Tag: jay valai

Sooners make Top 10 for four-star DB Aaron Flowers

Oklahoma is firmly entrenched as one of the 10 schools best positioned to land four-star defensive back Aaron Flowers.

Slowly but surely, Oklahoma’s starting to see a little more clarity with some of their 2024 targets. As prospects progressively trim their schools and predictions begin to come their way, the Sooners are building momentum for the 2024 class.

One prospect on Okalhoma’s radar is four-star defensive back, Aaron Flowers. Flowers hails from Forney, Texas, and has been on the Sooners radar for a while now. Oklahoma has been steadily pursuing Flowers and covets his positional versatility. He can play corner and safety for many Power Five schools.

With so many suitors and his senior year on the horizon, Flowers is beginning to hone in on the schools that legitimately have the best chance of earning his commitment.

Flowers dropped his list of top 10 schools on Tuesday afternoon and features Oklahoma along with some of its current and future conference rivals.

Oklahoma joins a list featuring Alabama, Washington, Tennessee, Louisville, Oregon, USC, Texas Tech, Michigan State, and Baylor. The Sooners are the only school with any projections in their favor at the moment.

Josh McCuiston of SoonerScoop and Parker Thune of OUInsider both believe he’s likely to end up a Sooner when all is said and done.

The race is not over, but after landing in the top 10 and with some momentum in their favor, Brandon Hall and Jay Valai have to feel ecstatic about where they have Oklahoma positioned. With two unofficial visits to Norman, the next step is to lock down an official visit for Oklahoma, which looks to close on a priority target.

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‘We’ll be an improved group’: Sooners defensive backfield improved from a year ago

Head Coach Brent Venables believes his defensive backs will be better than they were a year ago.

Brent Venables and his staff committed to ensuring the results of the 2022 season would not be replicated in 2023.

He and the Soonersā€™ staff were hyperactive in the transfer portal, and they closed their 2023 recruiting class on a significant high note by securing the services of five-star safety Peyton Bowen.

As the Sooners look ahead to spring practice, the time for evaluation and understanding just what type of roster the Sooners will have is here. When speaking with the media last week, Venables made it clear one specific group is primed for a better year.

The defensive backfield.

“So I think we’ll be an improved group,” Venables said about the defensive backfield. “And we lost a bunch of guys. I think we know that … I’m not sure we didn’t lose a lot of production in the secondary, but we, we lost a bunch of bodies.”

Brent Venables believes between the players returning and those that joined the team as midyear enrollees, the Oklahoma Sooners have a better group of defensive backs than they did a year ago.

[autotag]Kendall Dennis[/autotag] (USF), [autotag]Bryson Washington[/autotag] (New Mexico) and [autotag]Joshua Eaton[/autotag] (Texas State) transferred out after the 2022 season. It’s notable none landed with a Power Five squad.

[autotag]CJ Coldon[/autotag] is the biggest loss the Sooners suffered in the secondary after a strong second half of the season. [autotag]Justin Broiles[/autotag] hopes to continue his playing career at the NFL level.

Dennis, Washington and Eaton didn’t play enough for their departures to matter much. Their transfers allow Oklahoma to examine what they have in the players brought in over the past two cycles.

Gentry Williams snagged an interception in his first collegiate game. He didn’t see the field much as a true freshman, but the Sooners love his size, athletic ability, and his competitiveness.

Robert Spears-Jennings is another 2022 signee that could make an impact this season. His play speed and physicality were on display last season despite limited snaps.

Kani Walker was brought in before the season from Louisville. Like Williams, Walker has the physical tools the Sooners are looking for in their outside corners.

[autotag]Reggie Pearson[/autotag], a transfer from Texas Tech, is a heavy hitter with plenty of collegiate experience. That physicality and experience will help bring an edge to the Sooners defensive backfield.

Most notably, [autotag]Peyton Bowen[/autotag] also joins the defensive back room. The most highly coveted secondary recruit for Oklahoma in quite a while, Bowen is expected to be a great one.

