Tag: Kevonte Henry

Sooners look west as they offer one of 2024’s top 100 prospects in four-star DL Aydin Ireland

The Sooners revisit the West Coast to offer a four-star 2024 prospect, Aydin Breland, from Mater Dei High School.

While the Sooners may not be as active on the west coast as they had been over the last few years, they won’t completely neglect that part of the country if it means landing talent that can help them on the field. To close their 2022 class, they landed two California kids in Kevonte Henry and Gracen Halton.

One of their most recent offers sees them head to arguably California’s most popular and and one of their most successful high school programs in Mater Dei. Last season, Mater Dei was the MaxPreps National Champion for the second time in five years.

The Sooners offered four-star 2024 defensive line prospect Aydin Breland of Mater Dei recently and have begun their pursuit of him as well.

Considering defensive tackles coach Todd Bates was tagged in the tweet, it seems to indicate he’ll be taking the lead in the recruitment for Breland.

Breland is a physically imposing specimen for just a rising junior and displays some excellent explosiveness at the point of attack. At 6-foot-5 with long arms, his ability to shed offensive linemen is pretty solid and only will get better with added strength and a more refined technique. He fits the physical profile for what Venables, Bates and Roof want for the interior of their defense and now the Sooners will have to compete with several other high level programs.

Aydin Breland’s Recruiting Profile

Crystal Ball

No Crystal Ball Predictions at this time

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Oklahoma Sooners in top 2 for 2023 4-star defensive back Tyler Turner

The Oklahoma Sooners will battle with nemesis Oregon for 2023 defensive back Tyler Turner out of San Antonio.

Never count Brent Venables and his coaching staff out of a recruiting battle. As we saw with the late flips of Kevonte Henry, R Mason Thomas and Gracen Halton, Venables has the recruiting prowess and the success on the defensive side of the ball to be a player for each and every prospect, even the committed ones.

Thus is the case with 2023 safety prospect Tyler Turner out of San Antonio. Turner committed to the Baylor Bears in early January. A three-star prospect according to 247Sports and a four-star player according to On3 Recruiting and Rivals, Turner received an offer from the Oklahoma Sooners on March 1. A week later, he decommitted from Baylor and reopened his recruitment.

Now, the Oklahoma Sooners find themselves in an interesting recruiting situation with long-time Pac-12 foe, the Oregon Ducks. Turner included Oregon and Oklahoma in his recently released top two schools.

Oregon, like Oklahoma, is breaking in a first-time head coach with an exceptional defensive background in Dan Lanning. Lanning was part of the crew that helped construct Georgia’s defense that led them to their 2021 national title.

As it appears they’re doing for Oklahoma commit Ashton Cozart, the Sooners and the Ducks will go to battle for Turner.

Used as a safety for Brennan High School, Turner displays excellent ball skills, showing good athleticism to high point the football in the air. He does a good job reading the quarterback’s eyes and breaking to the intended target. He’s got good play speed and gets downhill quickly to provide run support. He’s a good wrap-up tackler and does a good job separating the ball from the player. With the ball in his hands, Turner has a strong ability to pick up big yards on the return. His speed will allow wherever he plays to use him as a returner on special teams to create big plays.

Tyler Turner’s Recruiting Profile

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2023 four-star EDGE Jaybron Harvey out of North Carolina earns Oklahoma offer

With their noted success in the southeast, Brent Venables and his staff sent an offer out to 2023 defensive end Jaybron Harvey out of NC.

Miguel Chavis has been a busy, busy man since taking his first major coaching position as the Oklahoma Sooners’ defensive ends coach. He hit the ground running and landed a few late 2022 targets in R Mason Thomas and Kevonte Henry.

In his continued pursuit of defensive ends for the 2023 class Chavis finds himself targeting Jaybron Harvey, a four-star edge rusher out of North Carolina. Harvey plays in Durham at Southern High School.

