Tag: Parker Thune

Multiple predictions favor Oklahoma to land four-star NC running back Daylan Smothers

With a number of recruiting predictions coming in, it looks like the Oklahoma Sooners are closing in on a commitment from 2023 4-star RB Daylan Smothers.

If you blinked, you might’ve missed it. In a whirlwind of events that started the day before, the Oklahoma Sooners look to be closing in on their second running back commit for the class of 2023. While four-star Kalib Hicks is already committed, the Sooners and specifically running backs coach DeMarco Murray aren’t done yet. Four-star running back Daylan Smothers recently dropped a top four featuring Oklahoma, Florida State, NC State, and Alabama.

A little over 24 hours later a slew of crystal ball predictions came in across a span of an hour that swung the momentum heavily in favor of the Oklahoma Sooners.

Smothers’ received four crystal balls and a Rivals forecast from three Oklahoma insiders and two FSU insiders. Parker Thune and Brandon Drumm of OUInsider and Zach Blostein and Brendan Sonnone of Noles247 each issued crystal ball predictions with a confidence level of six or better. Josh McCuistion of SoonersScoop put in a Rivals Futurecast in favor of Oklahoma as well.

24 hours from the time his top 4 was released Smothers looks like he could be on commitment watch at any time now with the overwhelming momentum favoring the guys in Crimson & Cream.

Smothers is an explosive all-purpose back out of West Charlotte High School and dominates with his physical running but has another gear to separate in and out of traffic as well. Smothers originally played for Chambers High School which most recently produced Jeremiah Hall. After seeing him at a Rivals camp in North Carolina in early March, the Sooners offered Smothers and the race was on.

It looks like that race may be coming to an end shortly and a commitment to Oklahoma would all but solidify the Sooners’ running back recruitment efforts for the 2023 class.

Daylon Smothers’ Recruiting Profile

Crystal Ball

Film

\
HUDL

After the Sooners’ spring game OU predicted to land speedy 2024 4-star WR Mario Craver

Fresh off their massive spring game success, the Oklahoma Sooners received a prediction for a speedy 2024 4-star WR out of Alabama.

It’s been said multiple times already but it bears repeating once more: Oklahoma’s spring game was a raging success. The on-field product gave a glimpse at what we to expect from the 2022 version of the Oklahoma Sooners.

In the midst of that, the Sooners hosted a plethora of recruits from all pockets of the country. Recruits across the next three recruiting cycles were in attendance as Sooners of the past littered the sidelines, adding to an already amazing atmosphere.

One of the visitors from this week may have liked Oklahoma quite a bit, so much so that the Sooners landed a Crystal Ball prediction from OUInsider’s Parker Thune.

2024 wide receiver Mario Craver out of Alabama.

While he isn’t the biggest receiver, Craver’s calling card is undoubtedly his speed. Thune’s prediction comes with a 7/10 confidence level, which is a pretty for a recruit that has only had his offer for less than two months.

This was Craver’s second visit to Oklahoma as he came in March for one of Oklahoma’s Junior day weekends. Craver is also the high school teammate of another player the Sooners have hosted for an unofficial visit, four-star 2024 DB Jaylen Mbakwe.

Mario Cravers’ Recruiting Profile

Film

Oklahoma Sooners receive 5 new Crystal Ball predictions from OUInsider Parker Thune

The Oklahoma Sooners are coming off a massive recruiting weekend and that work is already paying dividends.

While the most recent recruiting weekend looks like it was a resounding success, prospects from previous recruiting weekends with the Oklahoma Sooners have taken time to digest their time in Norman. For some, the time spent analyzing where the Sooners fall in their recruitment has led some of college football’s biggest recruiting insiders to believe there’s significant momentum for Oklahoma in regards to some of these prospects.

The momentum is so real that recruiting analyst Parker Thune of OUInsider at 247Sports was confident enough to issue Crystal Ball predictions for several Oklahoma Sooners’ targets. We’ve taken the liberty of chronicling those below for your viewing pleasure:

247Sports’ Parker Thune submits Oklahoma crystal-ball projection for 2022 ATH Gavin Freeman

OUInsider’s Parker Thune of the 247Sports network submitted a crystal-ball prediction for Heritage Hall athlete Gavin Freeman to Oklahoma.

Oklahoma is looking to add some final pieces to its 2022 signing class on national signing day next week on Feb. 2.

The Sooners might be staying close to home for one of them. Parker Thune of OUInsider submitted a 247Sports crystal-ball prediction for three-star athlete Gavin Freeman to land at Oklahoma.

The Heritage Hall High School product from Oklahoma City is currently committed to Texas Tech. The Red Raiders offered Freeman on Oct. 8 and he committed to Tech the next day.

According to 247Sports, Freeman is the the nation’s No. 156 athlete and the 28th-best player in Oklahoma. He’s listed as a 5-foot-9, 170 pound recruit by 247Sports.

ESPN ranks Freeman as the nation’s No. 185 wide receiver and the 24th-best player from Oklahoma in the 2022 class. On3 has Freeman ranked as a cornerback. According to On3, Freeman is the country’s No. 124 cornerback and the 24th-best player from Oklahoma.

