Tag: Daniel Parker Jr.

Oklahoma ranked No. 17 in ESPN’s ‘Way-Too-Early’ top 25

The Oklahoma Sooners were ranked No. 17 in Mark Schlabach’s “Way-Too-Early” top-25 rankings.

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With Georgia’s 33-18 triumph over Alabama in the College Football Playoff’s national championship game in the books, the college football offseason is officially upon us.

That means it’s time to overindulge on rankings that don’t really matter outside of stirring the collective college football discussion pot.

ESPN’s Mark Schlabach released his “Way-Too-Early college football top 25” and Oklahoma checks in at No. 17.

Schlabach wrote this about the Sooners’ 2022 season outlook.

The Sooners’ transition from former coach Lincoln Riley to Brent Venables might be a lot smoother if quarterback Caleb Williams sticks around. He has entered the transfer portal, although Williams said returning to OU remains an option. The Sooners weren’t taking a chance, however, and grabbed Gabriel, who threw for more than 8,000 yards with 70 touchdowns in three seasons at UCF. Freshman receiver Mario Williams also might transfer. Venables, who has never been a head coach, will have to address heavy losses on the line of scrimmage. Perhaps the team’s six best defenders are departing, along with the leading rusher and three of the top four receivers. The addition of Mettauer, who started 28 games at California, will help ease the losses in the interior offensive line. – Schlabach, ESPN.

Oklahoma has certainly seen its fair share of defections to the 2022 NFL Draft and to the NCAA’s transfer portal. Those departures probably aren’t done yet either as quarterback Caleb Williams and wide receiver Mario Williams have been crystal-balled to wind up at USC.

It’s important to remember that there will also be more additions to the Sooners’ roster between now and the start of the 2022 season, too. Here’s our handy Sooners Wire transfer portal tracker to keep up to date with which players are going where.

Schlabach listed UCF transfer quarterback Dillon Gabriel, Cal offensive lineman transfer McKade Mettauer, Hawaii defensive lineman transfer Jonah La’ulu and Missouri tight end transfer Daniel Parker Jr. among his key additions to Oklahoma.

Several 2022 signees were mentioned by Schlabach as key additions as well: running back Gavin Sawchuk, linebacker Kobie McKinzie and wide receiver Nicholas Anderson.

Schlabach’s “way-too-early” top five looked like this: No. 1 Alabama, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Georgia, No. 4 Texas A&M and No. 5 Michigan.

Oklahoma State was the highest-ranked Big 12 team at No. 9, while Baylor slotted in right ahead of Oklahoma at No. 16.

Two other programs with Oklahoma ties found their way into Schlabach’s top 25. USC was ranked No. 22 and South Carolina snuck in at No. 25.

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Oklahoma offers pair of wide receivers, Kyren Lacy and Cayden Lee

Oklahoma extended offers to Louisiana transfer wide receiver Kyren Lacy and four-star class of 2023 wide receiver Cayden Lee.

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Oklahoma isn’t wasting any time responding to fill the expected vacancy that would be left by freshman wide receiver Mario Williams if he does in fact transfer to USC.

247Sports’ Chris Hummer was the first to put in a crystal-ball prediction for Williams to USC after the 5-foot-9 receiver’s visit to USC over the weekend.

The Sooners extended offers to Louisiana transfer wide receiver Kyren Lacy and class of 2023 wide receiver Cayden Lee out of Hillgrove High School.

Lacy, a 6-foot-3, 213 pound sophomore, has 50 career receptions, 668 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns over his two seasons with the Ragin’ Cajuns.

In 2021, Lacy hauled in 22 receptions for 304 receiving yards with six touchdown grabs.

Lacy was rated as a four-star prospect and the nation’s No. 51 wide receiver by 247Sports in its 2020 player rankings.

Since announcing he was entering the transfer portal on Jan. 8, Lacy has also received offers from the likes of Auburn, Houston, Ole Miss, LSU and UCF.

Lee is ranked as a four-star recruit by Rivals and ESPN. 247Sports and On3 list Lee as a three-star prospect. The 5-foot-11, 180 pound receiver is ranked highest by ESPN where Lee is regarded as the nation’s No. 219 player overall in the 2023 class and the nation’s 31st-best wide receiver.