Harvey’s a true edge player in terms of build and explosiveness and can play standing up or with his hand on the ground. His junior year saw him finish with 28 sacks and over 100 tackles. His scouting report on 247 Sports reads as such:

Verified size with length. Has frame and skill set for edge rusher. Will be able to play at 230 pounds. Incredibly productive player with 28 sacks, 129 tackles as junior. Plays both sides of ball in various roles at Southern. High-level athlete with excellent burst at snap. Twitchy prospect gets off quickly and stay lows while eating up space in first few steps. Plays standing up and with hand on ground. Has motor and works to fight through double teams. Changes direction well and chases down plays on back side. Timing and anticipation of snap are excellent. Shows closing speed and body control. Uses a swim move at times, especially when feigning outside and moving inside. Has to continue to develop in the weight room. Relies heavily on physical talent but must refine technique. At times loops to the backfield rather than dipping shoulder and exploding toward ball carrier. – Brian Dohn, 247Sports National recruiting analyst

While the Sooners are in pretty good spots for the likes of Bai Jobe and Adepoju Adebawore, taking a long hard look at Harvey makes a lot of sense, especially with Jobe’s recruitment still growing and things far from being locked up with any prospects.

Chavis also was part of the same defensive staff led by Venables at Clemson that has had some significant success recruiting defensive linemen in the state of North Carolina over the years. Their success and connections on the recruiting trail amongst North Carolina high schools could pay dividends as they look to position themselves in the race for Harvey.

Jaybron Harvey’s Recruiting Profile

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Oklahoma Sooners offer Arkansas 2023 commit WR Anthony Evans III

The Oklahoma Sooners join the list of recent teams to offer 2023 3-star wide receiver and Arkansas Razorbacks commit Anthony Evans III.

As Oklahoma knows, nothing is official until recruits sign on the dotted line during the early signing period or on national signing day. In Brent Venables first two months with the Sooners, they were able to flip [autotag]Kevonte Henry[/autotag] from Michigan, [autotag]R Mason Thomas[/autotag] from Iowa State, and [autotag]Kobie McKinzie[/autotag] after he flipped to Texas.

They’ll never feel like they’re out of a race until the prospect signs their national letter of intent. That’s why one of their more recent offers went out to Anthony Evans III, a wide receiver out of Texas who has already committed to the University of Arkansas.

Back in November, he shared with HawgsSports.com, part of the 247Sports network what led to his commitment, and RazorbacksWire broke it all down.

“I pulled the trigger mainly because of (Arkansas head coach Sam) Pittman and (wide receivers coach Kenny) Guiton,” Evans said. “They’ve been in constant contact several times a week with phone calls and text and truly made me feel like I was a priority.”

Coaches are a strong draw to a school and it sounds like Evans is excited about his opportunity with the Razorbacks. At the same time, he hasn’t shut his recruitment down by any stretch of the imagination. He’s received 10 offers since his commitment including Oklahoma’s. Six of those offers have come since the beginning of March with notable schools like Georgia and Tennessee wading into the fray.

With 7-on-7 season underway and camps coming in the summer, Evans looks to be a player on the rise with power programs like the Oklahoma Sooners and Georgia Bulldogs vying to flip his commitment from the Razorbacks.

Anthony Evans III’s Recruiting Profile

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Miguel Chavis’ love of relationship-building is a win for the Oklahoma Sooners

New defensive ends coach Miguel Chavis genuinely loves getting to know his players and that helped Oklahoma close in the 2022 signing class.

There’s one common thread that unites all of the new additions to Oklahoma head football coach Brent Venables’ first staff. They all seem to genuinely dig the process of getting to know and building relationships with their players.

That trait manifested itself as Oklahoma finished strong with a series of late flips in the 2022 recruiting class. Gracen Halton, Kevonte Henry, Alton Tarber, and R Mason Thomas were all committed elsewhere but ended up signing with Oklahoma on national signing day.

As a result, new Oklahoma defensive ends coach Miguel Chavis was named as one of On3’s top 10 recruiters for the 2022 class. That’s just it, though. Chavis really enjoys recruiting.

“Yeah, amazing. Yeah, awesome. Like, I felt like I was cheating in life. Like, even right now, man, being up here, like this is unbelievable, and just because it doesn’t feel like work. It’s what I love doing. I think recruiting, when it comes down to it, is really about relationship building and connecting. I think it’s about authenticity. And I think you have to do a good job of it if you want to do it this way, the way that I’m talking about, that you have to be okay with not getting a guy that you don’t fit or that he doesn’t fit your institution or your program.

