Tag: Parker Thune

‘Why not choose Oklahoma?’: Versatile three-star athlete Andy Bass commits to the Sooners

“Why not choose Oklahoma? The fanbase, family, facilities, coaches, team, talent… the list never ends.”

Heritage Hall three-star athlete Andy Bass commits to the Oklahoma Sooners.

The Oklahoma Sooners went fishing this offseason and hooked an excellent find. After announcing his top three, three-star athlete Andy Bass committed to Oklahoma on Thursday morning during a ceremony, which saw Oklahoma beating Kansas State and Syracuse.

Bass is a local kid who attends Heritage Hall, a school less than an hour from Norman, Oklahoma. “Why not choose Oklahoma? The fanbase, family, facilities, coaches, team, talent… the list never ends,” Bass told Sooners Wire on his commitment.

Bass is the starting quarterback for his high school team. However, Sooners’ offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby and running backs coach DeMarco Murray plan to use him in multiple ways at Oklahoma.

“I would be in the running back room with Coach Murray,” Bass said. “But I would also be split out wide quite a bit to get me in space or in one-on-one situations. Coach Lebby even mentioned that I would be playing some QB inside the goaline. The diversity of my role on the team is something I am super excited about.”

It seems that plan for Bass worked.

Bass helps diversify the Sooners’ cabinet for offensive weapons for the future. Imagining the possibilities of being on the same field at the same time as Jackson Arnold could unlock some fascinating offensive packages as the Sooners forge on into the SEC next year.

Bass joins a versatile group of playmakers for the 2024 recruiting cycle for Jeff Lebby to utilize.

“I love how much the ball is shared between every position in so many unique ways,” Bass said of his future offensive coordinator’s offense. “It’s such an explosive offense. So, I believe my unique skill set will allow me to thrive in every aspect“

As for the head coach, Andy Bass shared his excitement playing for Brent Venables.

“The very first day I was at OU for a visit, I was in Coach V’s office for over an hour discussing his vision and plan for the future. If that doesn’t already say enough, I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone so passionate about what they do. I couldn’t be more excited to play for him. We keep in touch on the regular which you definitely don’t see from every coach.”

Oklahoma has probably tapped out at the running back position, with Bass, Taylor Tatum, and Xavier Robinson in the fold for 2024.

With running back settled for the cycle, DeMarco Murray can now turn his attention to the class of 2025, where names like Deondrae Riden, Michael Turner, Tory Blaylock, and Riley Wormley are names to watch.

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Sooners predicted to land 3-star linebacker Easton Baker

Three-star linebacker Easton Baker predicted to land with the Oklahoma Sooners.

Oklahoma may have homed in on one of their linebacker targets for the class of 2024. OUInsider’s Parker Thune issued a Rivals futurecast predicting the Oklahoma Sooners to land three-star linebacker Easton Baker

Baker hails from Tooele, Utah, and while listed as an athlete, will most certainly play linebacker in college.

In 12 games during his junior season, he was credited with 83 total tackles, including eight for a loss, along with five sacks. He is a two-time all-state selection and two-time All-Region Defensive MVP. He has the credentials and the production you look for and continues to get better each season.

Baker plans to announce his commitment on July 1. June will be a busy month for Baker. He has three official visits lined up to three schools that appear to represent his top three.

Washington State will host Baker on June 9, and Oklahoma will have him in for an official visit on June 16th. Illinois will host him to round out the month on June 23rd.

Oklahoma offered Baker earlier this week and have seemed to make a notable dent into his college recruitment story.

Easton Baker’s Recruiting Profile

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Texas Transfer Brenen Thompson predicted to land with the Oklahoma Sooners

Oklahoma earns a crystal ball in favor of landing Texas wide receiver transfer Brenen Thompson.

The Oklahoma Sooners wide receiver situation has some question marks beyond Jalil Farooq and Drake Stoops who are expected to play significant roles for the Sooners in 2023. However, that’s not stopping Oklahoma from looking into adding more talent to the depth chart in the transfer portal.

Texas wide receiver Brenen Thompson entered the transfer portal on April 15th. Four days later, Parker Thune of OU Insider entered a crystal ball for Thompson to land with the Sooners.

As a true freshman in 2022, Thompson played in nine games for the Longhorns, registering just one catch for 32 yards. He was a four-star prospect coming out of high school ranking No. 131 overall and was the No. 20 wide receiver in the 247Sports Composite.

Thompson didn’t break out in his first collegiate season, but he has the world-class speed that Jeff Lebby’s offense covets. A team can never have too much speed on the roster and Thompson looks to be a player that could create a big play in an instant.

If the Sooners were to land Thompson, he’d instantly become the fastest person on the team. In addition to his four-star status coming out of high school, Thompson was also an Under Armour All-American. At one point, he was being recruited by Lincoln Riley and his offensive staff while the former head coach was still in Norman.

Thompson also brings added value to the Sooners’ special teams.  He can slot in as Oklahoma’s number-one kick returner and potentially even return punts.

