver. For Denton Ryan High School, Bowman played on both sides of the ball as a slot receiver, nickel cornerback and even spent time as their return specialist. He was electric in that role.

The Oklahoma defense lost Tre Brown and Tre Norwood to the NFL draft this past season. The duo combined to play 980 total snaps. Brown missed one game, while Norwood played in all 11. Between the two, there were eight combined interceptions and eight passes defended. That is quite the amount of production to replace in the upcoming season.

The other key player gone from the 2020 Sooners team is Brendan Radley-Hiles, who transferred to Washington following the season. He played the nickel cornerback position, and Oklahoma must replace his production at a vital role. He finished with just one interception but added five total passes defended.

Bowman is likely a player to watch in the spring to see if he can work his way up the depth chart. There will be ample opportunities for him and fellow Texan Latrell McCutchin; both signed with Oklahoma during the early signing period in December. D.J. Graham could be a rising star for Grinch’s defense after making an impact as a freshman.

Former Oklahoma DB Brendan Radley-Hiles transferring to Washington

Former Oklahoma defensive back Brendan “Bookie” Radley-Hiles has announced he is transferring to the Washington Huskies.

When polarizing Oklahoma defensive back Brendan “Bookie” Radley-Hiles  announces that he was entering the transfer portal back on Feb. 2, it was met with the same reception a lot of his Sooners career was: mixed.

Some fans couldn’t wait to see him go, others felt it was a big piece they were losing for the future. It is hard to find guys that can go quite so far on the spectrum on either side as Radley-Hiles, with the book closing on his Oklahoma career with a legacy unlike many other. Head coach Lincoln Riley has spoken extremely highly of him on numerous occasions, as did his teammates, but the national narrative around him and the fan reaction he often drew couldn’t have been much more the opposite.

Despite entering the portal, Riley made it clear that he was still lobbying for him to potentially return to Norman for the 2021 season. While that never seemed even remotely likely, the fact we neared spring ball without him having a new home started to make some ponder. Well, they can ponder no more as Radley-Hiles announced late Tuesday night that he would be headed to join the Washington Huskies.

This seems like a pretty solid landing spot for Bookie and a place where he could potentially thrive. While many fans will point to his unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, which is clearly valid, his production on the field is inarguable.

In 35 career games, he amounted 115 career tackles with nine coming of those coming for loss. He often graded out well and was liked and defended by his teammates throughout his career. But, he never seemed to quite live up to the lofty expectations that were put upon him as a highly-touted recruit in the 2018 class.

Now we can officially put a bow on one of the more interesting Oklahoma careers in recent memory, as he finally has his new home. His debut with the Huskies is set for Sep. 4 at home against Montana.

Oklahoma’s Brendan Radley-Hiles the No. 6 best player in the transfer portal

According to 247Sports, Oklahoma Sooners cornerback Brendan Radley-Hiles is among the best available in the transfer portal.

The Oklahoma Sooners football team has had its fair share of success when it comes to the transfer portal. The team added a starting left tackle in Wanya Morris, depth at running back in Eric Gray, and a developing safety in Key Lawrence. When it comes to the portal it isn’t always sunshine and daffodils. Riley has one case on his hands in nickel cornerback Brendan Radley-Hiles.

When discussing the talented player, people fall on opposite ends of the spectrum. Some appreciate the fire that he plays with and some don’t think he should be playing in Norman. You can ask Kirk Herbstreit about that one. One person who shares the opinion of the former is the head coach in Lincoln Riley.

“I certainly hope his career here is not over; we’ll see how it plays out,” Riley stated during his media availability following the second signing day.

Nearly a five-star recruit in the 2018 class as a high-four-star and the 247Sports Composite’s No. 38 overall prospect, No. 5 cornerback and No. 7 player in Florida out of Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy, Brendan Radley-Hiles produced at Oklahoma. In 37 games from 2018-20, Radley-Hiles totaled 115 tackles (nine for loss), one sack, three interceptions (one touchdown), 14 pass breakups and one forced fumble (one recovery). The 5-foot-9, 180-pounder is a native of Inglewood, California. – Garrett Stepien of 247Sports

The door isn’t closed on Bookie returning to Norman for the 2021 season as Riley has stated that he wants him back. It remains to be seen if the No. 6 best player available in the portal wants to return to the Sooners. It is a fluid situation as most often is the case when it comes to the transfer portal.

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Report: Oklahoma’s Bookie Radley-Hiles enters the transfer portal

The Oklahoma Sooners projected nickel back Brendan “Bookie” Radley-Hiles entered his name into the transfer portal. He signed in 2018.

The Oklahoma Sooners have seen some success as of late with the NCAA’s transfer portal. The team added three players from the University of Tennessee alone, the latest being running back Eric Gray. There is always a flip side to that coin with players leaving.

Recent reports state that Oklahoma Sooners defensive back Brendan Radley-Hiles has put his name in the transfer portal. The four-star cornerback and top 40 player from the 2018 class will look to leave Norman and finish out his playing career elsewhere. It isn’t a done deal that he will be leaving as he can pull his name out at any time.