[autotag]Billy Bowman[/autotag], [autotag]Woodi Washington[/autotag], [autotag]Damond Harmon[/autotag], [autotag]Jaden Davis[/autotag], [autotag]Justin Harrington[/autotag] and [autotag]Key Lawrence[/autotag] return after playing meaningful snaps for the Sooners last season. They’ll get another offseason in the Sooners’ defensive system, and should have a better understanding of the expectations in the defense.

The hope is because of the improved talent, there will be better production and depth on the secondary depth chart when it drops just before the season.

It remains to be seen how this will actually play out over the course of the season. However, itā€™s hard to argue with Venablesā€™ assessment. The players who played the most last year are back and should understand the scheme better, which will lead to better performances on the field.

All thatā€™s left is for those returning players to prove their head coach right.

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Sooners building foundation for future with flurry of offers for 2025 and 2026

Oklahoma gets a jump on its recruiting future, extending offers to a number of 2025 and 2026 prospects.

While the 2024 class is next up for the calendar year, recruiting future classes starts with years of relationships. Those relationships take time to build and donā€™t always develop overnight. It’s imperative to lay the foundation early on, which is why it should come as no surprise that the Sooners sent a Ā flurry of offers to 2025 and 2026 prospects in recent weeks.

Recruiting services have hardly evaluated them enough to rank them all just yet. These players have already received Power Five offers and look to be premier players who will eventually be significant prospects come their senior year.

We’ve taken the liberty to take a brief look at these 2025 and 2026 offers and offer a bit of insight about each.

Oklahoma Sooners offer 2024 ATH Mekhai White

The Oklahoma Sooners offered 2024 athlete Mekhai White out of King George, Virginia.

The Oklahoma Sooners are looking to create a long and tall group of defensive backs to deploy in their secondary. Several of their secondary additions in the 2023 cycle stand 6 feet or taller, and it appears they’re putting a premium on height again in 2024 recruiting.

Their latest offer went out to Mekhai White out of King George, Virginia. White is listed at 6-foot-2, according to 247Sports. He’s a fantastic two-way player, starring at both wide receiver and defensive back for King George. He was incredibly productive in his junior year with more than 1,000 receiving yards and 18 touchdown receptions. With Jay Valai leading the recruitment, the Sooners could envision him playing defensive back in Norman.

At the moment, White is a consensus three-star prospect, but he has a host of offers from some of the top schools in America, including the two-time national champion Georgia Bulldogs. He’s received 26 Power Five offers to this point, which includes Arkansas, Auburn, Tennessee, Texas A&M, LSU, Michigan State and Penn State.

White has great hands. He’s a smooth route runner and can make things happen after the catch. White displays sticky coverage on the boundary and uses his length to make plays on the football.

Mekhai White’s Recruiting Profile

Projections

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Former Texas Tech safety Reggie Pearson Jr. transfers to Oklahoma

Former Texas Tech safety Reggie Pearson Jr. will be transferring to the University of Oklahoma as a graduate transfer.

As the age old saying goes: “If you can’t wreck ’em, bring ’em.” Or something like that. The now former Texas Tech safety Reggie Pearson Jr. announced that he will be transfering to the University of Oklahoma via his Twitter account on Thursday.

While this isn’t exactly the safety Sooners fans were hoping to hear from today, Pearson is a solid, hard hitting addition to the OU defensive backfield. The Sooners had an issue with tackling in their secondary, and co-defensive coordinator Jay Valai has addressed that by bringing in Pearson, who has 174 tackles in his college career.

 

Pearson is a graduate-transfer and will have one year of eligibility remaining.

Sooners fans might remember Pearson from this hard hit he put on Dillon Gabriel in OU’s regular season finale against Texas Tech.

This was just one of the 11 tackles Pearson had in that game that could be the final time OU plays in Lubbock for a very long time.

