Tag: Miguel Chavis

Oklahoma Sooners ink four-star EDGE R Mason Thomas out of Florida

Oklahoma and new defensive ends coach Miguel Chavis signed four-star EDGE R Mason Thomas, winning the recruitment over Iowa State and Miami.

New Oklahoma defensive ends coach Miguel Chavis made R Mason Thomas one of his first targets when he arrived in Norman.

It paid off today as Thomas officially signed with the Sooners.

The 6-foot-2, 215 pound EDGE rusher is out of Cardinal Gibbons High School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. OU won out over Iowa State and Miami. Thomas had been committed to Iowa State since July 6, 2021, but a Dec. 9 visit from Chavis began to flip his recruitment.

Thomas was offered the next day by Oklahoma and he officially visited the Sooners on Jan. 21. OU also had to hold off a late charge from Miami. Thomas visited Miami on Jan. 28 and his high school teammate and fellow OU target Ahmad Moten wound up signing with Miami today.

Ultimately, Moten and Thomas’ paths diverged and the allure of being coached by Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables and Chavis won out over both Iowa State and Miami.

Naturally, Chavis was fired up about the signing.

According to both On3 and 247Sports, Thomas is a four-star signee. On3 ranks Thomas as the No. 139 player nationally, the No. 17 EDGE and 20th-highest-rated player from the state of Florida. 247Sports rated Thomas as the No. 205 player overall, the No. 22 EDGE and the 24th-best player from Florida.

Rivals and ESPN rank Thomas as a three-star signee. Thomas is the No. 34 weakside defensive end according to Rivals and the 67th defensive end in ESPN’s rankings.

Thomas joins cornerback Gentry Williams, safety Robert Spears-Jennings, athlete Jaren Kanak, linebacker Kobie McKinzie, linebacker Kip Lewis, cornerback Jayden Rowe, defensive lineman Cedric Roberts and defensive lineman Alton Tarber as a defensive signing in Oklahoma’s 2022 class.

R Mason Thomas’s Recruiting Profile

Rating

Stars Overall State Position
ESPN 3 N/A 119 67
Rivals 3 N/A 79 34
247Sports 4 205 24 22
247 Composite 3 410 52 34
On3 Recruiting 4 139 20 17
On3 Composite 4 284 31 28

Vitals

Hometown Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Projected Position EDGE
Height 6-2
Weight 215

Recruitment

  • Offered on Dec. 10, 2021
  • visit Jan. 21, 2022

Film

Here’s a look at Thomas’ Hudl tape.

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2022 EDGE Kevonte Henry receives 247Sports crystal ball projection for Oklahoma

Oklahoma target Kevonte Henry, a 2022 EDGE, has been crystal-balled to wind up with the Sooners on national signing day.

Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh is reportedly leaving his post as the Wolverines’ head coach to become the next head coach of the Minnesota Vikings.

Chris Balas, senior editor of The Wolverine, is reporting that Harbaugh plans to sign with the Minnesota Vikings.

This news about Harbaugh just might have been enough to tilt the scales in Oklahoma’s favor in the recruitment of Kevonte Henry.

Oklahoma already had an On3 prediction for class of 2022 EDGE Kevonte Henry to wind up with the Sooners from On3 director of recruiting Chad Simmons.

Now, Harbaugh’s decision to leave Michigan has others forecasting that Henry will indeed sign with Oklahoma on national signing day.

OUInsider’s Parker Thune was the first reporter from 247Sports to flip his crystal-ball prediction for Henry from Michigan to Oklahoma. After Thune submitted his crystal-ball flip for Henry, OUInsider’s Brandon Drumm and Joey Helmer flipped their predictions in favor of the Sooners as well.

247Sports’ director of recruiting, Steve Wiltfong, and 247Sports national recruiting analyst Greg Biggins flipped their predictions from Michigan to Oklahoma, too.

According to 247Sports, the 6-foot-4, 225 pound recruit is a four-star. Henry is ranked as the No. 216 player nationally by 247Sports and as the country’s No. 24 EDGE in the 2022 class.