“But fundamentally, I think recruiting is connecting. And so, man, I’ve just been very, very blessed to have people in my life to show me and teach me how to connect with people. And I care about people. I love people. So yeah, I got here and got all cleared by compliance and all the rest, and they threw me an OU shirt on and some Jordan’s and I went on the road. And I think I’ve texted my wife and took pictures of everything. But it was amazing. We were able to get Alton Tarber—I can’t wait to get him from Deerfield Beach—R Mason Thomas. And Ahmad Moten, we almost got him from Cardinal Gibbons. Great program Coach [Matt] DuBuc is running there at Cardinal Gibbons. And so it was awesome. I love it,” Chavis said.

Building relationships beyond the game of football is something that Chavis believes in. It’s why he did pastoral ministry for three years after his stint in the NFL came to a close.

“The best CEOs of companies, the best pastors, the best leaders of family, the best men and women I’ve ever been around are those people who can connect and love the people that they serve. Period. And so my first week here, within the first week or so, just like taking my guys out to dinner and like not talking football. And listen, I coach for Brent Venables. We’re going to have more than enough time to talk football. All right? Our guys are going to know what the heck they have to do. But just investing in them, man, making phone calls. That’s one thing we did. Calling them all personally, asking them about their mom, their dad, little Suzie. They’ve been dating for two weeks and now they’re Facebook official for two weeks. Okay? We ask about another one here soon. But just what are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? What are your fears? What are your aspirations? I think all of these things are super, super important,” Chavis said.

Chavis likens the best coaches to part-time psychologists. Knowing each of his player’s individual goals and aspirations is part and parcel with seeing the best versions of his players.

“They need to know that you care, they need you to know their identity and they want to know that you love them. And if you love your players, you can coach them as hard as you want to. But just being very, very connected with them. I send them encouraging messages almost every morning, whether it’s things from scripture, things that are motivational or encouraging to me, and then just being able to take the time out to not talk ball all the time, and thinking and understanding and learning the different types of personalities. There are so many different personality tests.

“And I think, man, it’s like psychology. I’m serious. I think a great football coach is like 50 percent a great psychologist and understanding that just like parenting, you can’t treat all kids the same. And so different coaching techniques, and they all learn differently, but I think being intentional with your words, I think getting to know parents, getting to know players, their likes and dislikes, their fears and aspirations, makes them a lot more likely to trust you and to be endeared to you and to play hard for you. The guys that I’ve seen that played the hardest for their coaches are the guys that would literally die and lay their life on the line for the coaches because they know their coach loves them and would do the same,” Chavis said.

It doesn’t feel like lip service when Venables talks about serving his players’ hearts and not their talents. It certainly doesn’t with Chavis either.

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Oklahoma Sooners offer 2023 four-star edge Adepoju Adebawore out of Missouri

The Oklahoma Sooners On3 top 50 player and 2023 four-star edge rusher Adepoju Adebawore out of Kansas City, Missouri.

With Brent Venables and Jeff Lebby on board, the Oklahoma Sooners opened up new recruiting grounds in the southeast, particularly in the recruiting hotbed of Florida. At the same time, the Sooners have stayed closer to home, making Oklahoma and Kansas priorities in addition to the traditional recruiting hotbeds.

Another spot that has recently gained interest from the Sooners is another border state, Missouri. The Oklahoma Sooners sent out an offer to 2023 four-star edge rusher Adepoju Adebawore.

On3 Recruiting and the On3 Composite ranking have Adebawore as a four-star prospect. According to On3, he’s a top 50 prospect in their 2023 rankings and ranks No. 192 in their composite rankings.

Adebawore is the No. 10 player in the state of Missouri according to 247Sports Composite rankings and the No. 32 edge rusher in the 2023 class.

He stands at an incredible 6-foot-4 and 235 lbs per On3 Recruiting. He’s gained interest from Oregon, Georgia, Michigan, Arkansas, and USC. Currently in On3’s recruiting prediction machine, Kansas appears to have the lead, with Oklahoma close behind. It’s still early in the cycle, so it’s likely the Sooners would be able to overtake the Jayhawks in this pivotal recruitment.

The Sooners have made a concerted effort to recruit defensive linemen, particularly defensive ends with length. They landed Kevonte Henry and R Mason Thomas in the 2022 class. Henry and Thomas are both tall and fast edge rushers.

The Sooners are gaining traction in the 2023 and 2024 recruiting cycles after finishing the 2022 class with a flurry that led to a top-eight finish.