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Sooners land top EDGE in the transfer portal in Dasan McCullough

Oklahoma landed the commitment of Dasan McCullough, the nationā€™s best EDGE transfer in the portal. From @thatmanbryant

The Oklahoma Sooners added talent to their defense on Monday night with the commitment of Dasan McCullough. McCullough transfers in from Indiana, where he played a lot for the Hoosiers as a true freshman.

McCullough is ranked as No. 9 overall and is the No. 1 EDGE in the portal per 247Sports.

McCullough put together a really good freshman season for the Hoosiers in which he was named a Freshman All-American midseason by The Athletic and earned All-Big Ten Honorable Mention.

McCullough racked up 49 total tackles, four sacks, and 6.5 tackles for loss. At 6-foot-5 and 225 pounds, he has a great frame with length to be a problem on the edge for opposing offensive lines.

Oklahoma was at the front of the line the moment he entered his name into the portal due to the connection cornerbacks coach Jay Valai has with McCulloughā€™s father. Deland, who now coaches Notre Dameā€™s running backs spent time together with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Here’s what Jacob Rude of the “Locked On Hoosiers” podcast had to say about Dasan McCullough.

He’s a versatile, uber-athletic player. When John Garcia (Sports Illustrateds director of national recruiting) came on to talk about him, he called him a “monster back” which is a phrase I love. In high school, he played safety but I’m not sure he can do that in college. He split time between LB and as an edge rusher this year, mainly the latter. He played a LOT as a true freshman which is both an indictment on how bad IU is and how good he is. I’d say an edge rusher is probably his best fit long-term, but he’s athletic enough that I could see him playing more LB down the road and definitely in passing situations. He can get into the backfield and disrupt plays and pressure the QB. Really a special talent that is going to make an impact right away anywhere. – Rude, Locked On Hoosiers

Josh Pate from the Late Kick show shared his thoughts on Dasan McCullough.

 

The commitment gives the Sooners a high upside, a bonafide playmaker at a position they needed impact players from. To combine McCullough with All Big-12 second teamā€™s Ethan Downs and Reggie Grimes and the lightning-quick R Mason Thomas, the Sooners have upgraded their defensive end room.

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Contact/Follow usĀ @SoonersWireĀ on Twitter, and like our page onĀ Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today. You can also follow Bryant on Twitter @thatmanbryant.

5 Sooners with tough decisions to make as the seasons nears its end

Oklahoma has multiple players facing tough decisions following the season’s end. Will they head to the NFL or return to improve their draft status? From @thatmanbryant

In a year where youth and a lack of experience has dominated storylines for Oklahoma, some of their more veteran players will be reaching a crossroads for their careers. Will guys like Marvin Mims, Anton Harrison, and Jalen Redmond opt to come back after a disappointing season for the team? Or was Saturday their last time playing in front of a sold-out crowd in Norman?

We decided to take a look at five guys that have some very tough decisions to make in the coming weeks.

Makari Vickers commits to Oklahoma, choosing the Sooners over the Crimson Tide

Oklahoma’s newest commit, defensive back Makari Vickers, committed to the Sooners over Alabama and Michigan on Friday.

Oklahoma’s hot summer on the recruiting trail continues as they have landed their third four-star cornerback this summer.

Makari Vickers, a cornerback from Tallahassee, Florida committed to the Sooners on Friday evening at the halftime of his first game of the season. Heā€™s the second commitment the Sooners received Friday night after Anthony Evans pledged to play for the Sooners in 2023.

Vickers joins a cornerback room that added four-stars Jasiah Wagoner andJacobe Johnson earlier this summer. He also officially becomes the 22nd commit for the class of 2023 for the Oklahoma Sooners.

Vickers had been trending in favor of Oklahoma since early August with a decision date being a mere formality at that point. Most of the summer was a real battle between Oklahoma, Alabama, and the third finalist in Michigan but ultimately Oklahoma just pulled away.

He also gets to join friend and fellow Tallahassee native Keyon Brown as a Sooner. Brown, a four-star receiver committed to Oklahoma in the aftermath of Ashton Cozartā€™s flip to Oregon.