On3 also rates Henry as a four-star prospect and as the No. 175 player overall in the 2022 class. Henry is listed as the No. 19 EDGE and ninth-best player from the state of California according to On3.

Rivals and ESPN rank Henry as a three-star recruit. According to Rivals, Henry is the No. 33 weakside defensive end in the 2022 class. ESPN rates Henry as the No. 47 outside linebacker in the 2022 class.

Here’s a taste of Henry’s Hudl tape.

It feels like it’s turning into a big signing day for OU with late EDGE and defensive line talent. R Mason Thomas is picking up traction toward signing with Oklahoma tomorrow and his high school teammate Ahmad Moten is as well.

There’s also multiple predictions that former Oregon commit and four-star defensive lineman Gracen Halton will sign with OU, too.

Here’s a good look at some of OU’s final targets ahead of national signing day.

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Athlon Sports names 5 priorities for Brent Venables’ first year as head coach

A deeper look at five personnel issues Brent Venables needs to focus on as the Sooners head into the 2022 season.

After a coaching search that almost had the entire state of Oklahoma in a complete state of panic, the Sooners finally found their man with a very familiar name. Brent Venables leaped from being a longtime assistant with stops at Oklahoma and Clemson to becoming the new headman in charge of the Oklahoma Sooners.

He takes over an Oklahoma program that was in disarray and reeling from the complete and utter shock of Lincoln Riley’s surprise departure following their final regular season against the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Venables and the staff he’s assembled have plugged the leak in the 2022 recruiting class as they steadied the ship following Riley’s departure and the recruiting ramifications of that, they have used the transfer portal to their advantage to feel some holes left by the 11 starters that either transferred or declared for the NFL Draft and they have since started working on their 2023 class all while the current team begins offseason workouts under another familiar face in Head strength and conditioning coach Jerry Schmidt.

Athlon Sports posed some valid concerns about the Sooners’ personnel as Brent Venables inches closer and closer to OU’s first season under him as head coach.

Their five priorities were:

  • Scheme Development + QB
  • Develop the Receivers
  • Address the Offensive Line
  • Reload the Defensive Front
  • Secondary Concerns

All five points are very valid and hold significant weight as the Sooners begin to acclimate themselves. We’re going to grow through and take a look at each.

Oklahoma offers class of 2023 four-star DL Kelby Collins

Oklahoma extended an offer to consensus four-star class of 2023 defensive lineman Kelby Collins out of Gardendale, Ala.

It’s turned into a weekend filled with some high-profile campus visits from the likes of USC transfer targets Jaxson Dart and Michael Trigg.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CYudR8dr1fI/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Oklahoma has also already secured a commitment from Tulane defensive tackle transfer Jeffery Johnson.

That doesn’t mean Oklahoma’s coaching staff is taking a break from their pursuit of talented high school players that can help bolster OU’s upcoming recruiting class. The Sooners extended an offer to class of 2023 defensive lineman Kelby Collins.

Collins is a consensus four-star recruit out of Gardendale High School in Gardendale, Ala. Rivals rates Collins as the nation’s No. 31 player in the 2023 class and as the No. 6 defensive end.

On3 and ESPN also have Collins inside the nation’s top-100 class of 2023 players. On3 ranks Collins as the country’s 55th-best prospect overall and the No. 8 defensive lineman in the class. Meanwhile, ESPN has Collins as the No. 98 player nationally and No. 9 defensive tackle.

247Sports ranks Collins as the nation’s No. 135 player and No. 18 defensive lineman.

In the On3 consensus rankings, Collins is the country’s 43rd highest-rated player and the No. 9 defensive lineman. 247Sports’ consensus rankings has Collins at No. 71 overall and the No. 10 defensive lineman.

Kelby Collins’ Recruiting Profile

Rating

Stars Overall State Position
247Sports 4 135 10 18
Rivals 4 31 3 6
ESPN 4 98 8 9
247 Composite 4 71 7 10
On3 Recruiting 4 55 8 8
On3 Composite 4 43 7 9

247Sports national recruiting analyst Cooper Petagna wrote this about Collins after a Jan. 13 player evaluation.