The Powder Springs, Ga., product holds offers from Auburn, Duke, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Oregon, Penn State, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and UCF.

Of course, Lacy would be another immediate addition out of the transfer portal if he chooses Oklahoma.

Lacy would join UCF quarterback Dillon Gabriel, Cal offensive lineman McKade Mettauer, Missouri tight end Daniel Parker Jr., Hawaii defensive lineman Jonah Laulu and Appalachian State linebacker T.D. Roof. Here’s a look at SoonerWire’s full transfer portal tracker.

If Lee commits to Oklahoma, he would join four-star wide receiver DeAndre Moore Jr. out of Los Alamitos, Calif., and three-star interior offensive lineman Joshua Bates out of Durango, Colo., as a member in OU’s 2023 recruiting class.

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Oklahoma Sooners land transfer defensive lineman Jonah Laulu from Hawaii

The Oklahoma Sooners land Hawaii defensive lineman Jonah Laulu through the transfer portal.

The Oklahoma Sooners had a tall task this offseason replacing transfers, graduates, and double-digit NFL hopefuls but they are slowly but surely reaping the benefits of the transfer portal. So far this offseason names like Daniel Parker Jr, McKade Mettauer, Dillon Gabriel all will be making their way to Norman, Oklahoma for 2022.

The Sooners have added another transfer, this time Hawaii defensive lineman Jonah Laulu. The Nevada native adds depth to a depleted defensive line room.

 

Laulu is a mountain of a man at 6-foot-6 with a listed weight of 290 pounds. He had four sacks and one fumble recovery for the Warriors this year. Laulu hails from Las Vegas, Nevada, and attended the same high school as former Sooner turned New England Patriot Rhamondre Stevenson.

You have to imagine fellow Las Vegas native DeMarco Murray offered some words of confidence to Laulu on top of what Miguel Chavis was pitching him.

Laulu adds flexibility and experience to the Sooners. Over the past two seasons, Laulu has started 18 games for the Warriors and totaled 59 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, and 5.5 sacks.

Laulu played multiple spots along the defensive line lining up at the edge and in the interior plugging up the A gaps. The Sooners need that type of versatility as the  Swiss Army knife for their defensive line, Isaiah Thomas, declared for the NFL draft. There is virtually no significant production coming from the edge returning to Oklahoma next year so that spot offers a great opportunity for Laulu to make a splash.

Laulu’s experience and production will give him an opportunity to make a significant impact for the Oklahoma Sooners in 2022.

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Oklahoma Sooners 2022 transfer portal tracker

Who have the Oklahoma Sooners lost or gained in the 2022 transfer portal? This handy-dandy tracker will keep you up to date.

The transfer portal for the Oklahoma Sooners has been as busy as I-35 and I-40 through Oklahoma City over the last month. They’ve seen starters load up the moving trucks and find new homes out east and other players withdrawal their names from the portal.

The biggest name to hit the portal since Spencer Rattler left for South Carolina entered his name into the pool of players on Monday. Caleb Williams, who is exploring his options after the departure of Lincoln Riley to USC hasn’t ruled out a return to Oklahoma, but he will certainly test the transfer market.

Not long after Williams made it known he’d explore the transfer portal, the Sooners received some relief from the quarterback exits from quarterback Dillon Gabriel, the former UCF quarterback. Gabriel was committed to UCLA in the portal, but his close connection to offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby led to a flip of commitment, and Gabriel is now a member of the Oklahoma Sooners.

The portal has been busy and there are several more subtractions and additions that could occur this offseason. We’ll keep you updated here at Sooners Wire with every transfer portal transaction.

Oklahoma adds Cal OL transfer McKade Mettauer

Oklahoma picked up another transfer portal addition as Cal offensive lineman McKade Mettauer announced he has committed to the Sooners.

New Oklahoma head football coach Brent Venables said in his Early Signing Day press conference that he wouldn’t be bashful adding talent via the transfer portal.

The past two weeks have backed that statement up.

Former Cal offensive lineman McKade Mettauer announced this morning that he has committed to Oklahoma.

The 6-foot-4, 305 pound junior offensive lineman has played in all 29 of Cal’s games over the past three seasons and started 28 of those games for the Golden Bears at right guard.