The Sooners have room on the roster where a player with Thompson’s unique gifts would be utilized. Oklahoma would be an excellent landing spot should Thompson leap from the portal to Norman.

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Texas transfer WR Brenen Thompson receives crystal ball prediction to Oklahoma

Brenen Thompson appears to be inching toward a decision.

The Oklahoma Sooners could be on their way to improving their receiver room. They could do so with former Texas wide receiver Brenen Thompson. Continue reading “Texas transfer WR Brenen Thompson receives crystal ball prediction to Oklahoma”

247Sports insider projects three star WR Isaiah McMorris lands with Oklahoma

Oklahoma just earned its first crystal ball prediction in favor of them landing explosive three-star WR Isaiah McMorris out of Nebraska.

Oklahoma seems razor-focused on stocking up at receiver in the [autotag]2024 recruiting class[/autotag]. It’s looking possible they’ll take three receivers this cycle as opposed to the two wide receivers they took in 2022 and 2023.

One of their targets, Isaiah McMorris, just received a crystal ball prediction to land with the Sooners. 247Sports and OUInsider’s Parker Thune submitted a crystal ball favoring the Sooners on Friday.

McMorris, a three-star wide receiver from Bellevue, Nebraska, had 90 receptions for 1,297 yards and 15 touchdowns as a junior. He was an all-state selection and was named Nebraska’s Receiver of the Year in 2022. McMorris is a multi-sport athlete who plays basketball and competes in track and field.

On the football field, he’s a dominant presence winning from the slot and on the outside. McMorris showcased the ability to win vertically or take screens to the house while exhibiting some elite lateral agility to break defenders down.

He hails from the same high school as current Sooners’ tight end Kaden Helms. McMorris’ offer sheet includes Texas Tech, USC, Nebraska, and Penn State.

The three wide receivers in the 2024 class with projections favoring the Oklahoma Sooners are five-star [autotag]Bryant Wesco[/autotag], four-star [autotag]Zion Kearney[/autotag], and now three-star [autotag]Isaiah McMorris[/autotag].

McMorris just visited campus this week and left very satisfied with his time spent with wide receivers coach [autotag]Emmett Jones[/autotag] and head coach [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag].

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Sooners building positive momentum with 2025 WR Gracen Harris

Oklahoma Sooners earn a Rivals FutureCast for 2025 WR Gracen Harris after time spent in Norman for “Future Freaks” weekend.

Oklahoma hosted a slew of prospects from the 2025 class this weekend. That class was the biggest in attendance. Oklahoma is set on building its 2024 class, and those commitments should start rolling in sooner rather than later after Jeremiah Newcombe broke the ice.

Wide receivers coach Emmett Jones has put in an incredible amount of work in a limited amount of time since being hired earlier this year.

He has a budding bond with 2025 receiver [autotag]Gracen Harris[/autotag]. Harris is a 5-foot-10 playmaker out of Ennis, Texas, and Josh McCuiston of SoonerScoop.com and Rivals locked in a FutureCast for the receiver to commit to the Oklahoma Sooners.

The projection is now the second one in Oklahoma’s favor for Harris after Parker Thune of OUInsider locked in a crystal ball favoring the Sooners in January.

As a sophomore, Harris earned a first-team selection in Texas District 5-5A at inside WR. His natural college position also profiles in the slot as well. Oklahoma has no receivers committed for the class of 2025, but Harris looks to potentially be the first to hop on the boat if the Sooners continue to apply the pressure in pursuit of him.

Baylor, Mississippi State, and Florida State are other notable schools pushing for Harris.

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Oklahoma Sooners receive a crystal ball for 2024 OT Kaedin Massey

After their big recruiting weekend, Oklahoma received a crystal ball for 2024 three-star offensive lineman Kaedin Massey.

Oklahoma’s “Future Freaks” day has the Sooners buzzing with over 60 prospects across the 2024, 2025, 2026, and 2027 classes.

It was a wildly successful recruiting event based on the pulse of social media. Oklahoma earned a commitment from four-star CB Jeremiah Newcombe Saturday evening. Three other prospects received crystal balls favoring the Oklahoma Sooners, including one for five-star tight end Davon Mitchell.

One of those prospects was three-star offensive lineman Kaedin Massey, a 2024 tackle prospect from Kansas. Massey is a massive young man standing at 6-foot-7 and 270 pounds. His athleticism stands out on tape, and he fits the mold of a traditional Bill Bedebaugh offensive line recruit.

Massey intends to be committed by summertime, so it makes sense that his recruitment seems to be nearing its end. Recruiting insiders are starting to get a feel for where he might land. In this case, OUInsider’s Parker Thune issued the crystal ball predicting Massey to the Oklahoma Sooners.

Other schools with regional ties, like Kansas State, Kansas, and Nebraska are recruiting Massey. Duke is also in on the Sooners’ target as well.