Collins possesses the prototypical size and frame to develop into an interior lineman at the next level. Displays good athletic ability and position versatility showing the ability to line up in multiple positions across the defensive line.

Possesses some slight hip and ankle stiffness but overcompensates with an explosive first step, initial quickness, and heavy hands. Has the ability to beat you with speed or power and shows the ability to close space quickly once in the backfield. Can anchor in the run game and also offers a consistent pass rush ability as an interior lineman.

Explosive athlete that has the ability to play the run and the pass. Could grow into a 300-pound plus interior player, but more than likely projects to beginning his career as a three-technique at the next level. Well built player with an ideal frame that will more than likely need one to two years to develop and projects as an impact multi-year starter at a Power Five program at the next level. – Petagna, 247Sports.

Collins also holds offers from programs such as Alabama, Clemson, Florida, Miami, Texas and Texas A&M.

The Sooners currently have a pair of commitments in their 2023 class from four-star Los Alamitos, Calif., wide receiver DeAndre Moore Jr. and from three-star Durango, Colo., interior offensive lineman Joshua Bates.

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Oklahoma Sooners offer 2022 Iowa State commit R. Mason Thomas

The Sooners are still in hot pursuit of multiple 2022 targets such as EDGE R. Mason Thomas, an Iowa State commit who the Sooners offered.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbz7cqqgxy50qwt player_id=none image=https://soonerswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Recruiting never stops and for the Oklahoma Sooners, they are living that down to the very last second. When Brent Venables officially became the Sooners head coach, the 2022 class was in limbo with multiple decommits, targets they were closing in on completely turned the other way. The Sooners weathered that storm and picked up the pieces with commitments, signing the guys who stayed on board and flipping guys who were committed elsewhere.

The job is not done and their latest offer on the recruiting trail proves it. The Sooners recently offered 2022 edge, R. Mason Thomas, out of Fort Lauderdale. Thomas is currently committed to Big 12 foe Iowa State and has been since July 6th of 2021. His commitment was pretty firm up until the college season ended and coaching staffs began to be fractured as coaches took jobs at other schools. With the change at Oklahoma, the Sooners locked in on immediately Thomas almost immediately. Miguel Chavis went down to visit Thomas and teammate Ahmad Moten both of whom hold Oklahoma offers.

The Sooners aren’t competing with only Iowa State for Thomas’ signature as the home town team that’s virtually in his backyard have offered. That team would be the Miami Hurricanes and with Mario Cristobal involved that’s no easy feat to knock him off on the recruiting trail. Cristobal has helped put together some very impressively talented defenses in his time as a head coach (Oregon) and with that pedigree it only makes it easier for him to sell other prospects on what he can do on that side of the ball.

The Sooners will likely get one final chance to impress Thomas with an official visit on the weekend of January 21st. The following weekend he has a visit scheduled with the Miami Hurricanes. Following those visits, Thomas is looking to wrap his recruitment up with a final decision before national signing day.

Defensive ends coach Miguel Chavis  will be in full closing mode over the next month or so as they try to secure the commitment of a highly talented and productive edge rusher from the Sunshine state to Norman.

R. Mason Thomas’ Recruiting Profile

Rating

Stars Overall State Position
247Sports 4 214 25 18
Rivals 3 – 90 35
ESPN 3 – 119 66
247 Composite 3 412 54 29
On3 Recruiting 4 263 34 28
On3 Composite 4 348 43 28

Vitals

Hometown Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Projected Position EDGE
Height 6-2
Weight 215

Recruitment

  • Offered on 1/14/22
  • visit scheduled for Jan. 21

Notable Offers

  • Committed to Iowa State
  • Oklahoma
  • Miami
  • South Carolina
  • LSU

Crystal Ball

Film

Via HUDL 

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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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Shots fired between Clemson, Oklahoma staffs

It looks like things are heating up between the staffs at Clemson and Oklahoma. Of course, since becoming Oklahoma’s new head coach, former Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables has brought some other former Tiger assistants to Norman with …

It looks like things are heating up between the staffs at Clemson and Oklahoma.