Mettauer will have two years of eligibility remaining when he arrives at Oklahoma. The Woodlands, Texas, product signed with Cal in the 2019 class and was ranked as a three-star prospect according to 247Sports.

Mettauer earned All-Pac-12 second-team status from Pro Football Focus and he was also an honorable mention selection by the Pac-12 coaches for his play this season.

The junior was one of the key cogs that helped Cal’s offense record three 500-plus yard days of total offense this season (636 at Stanford, 534 vs. Sacramento State, 517 vs. Oregon State).

Mettauer and the Golden Bears’ offensive line also paved the way for four 200-plus yard rushing games for Cal this season (352 at Stanford, 255 vs. Oregon State, 246 vs. Sacramento State, 213 vs. Colorado).

It adds immediate, experienced depth for Venables and offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh to work with entering the 2022 season.

Oklahoma also secured a commitment from Missouri tight end Daniel Parker Jr. out of the transfer portal last week.

This marks the third year in a row that OU has brought in a transfer offensive lineman from the Pac-12. In 2020, Oklahoma added its current starter at right guard in Chris Murray from UCLA. Redshirt senior Robert Congel has played in seven games and started five at center for the Sooners this season since transferring in from Arizona.

Junior offensive tackle Wanya Morris transferred to Oklahoma from Tennessee and has played in six games for the Sooners this season.

Oklahoma has already signed a pair of four-star offensive tackles in its 2022 class, Jake Taylor from Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas, Nev., and Jacob Sexton from Deer Creek in Edmond, Okla.

247Sports’ Parker Thune also pointed out that Mettauer is the older brother of 2024 quarterback prospect Mabrey Mettauer.

It’s worth noting that Mettauer is also the brother of 2024 quarterback prospect Mabrey Mettauer, a 6-foot-5 pro-style passer who already holds offers from the likes of Florida, Arkansas, LSU, Miami and Arizona State. Is this an indication that the Sooners may extend an offer to the younger Mettauer down the road? Time will tell, but one way or another, the elder Mettauer figures to play an immediate role in stabilizing an Oklahoma offensive line that had its struggles in 2021. – Thune, 247Sports

Venables addressed his approach to adding players from the transfer portal on Dec. 15 during his Early Signing Period press conference.

“We’ve got tremendous numbers to continue to build our roster and meet our needs. There’s a number of positions on the team that through attrition and some of the things that have taken place, they need to be addressed sooner rather than later, so we are certainly looking at transfer options. We’ve spoken to a few already and trying to vet those guys.

“The biggest thing is trying to again bring value to our locker room. Certainly meet the needs that we have from a functional standpoint where maybe experience lacks or playmaking lacks, but it’s very important that we do a great job of vetting the type of people that we’re bringing into that locker room because we’re trying to build a culture and protect the culture, continue to enhance the culture. It starts with making good decisions with those people,” Venables said.

In the form of Daniel Parker Jr. from Missouri and McKade Mettauer from Cal, it appears the Sooners have already found a pair of transfer players that Venables feels adds to the culture he’s looking to build at Oklahoma.

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Missouri Tigers Tight End Daniel Parker Jr. commits to Oklahoma via transfer portal for 2022

The Oklahoma Sooners replenish their tight end room with Missouri Tigers grad transfer Daniel Parker through the transfer portal.

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The Oklahoma Sooners continue to restock their roster in the wake of NFL draft proclamations and transfer portal departures. With those departures, the Sooners are retooling their tight end room in the wake of Austin Stogner’s transfer and Jeremiah Hall’s graduation with Missouri Tigers transfer Daniel Parker Jr. according to his Twitter account.

At Missouri, Parker totaled 41 receptions for 337 yards and four touchdowns in 24 games for the Tigers. Parker was utilized more as a blocker for the Tigers, only being targeted 18 times in 2021.

Parker will join a group that includes freshman Jason Llewellyn and Kaden Helms. There’s a chance that Brayden Willis could come back as well as he’s on the fence about returning for 2022. Parker adds a veteran presence in the event that Willis doesn’t return and Llewellyn and/or Helms aren’t ready to take on a full-time role for the Sooners in 2022.

His ability as a blocker will help Parker get on the field early on but will be effective in the short to intermediate part of the field as well as the red zone.

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