The three-star prospect competes in track and field and on the basketball court.

As it stands, Oklahoma’s time spent with Massey over the weekend may have moved them to the front of the line. With a summer commitment imminent, look for the Sooners to apply a full-court press to set themselves apart and land Massey’s commitment.

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Four-star DB Aaron Flowers announces commitment date

Oklahoma Sooners defensive back target Aaron Flowers announced his commitment date.

April could be the start of a pretty impactful month for Oklahoma football. Adding to their already full plate for the month that includes their spring game on April 22 coupled with the unveiling of Kyler Murray’s Heisman statue and decision day for QB target Michael Hawkins coming on April 8.  The Sooners have another target making a decision in the coming weeks

Four-star DB [autotag]Aaron Flowers[/autotag] plans to make his decision on April 7.

Oklahoma has been a significant player in this recruitment for a year and remains in an excellent place as we come down the stretch. Alabama has been steady and has itself very much in this race. USC has become a name to watch in this recruitment and could be a dark horse third contender.

 

Flowers was projected to Oklahoma in December by OUInsider’s Parker Thune. Rivals issued a FutureCast favoring Oklahoma as well.

The following two weeks may need a fullcourt press from the Sooners’ coaching staff to make sure they still see the finish line with Flowers.

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Sooners earn recruiting projection in favor of landing 2025 WR Gracen Harris

Oklahoma is picking up momentum with 2025 wide receiver Gracen Harris, earning a crystal ball from OUInsider and 247Sports’ Parker Thune.

The Oklahoma Sooners hired Emmett Jones’ to be the final piece of Brent Venables’ coaching staff. L’Damian Washington filled in admirably after Cale Gundy’s departure, but Jones’ connections to Dallas-Fort Worth made him a fantastic addition as the Sooners’ wide receivers coach.

Venables knew he needed a coach with a little more experience and notable recruiting roots to build Oklahoma in the image he laid out in his introductory press conferences. He sought out Jones, who has multiple years of collegiate coaching experience and is a widely known figure in the DFW area. He had a fantastic run during his time coaching high school ball at South Oak Cliff.

His efforts have already started to impact receivers in Texas. Oklahoma has received a projection in favor of landing 2025 receiver Gracen Harris.

Harris hails from Ennis, Texas, and was a Texas District 5-5A-II first-team selection at inside WR as a sophomore. This comes on the heels of being named Texas District 8-5A-II Offensive Newcomer of the Year as a freshman. He totaled 87 catches for 1,374 yards and 10 receiving touchdowns this season. He’s explosive and dynamic, and while he worked primarily out of the slot, he lined up outside, showcasing his versatility.

Gracen Harris’ Recruiting Profile

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Oklahoma receives several predictions from 247Sports to land 5-star DL David Hicks

With several more 247Sports crystal ball predictions in favor of OU, the Sooners looks to be leading the race for 5-star DL David Hicks.

The coaching staff for the Oklahoma Sooners is fishing for the big one. The big one in this case? Five-star defensive line prospect David Hicks. Hicks has offers from every major program in the country. He’s being courted heavy hitters like Texas A&M, Alabama, and Oklahoma.

However, something has tipped the scales in a big way for the Sooners.

In the spring, it looked as if the Aggies were the frontrunners for Hicks in the wake of their top rated class in the 2022 cycle. The summer rolled around and Oklahoma gained ground on the recruiting trail while making up ground in the race for Hicks. We are now days away from kickoff for the 2022 season and Oklahoma looks like the favorite to land the elite 2023 prospect.

That type of declaration can only be made when multiple insiders across multiple recruiting sites put in predictions for Oklahoma. As it stands, Oklahoma currently leads in predictions on Rivals, On3, and after today’s predictions: 247Sports.

OUInsider recruiting analysts Brandon Drumm and Parker ThuneBrandon Drumm and Parker Thune each issued a crystal ball projection in favor of Oklahoma.

As if two crystal balls from those two weren’t enough, 247Sports college football Director of College Football Recruiting Steve Wiltfong also dropped a prediction in Oklahoma’s favor.

The pendulum has officially swung in favor of the crimson and cream.

Oklahoma’s momentum on the recruiting trail, the rave reviews from so many families about the culture they are creating, and the caliber of defense Brent Venables is capable of orchestrating are winning families and recruits over.

Todd Bates is a master recruiter of defensive line talent and even more so he’s a developmental guru sending multiple players to the NFL.

Hicks wouldn’t be wrong for wanting to be one of the faces of this 2023 recruiting class and being at the forefront of an OU defensive resurgence. At his current trajectory and based on what folks in the recruiting industry have said about him, he’s on a crash course for the NFL.

Oklahoma will have to keep their foot on the gas to stave off Alabama and Texas A&M but an official visit to Norman for Bedlam is already secured. Hicks also has an official visit scheduled with Alabama this fall. This race is far from over but Oklahoma is officially a threat and maybe, just maybe, the leader to land David Hicks.

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