Adepoju Adebawore’s Recruiting Profile

Rating

Stars Overall State Position
ESPN — — — —
Rivals 3 — 13 27
247Sports 3 — 10 28
247 Composite 3 400 10 32
On3 Recruiting 4 50 2 9
On3 Composite 4 192 5 24

Vitals

Hometown Kansas City, MO
Projected Position EDGE
Height 6-4
Weight 235

Recruitment

  • Offered on Feb. 11, 2022

Notable Offers

  • Oklahoma
  • Michigan
  • Kansas
  • Georgia
  • USC
  • Arkansas
  • Iowa State

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Oklahoma defense has ‘good blend’ of returning players and newcomers

Oklahoma defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Ted Roof discussed what OU has added to its roster defensively.

Oklahoma is replacing six starters defensively, so there were always going to be plenty of new faces across the Sooners’ defense in 2022. It feels like quite the defensive overhaul, though, thanks to a rash of transfer portal additions, several late signees and a defensive coaching staff that’s brand new at every position group.

In addition to its 2022 signees, Oklahoma added transfer defensive linemen Jeffery Johnson from Tulane and Jonah Laulu from Hawaii; linebacker T.D. Roof from Appalachian State; and Wyoming transfer C.J. Coldon, North Carolina transfer Trey Morrison and Louisville transfer Kani Walker in the defensive backfield.

“The emphasis is get better at every spot, you know, because at a place like this, when you go through the grind of a season, you’ve got to have quality depth. One deep is not going to get it done. I know that we’ve got some guys that have started some games in the front, but we were able to address the defense at every level. Certainly, if you’re not winning up front on defense, you’re not going to win very many ball games. If you can’t get to the quarterback and you can’t stop the run, that’s going to be a long day at the office,” defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Ted Roof said on national signing day.

“We’ve got some guys returning that we’re really excited about. At the same time, needed to add depth there and we did between the portal and obviously high school. We’ve addressed it at every level and there’s opportunities. At the same time, really like what we’ve got here that were already on the roster, so I think it’ll be a good blend.”

Of course, Roof likes the numbers that Oklahoma has added across the board. Combining the signing class arrivals with transfer portal additions, OU is bringing in seven defensive linemen, four linebackers and seven defensive backs.

He also feels OU’s additions provide more than just balance in numbers across the board. According to Roof, they’re the right type of players to join Oklahoma.

“You want to as you recruit have the balance in your classes as you go along, but there were some things, opportunities and some things that were out of our control that created opportunities. When they came, we had to have first of all players that fit Oklahoma from a skill standpoint, from a character standpoint, from just a fit, because the longer that I’m in it, the more I believe it’s about getting players that fit where you are,” Roof said.

“Whether from a mentality standpoint, obviously from an ability standpoint, but from a work ethic standpoint, all those things where a guy has to fit because we’re a blue-collar program and you’ve got to work to be successful here. If you’re going to be in this program and be part of it, you’re going to have to put in the work and you’re going to have to grind, so getting the right type of young man in here was critical. Things had popped up where we knew some guys. I had recruited a couple of those kids before, so there was some opportunity there, some familiarity and it worked out.”

It makes sense because it’s the position group Roof will coach directly, but there’s a genuine excitement from the longtime collegiate coach about what Oklahoma already had at linebacker.

“You’ve got DaShaun [White] and David [Ugwoegbu], two of the older guys there that have played a lot of football who are doing a great job leading in the offseason program. You’ve got Shane [Whitter], you’ve got Joseph [Wete] and Danny [Stutsman]. You know, Danny has some real toughness and some grit and I love that about him that he’s shown so far. With Shane, the athleticism that he has, the speed. He’s got some real ability there and looking forward to working with those guys,” Roof said.

And, of course, what the Sooners are adding at linebacker as well.

“Then, have added a combination of three young guys and an older guy to that room. All of those guys are unique in what they bring. Jaren [Kanak] is, he’s really mature in his body. His strength numbers and speed and his measurables are all off the charts for somebody his age from where he is. He’s worked really hard to get there. Kobie McKinzie has a really high football IQ that, again, understands concepts and things of that nature. Kip Lewis has got a huge upside, a guy with a lot of ability and a lot of want-to. So, we’re looking forward to developing those three young men. And then, T.D., you know, he’s been around the block a time or two. It’s a good blend and excited about all of them, the unique things that they bring to the table. A couple of the grad transfers that we signed were captains at their schools, so, we’re putting leaders into our locker room as well from a grad transfer standpoint,” Roof said.