Vickers is a consensus four-star player adds tremendous versatility to the back end of this new defense. He’s lined up as a safety and cornerback for Robert F. Munroe Day School but is being recruited by Jay Valai as a corner for right now.

Beating out the likes of Alabama for a four-star recruit in the southeastern part of the United States is no small feat. Itā€™s something that should warrant a pat on the back for Jay Valai and the rest of the Oklahoma staff. It also gives a perfect glimpse of what Oklahoma can do on the recruiting trail with better defensive recruiters than they had under the previous regime.

With the commitment of the talented four-star defensive back, Oklahoma strengthens its footing firmly in the top 10 in team recruiting rankings while putting themselves on the verge of a top five class.

Makari Vickersā€™ Recruiting Profile

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Oklahoma earns commitment from 4-star Athlete Jacobe Johnson

The Oklahoma Sooners earned a commitment from top 3 player in the state of Oklahoma, Jacobe Johnson.

The long-awaited decision of the No. 2 prospect in the state of Oklahoma has come to pass as Jacobe Johnson has committed to the Oklahoma Sooners. The four-star athlete, who projects to play cornerback for Brent Venables and the Sooners, was also considering Alabama, Michigan State, Oklahoma State, and Stanford.

Standing at 6-foot-3, Johnson is a towering figure that will give wide receivers fits on the outside. His ability to attack the ball in the air, combined with his size, will make him a difficult matchup in the Big 12 and the Sooners’ future home in the SEC.

Johnson displays excellent play recognition and can change assignments on the fly when in zone coverage. His ability as a wide receiver lends Johnson to making plays on the football as a defender. He’s a natural hands catcher that allows him to come down with interceptions. He’s more than willing in run support and is disciplined in maintaining outside leverage when blocked. Johnson does a great job working through blocks and finding the ball carrier.

Johnson joins fellow cornerback Jasiah Wagoner in the Sooners 2023 recruiting class, which now ranks No. 7 after LSU added a couple of commitments recently. The Sooners are still well within striking distance of a top-five recruiting class, less than five points behind Georgia for No. 5.

With Jacobe Johnson now in the fold, commitment watch now begins for fellow cornerback Makari Vickers, wide receiver Anthony Evans, and five-star defensive tackle David Hicks.

Jacobe Johnson’s Recruiting Profile

Film

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Oklahoma receives projections for Jacobe Johnson, includes Sooners in top 5

The Oklahoma Sooners land inside the top 5 for 2023 four-star athlete Jacobe Johnson out of Mustang, Oklahoma.

One of the biggest dominos left to drop on the Oklahoma Sooners recruiting check list is 2023 four-star athlete Jacobe Johnson. Johnson, a top three player in the state of Oklahoma, has long been projected to land with the Sooners, but has patiently been working through his process this recruiting cycle.

Johnson is ranked inside the top 50 on the ESPN 300 list and is a top 100 prospect according to On3 Recruiting and the 247Sports composite rankings. He’s a top 10 athlete in the 2023 recruiting class. Johnson released his top five on Wednesday and included the Oklahoma Sooners, Michigan Wolverines, Oklahoma State Cowboys, Alabama Crimson Tide, and Stanford Cardinal.

Over the last week Parker Thune of OUInsider.com at 247Sports issued a crystal ball projection for the Oklahoma Sooners to land Jacobe Johnson. According to Thune, the Sooners plan to play the 6-foot-3 talent out of Mustang, Okla. at cornerback. All four crystal ball predictions from 247Sports favor the Oklahoma Sooners.

Shortly after releasing his top five Wednesday evening, the Sooners received another projection, this time from Rivals’ Michigan recruiting editor Zach Libby.

Johnson’s athletic profile could lend him to playing on either side of the football at the collegiate level and it looks like the Sooners will have another cornerback to add to their 2023 recruiting class that includes four-star cornerback Jasiah Wagoner.

Jacobe Johnson’s Recruiting Profile

Projections

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