247Sports hasn’t listed where Freeman received an offer from Oklahoma, but Freeman retweeted Oklahoma wide receivers coach Cale Gundy’s “#OUDNA” tweet on Friday.

This seems to indicate that perhaps Freeman finally received an offer from OU. If this is the case, that might be exactly what Freeman has been waiting on to flip from Texas Tech to Oklahoma.

It’s also potentially a great case of something the Sooners Wire staff touched on earlier this week in regards to in-state recruiting.

Freeman fits the mold for players that Stoops used to like to take chances on while he served as the head coach at Oklahoma. Now, OU could be taking a similar chance here on another in-state talent in Freeman.

Gavin Freeman’s Recruiting Profile

Rating

Stars Overall State Position
ESPN 3 N/A 24 185
Rivals 2 N/A N/A N/A
247Sports 3 N/A 28 156
247 Composite 3 1680 30 135
On3 Recruiting 3 N/A 24 124
On3 Composite 3 1617 27 140

Vitals

Hometown Oklahoma City
Projected Position WR
Height 5-9
Weight 170

Offers

  • Air Force
  • Texas Tech
  • Tulsa

Film

Here’s a look at Freeman’s Hudl tape.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on 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.

[listicle id=50598]

Sooners land a Crystal Ball projection for Oregon commit Gracen Halton following official visit

After his official visit, the Sooners landed a crystal ball prediction for Gracen Halton, a four-star defensive lineman committed to Oregon.

With what was the first major recruiting weekend of the Brent Venables era at Oklahoma, the Sooners probably did as well you can imagine. The Sooners are weeks away from national signing day and looking to close out the 2022 recruiting cycle on fire. They hosted numerous recruits this weekend from the 2022 and 2023 recruiting cycles.

One of those recruits was Gracen Halton. Currently committed to Oregon, Halton seems to be shopping around to make sure he does his due diligence before signing on the dotted line. Defensive tackles coach Todd Bates and Venables apparently have prioritized the talented and versatile defensive linemen and got him into Norman for a visit.

The visit must have gone well with OUInsider at 247Sports Recruiting Analyst Parker Thune issuing a Crystal Ball prediction in favor of the Oklahoma Sooners.

Halton is a versatile four-star defensive lineman and could be a part of Todd Bates and Brent Venables’ makeover to the Sooners’ defensive tackles room.

While no official flip has occurred, this has become a recruitment of note that bears paying significant interest to over the next few weeks. With national signing day right around the corner, the Sooners are hoping to bolster the 2022 recruiting class and Halton would be a major addition.

It’s also important to note that a Halton commitment would not stop the Sooners from continuing to pursue Ahmad Moten, another defensive lineman who was in town for an official visit this weekend.

The bottom line is that the Sooners did an excellent job of giving themselves a real opportunity here. Considering they just got involved with Halton in the time since Venables and Bates left Clemson and became Sooners is all you can ask for. Halton leaves Norman with a lot ot think about and now the question is can Todd Bates and Brent Venables close the deal?

Gracen Halton’s Recruiting Profile

Rating

Stars Overall State Position
ESPN 4 264 18 24
Rivals 4 – 19 17
247Sports 4 244 21 32
247 Composite 4 263 23 32
On3 Recruiting 4 – 22 37
On3 Composite 4 251 19 30

Vitals

Hometown San Diego, CA
Projected Position DL
Height 270
Weight 6-2

Recruitment

  • Offered on Dec. 30, 2021
  • Visit on Jan. 22, 2022

Notable Offers

  • Oklahoma
  • Oregon (Committed – 1/27/2021)

Film

See more Gracen Halton highlights at HUDL 

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on 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.

[listicle id=50598]

Multiple starters warm up, possibly returning from injury as Sooners take on Texas Tech

Multiple starters set to return for the Oklahoma Sooners.

As the Sooners close in on the opening kickoff and get ready to take on the Texas Tech Red Raiders, it looks as if the Sooners will be getting quite a few reinforcements back this weekend.

Parker Thune of 247 Sports reports that cornerback D.J. Graham, safety Delarrin-Turner-Yell, and true freshmen wide receiver Mario Williams all look to be going through warmups. Add them to defensive linemen Jalen Redmond’s return and things are starting to take shape for Oklahoma as they near the stretch run.

D.J. Graham and Delarrin Turner-Yell returning could stabilize a depleted secondary especially Graham’s presence at cornerback where the Sooners have been without both of their starting corners since playing Nebraska in September.

Turner-Yell would allow someone like Justin Broiles to go back to playing nickelback full-time, providing a dependable player to rotate with true freshman Billy Bowman.

Mario Williams graded out thru the first eight weeks as the highest graded true freshmen receiver and although his numbers aren’t gaudy he’s truly a threat to make a big play at any time. He can return kicks as well.

The Sooners will be elated to get these guys back for their contributions on offense and defense as they take on a Texas Tech team that is playing with house money following the firing of head coach Matt Wells. One game separates Oklahoma from a 9-0 record and a bye week to rest up and mentally, physically, and emotionally prepare themselves for the toughest stretch of the season.

[listicle id=44722]