Radley-Hiles has been a three-year starter for the Sooners defense. He played in 38 games, while starting 24 games for Oklahoma. Sooners Wire projected Radley-Hiles to be the starting nickel back heading into spring football. That could be in question now with him entering the portal.

Jeremiah Criddell or Pat Fields could be the next Sooner defender in line to play in the nickel or even Woodi Washington next season. Sooners Wire will update the story as more information becomes available.

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ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit on Brendan Radley-Hiles: ‘I wouldn’t play him’

ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit says Brendan Radley-Hiles should be benched after his personal foul in the first quarter of Bedlam.

Oklahoma off to a lightning fast start tonight in Bedlam as they jumped up 21-0 quickly in the first quarter.

The Cowboys offense was sputtering early, and looked to be having their most successful drive of the night stall out in the red zone. But, after an incomplete pass on third down, Brendan Radley-Hiles picked up a personal foul for talking trash to Oklahoma State’s Dillon Stoner.

The play resulted in an automatic first down to keep the drive alive – and the Cowboys promptly scored a touchdown on the next play.

Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit, who are calling the game on ABC, had some very strong words about Radley-Hiles after this play – citing his issues with personal fouls all season long.

Herbstreit even went as far as to say he would bench him if he were making the call.

“I don’t know the young man personally,” Herbstreit said. “I wouldn’t play him. That’s just the way I’m wired. I love his ability, I love his knowledge of the defense, I love his spirit. But it happens so often. You have to consider sitting him on the sideline. If he is not going to learn by being benched every time it happens then I don’t how a guy learns.”

Oklahoma currently leads Bedlam 27-10 early in the second quarter.

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Oklahoma DC Alex Grinch talks improvement of players on defense

Oklahoma DC Alex Grinch talked defensive improvement

Second-year defensive coordinator had plenty of positive takeaways from Oklahoma first practice sessions.

One being Oklahoma defensive back Tre Norwood’s recovery process.

Norwood suffered a season-ending injury in the Sooners’ preseason camp last season.

“Remember this guy, oh by the way he was positioned to be the starter.” Grinch said in his Wednesday conference. “A guy that can play really any five spots in the secondary. Looking at some corner reps but looking at any spot he can have an impact.”

Grinch also mentioned Ronnie Perkins, who despite facing a partial suspension, should be one of the better defensive players in the country.

He also mentioned former five-star recruit Brendan Radley-Hiles, who despite struggling with consistency issues, had a much improved season in 2019.

“I see a different guy. I don’t see some of the same issues. I see a more productive player, I see better technique. “He’s practicing a different level.”

The Sooners saw vast improvement defensively under Grinch, and should see another jump in the coming season.

Oklahoma is scheduled to begin their season on September 12 against Missouri State.

Oklahoma 2020 player card: No. 44 Brendan Radley-Hiles

Sooners Wire will be creating player cards for readers to be introduced to the 2020 roster. Here is No. 44 Brendan Radley-Hiles

There is a ton of momentum to having a 2020 college football season these days. No definite signs, yet, but the season would start less than 100 days from now.

Sooners Wire will be creating player cards for readers to be introduced to the 2020 roster.

Here is No. 44 for Oklahoma.

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Name: Brendan Radley-Hiles

Number: No. 44

Year: Junior

Position: Defensive back

Hometown: Inglewood, CA

Height/Weight: 5-foot-9, XXX pounds

A highly sought after five-star recruit out of Inglewood, California, Brendan Radley-Hiles was the No. 17 overall recruit in the country per Rivals. He had 36 offers in total, and chose the Sooners over powerhouses Alabama and Clemson.

As a freshman under defensive coordinator Mike Stoops in 2018, Radley-Hiles got off to a rocky start in Norman. A starter on the 106th ranked defense in the country, he struggled to find consistency at nickelback.

As a sophomore, Radley-Hiles had a much better season with Alex Grinch handling the defensive duties. He emerged as one of Oklahoma’s top playmakers in the secondary, leading the team with two interceptions, and shored up several of his weaknesses from the year before.

Radley-Hiles will more than likely be the Sooners starting nickelback come game-time, but with his 5-foot-9 frame, he’s more suited to player cornerback. Coming out of high school, he was widely thought of as one of the best cover-cornerbacks in the country. If anyone in the secondary was to make a position swap, it’d be him.

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Oklahoma’s Brendan Radley-Hiles exits Big 12 Championship

After colliding with Baylor quarterback Charlie Brewer, Oklahoma defensive back Brendan Radley-Hiles exited the Big 12 championship…

After colliding with Baylor quarterback Charlie Brewer, Oklahoma defensive back Brendan Radley-Hiles exited the Big 12 championship in the second quarter.

After the collision, he played one snap before exiting the game.

The Sooner’s nickel back, deemed “Bookie” by friends and family, appeared after halftime in street clothes. He was a five-star recruit in the 2017 class out of Inglewood, California.

The Sooners defense allowed just 16 yards in the first quarter, and 82 in the second quarter. Two Jalen Hurts turnovers gave Baylor the momentum they needed to swing back into the game and take a 13-10 lead into halftime.

Oklahoma currently leads the Bears 20-13 midway through the third quarter.