Of course, since becoming Oklahoma’s new head coach, former Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables has brought some other former Tiger assistants to Norman with him, including Todd Bates and Miguel Chavis.

Chavis, a former defensive player development coach at Clemson and the Sooners’ new defensive ends/outside linebackers coach, took to Twitter earlier this week and posted the following graphic featuring Venables and stats his defenses have recorded since 2012:

On Wednesday, Clemson Football appeared to take a shot back at Oklahoma, responding with their own version of Chavis’ tweet:

Clemson Variety & Frame is doing their part to help bring you some classic new barware and help one of the local businesses that helps make Clemson special.

Order your Nick’s barware and do your part to help.  #SaveNicks

Oklahoma set to hire Clemson’s Todd Bates as co-defensive coordinator per report

Larry Williams of TigerIllustrated.com reported that OU will hire Clemson’s Todd Bates as its co-defensive coordinator.

Oklahoma is bringing in one of the nation’s top assistants as the Sooners’ new co-defensive coordinator and defensive tackles coach.

Larry Williams of Tigerillustrated.com reported that Clemson’s Todd Bates is joining Brent Venables’ staff at Oklahoma.

The news comes just several weeks removed from Bates receiving a $200,000 raise and promotion to the assistant head coach title at Clemson.

Bates joined the Clemson staff in January of 2017 as the Tigers’ defensive line coach. The Heflin, Ala., native was a part of four College Football Playoff appearances while at Clemson and helped direct the Tigers to a 44-16 win over Alabama in the 2019 CFP national championship game.

His 2017 Tigers finished second in the nation in scoring defense (13.6) and fourth in total defense (276.7).

Four defensive linemen were selected in the 2019 NFL Draft during Bates’ tenure at Clemson.

Defensive end Clelin Ferrell was taken fourth overall by the then-Oakland Raiders, defensive tackle Christian Wilkins was selected No. 13 overall by the Miami Dolphins, defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence was chosen No. 17 overall by the New York Giants and defensive end Austin Bryant was taken in the fourth round by the Detroit Lions.

Under Bates’ watch, Clemson finished tied for the national lead in sacks (46) and second in tackles for loss (109) during the 2020 season.

Bates has also been one of the nation’s top recruiters. After Clemson’s 2020 recruiting class ranked No. 1 according to ESPN, No. 2 according to Rivals and No. 3 according to the 247 Sports composite, Bates was named Rivals’ Recruiter of the Year for 2019.

Bates was promoted to Clemson’s recruiting coordinator following the 2019 season.

Bates joins an Oklahoma defensive staff that includes co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Ted Roof, defensive ends coach Miguel Chavis and safeties coach Brandon Hall.

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Sooners offers recent 2022 Michigan decommit Kevonte Henry in latest flurry of offers sent out

The Oklahoma Sooners continue their efforts to build their 2022 recruiting class with an offer to Michigan decommit Kevonte Henry.

While Bob Stoops was holding down the home base and was preparing the current Sooners for their eventual Valero Alamo Bowl win against the Oregon Ducks, the incumbent staff continues to put their foot on the gas and pursue players to fill out their 2022 recruiting class.

Their latest offer went out to Kevonte Henry, a six-foot-four outside linebacker/edge prospect from California that is currently committed to Michigan. At that size and that frame, Henry looks like a sure-fire project defensive end that the Sooners would love to get in Coach Schmidt’s training programs to transform him into a bonafide edge rusher.

The Sooners wouldn’t be wrong in reaching out as their defensive end room is losing a lot between NFL departures and graduation and will need to replenish the depth.

While Henry is committed to Michigan, something must be afoot in his recruitment based on the recent activity in his recruitment. It raises an eyebrow.

For a commit to receive multiple Power Five offers this late may indicate teams believe that, despite his commitment to Michigan, Henry isn’t that locked into the commitment and may be looking elsewhere.

The University of Washington and the Florida Gators have both offered Henry in December alone for a prospect committed to a school since June. The Sooners deployed newly minted defensive ends coach, Miguel Chavis, on this particular journey. He’s been active since being hired and will look to continue to make a name for himself on the recruiting trail.