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Positional breakdown of additions made by the Oklahoma Sooners in 2022

A positional breakdown of the players the Oklahoma Sooners added through the transfer portal and the 2022 recruiting class.

The Oklahoma Sooners suffered losses to the NFL draft and the transfer portal. The talent that walked out the door is difficult to replace. However, holes in the lineup mean new opportunities for younger players to step up and the depth chart to do its job.

Brent Venables and his staff did a tremendous job addressing needs through the transfer portal, and they attacked the 2022 recruiting cycle looking to the future of the program.

Through it all, they’ve added some nice pieces that can contribute right away and a bright future that might be able to make an impact in year one with the Sooners.

Here’s a positional breakdown of each player the Oklahoma Sooners added this offseason.

Miguel Chavis among On3’s top-10 recruiters for 2022 class

Oklahoma closed with a flurry on national signing day. Miguel Chavis, OU’s new defensive ends coach, was a big part of that.

After inking five on national signing day, Oklahoma is squarely inside the top 10 team recruiting rankings. In fact, OU’s 2022 signing class is ranked No. 8 nationally in each of the team rankings provided by 247Sports, Rivals and On3.

New defensive ends coach Miguel Chavis helped the Sooners surge by adding three national signing day flips. On3’s Jeremy Crabtree listed Chavis as one of his top 10 recruiters for the 2022 class.

Many were writing off Oklahoma’s 2022 class as doomed after Lincoln Riley took off for USC. But thanks to Miguel Chavis’ efforts, the Sooners were one of the big winners on Signing Day.

On Signing Day, OU and Chavis landed a flurry that included four-star defensive linemen Gracen Halton and R Mason Thomas and four-star EDGE Kevonte Henry.

What was even more impressive about the signings is that all three were committed to other schools, and Chavis had to convince them that Norman was the better place.

Those wins — along with adding players at positions of need — cement his spot on this rundown of the top recruiters. – Jeremy Crabtree, On3.

Halton had been committed to Oregon, Thomas to Iowa State and Henry to Michigan. According to On3’s consensus rankings, Halton is the nation’s No. 253 player nationally and the No. 29 defensive lineman. On3 rates Thomas as the country’s No. 140 player overall and the No. 17 EDGE, while Henry is listed by On3 as the No. 176 player nationally and the No. 19 EDGE.

“Jay and Miguel both, boy, they’re both so unique. Tons of energy. Lots of life. They’re wise beyond their years. They bring so much to the table when it comes from relationships to football acumen, just really advanced when it comes to the ability to teach and also to be able to articulate football 101, to be able to more than hold their own in the staff room. And then, their ability to connect with players is really, really special,” Oklahoma head football coach Brent Venables said on national signing day of Chavis and cornerbacks coach Jay Valai.

Chavis spent five years with Venables at Clemson. During that time, it became clear to Venables that Chavis was prepared to step into a role like this at Oklahoma.

“We hit it off immediately. He’s a former player and I sat in the staff room with him every day. He coached a camp with us. He had some opportunities to coach because of COVID and some things like that as well over the last few years. Just you know when you know. You know it when you see it and you know it when you don’t,” Venables said.

The Sooners are already reaping the national signing day rewards of giving Chavis his first full-time on-field assistant coaching role.

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Oklahoma football’s official recruiting class after national signing day 2022

A look at the 2022 recruiting class and where each player ranks with the four major recruiting services after national signing day.

The Oklahoma Sooners put together one of the eight best recruiting classes in the country through national signing day. The declarations of the Sooners’ demise was greatly exaggerated as Brent Venables and his staff has breathed new life into a program that had struggled to maintain its top spot in the Big 12 over the last couple of years. That ultimately led to missing the Big 12 title game altogether in 2021.

Unlike other major college programs that experienced a coaching change, the Sooners were able to create positive momentum heading into the spring despite the coaching change.

The Sooners are the only team in the top 10 without a five-star recruit. While it would be nice to land Josh Conerly or Lebbeus Overton in the 2022 cycle, the teams high ranking in the cycle reveals just how good their four and three-star players are.

The Sooners have several incoming freshman that could come in and earn an opportunity right out of the gate. A top eight class is nothing to sneeze at and it speaks to the tremendous talent of the players and the work done by the coaching staff to get the guys on board.

As we continue our look at national signing day, here are where the Sooners 21 incoming freshman rank across the four major recruiting services; 247Sports, On3, Rivals, and ESPN.