There’s no timetable for a decision here but the next step for Oklahoma would be to get Henry on campus. If they can get them on campus, with the momentum and energy the Sooners have on the recruiting trail right now, it could be all they need to complete a very late flip.

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Oklahoma offers four-star safety Derek Williams Jr. out of Louisiana

Oklahoma offered consensus four-star safety Derek Williams Jr. from Westgate High School in New Iberia, La.

Oklahoma isn’t waiting on its official departure to the Southeastern Conference to go ahead and start planting its roots.

The Sooners’ Southeast recruiting push continued last night when Oklahoma offered consensus four-star safety Derek Williams Jr. out of Westgate High School in New Iberia, La.

The 6-foot-2, 185 pound safety is rated highest overall by 247Sports where the recruiting service has Williams Jr. ranked as the 45th-best player in the class of 2023 nationally.

Rivals has Williams Jr. rated as the nation’s No. 2 safety, while 247Sports has him ranked as the nation’s No. 3 safety. Both ESPN and On3 have Williams Jr. ranked as the nation’s No. 4 safety.

Williams Jr. holds offers from a bevy of other programs such as Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Miami, Michigan, Mississippi State, Notre Dame, Texas and Texas A&M.

The Sooners’ 2023 class currently has a pair of players committed, four-star Los Alamitos, Calif., wide receiver DeAndre Moore Jr. and three-star Durango, Colo., interior offensive lineman Joshua Bates.

OU signed four-star safety Robert Spears-Jennings from Broken Arrow, Okla., on the first day of the Early Signing Period back on Dec. 15 in its 2022 class.

According to 247Sports, OU has offers out to 10 other safeties in the 2023 recruiting class: Joenel Aguero, Peyton Bowen, Braxton Myers, Jamel Johnson, Rahmir Stewart, Sylvester Smith, Elliot Washington, Deldrick Madison, Jordan Castell and Braylon Johnson.

Williams Jr. and the rest of these offers can expect to be hearing from the Sooners’ new safeties coach.

Oklahoma head football coach Brent Venables announced his hiring of new safeties coach Brandon Hall on Dec. 17.

“Brandon is an Oklahoman and someone who worked with us for 10 years. He’s the epitome of what the coaching profession should be all about, as far as development, putting in the work, creating opportunities through relationships and sweat equity, figuring stuff out, being mentored, having humility and taking some chances. I’m really proud about his growth and development. He was one of the first people I met when I came to Oklahoma in 1999 when he was a student assistant. To see him continue to bloom at each of his stops has been really cool for me, all the way to being one of the best defensive coordinators in college football the last few years at Troy. He’s been a leader, he’s loyal, he’s tough, he’s smart, he’s really innovative and he connects well with the players. They’re in for a treat,” Venables said of Hall.

Hall also discussed his excitement to return to Oklahoma as the next OU safeties coach in a statement on Dec. 17.

“When people talk about ‘going home,’ this is actually true in my case. I was born in Norman, so Oklahoma is a special place for me. I started my career here under Coach (Bob) Stoops, and both he and Coach Venables took a chance on me. They’re a big reason I’m here. I’ve always believed that your identity as a coach is your foundation, and my foundation is Coach Stoops and Coach Venables. I’ve been able to go out and develop my own style and develop as a coach and person, but to be able to come back and be a part of the OU tradition is something I can’t describe. Who I am as a coach and as a person has really been impacted by those two and how they approach the game – their aggressiveness, their tenacity and their standards.

“Coach Venables to me has always been about, ‘OK, this is the standard; this is how we’re going to operate and this is how we’re going to live.’ It’s impacted me not only as a coach but in my personal life as well. When he called and asked me to join him at OU, it really wasn’t a question for me. It was, ‘I’m in.’ This place is special to me. I’m going to do everything I can each day to live up to those expectations and standards, because if there’s anybody who understands them, it’s me. I’m looking forward to growing and being a part of it all. There are great, great things ahead for this program,” Hall said in his statement.

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