Oklahoma Sooners Hot Links: Skip Johnson fills staff, Mark Andrews receives praise, and more!

Good afternoon, Sooner fans!

We’ve talked quite about about Mark Andrews this week, but we’re certainly not alone. NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein has listed Andrews as his top tight end to watch during the 2017 season. Here’s what he had to say about one of the OU offense’s deadliest weapons:

“Andrews is very crafty at adjusting his routes and has learned how to catch defenders on his hip and keep them there during the catch. Andrews is a former receiver with the ability to challenge all three levels, and he has enough size to be a mismatch for defensive backs. He plays with desired acceleration out of his breaks to create separation. He has the athletic ability and footwork for slick runs after the catch. Look for Andrews to become Baker Mayfield's safety blanket and add more touchdowns to his already impressive 14 TDs in 50 career catches. What would really make scouts happy is to see Andrews chew a little more glass as a run blocker.”

I wouldn’t count on the last thing he mentioned, but all of the praise Zierlein gives to Andrews is justified. If he improves on his numbers from his first two seasons, expect Andrews to become a very rich man.

Here are the rest of the links!

OU Links

• New Oklahoma baseball coach Skip Johnson has officially filled out his staff, adding Rice assistant Clay Van Hook and Chicago White Sox scout Clay Overcash. Like Johnson, both guys are very well-respected in the field.
• More preseason watch lists have been released, and some Sooners are included. Ogbonnia Okoronkwo and Jordan Thomas are both on the watch list for the Naguski Trophy (best defensive player in college football), and Orlando brown is on the watch list for the Outland Trophy (best interior lineman).
• At SEC Media Days, Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Stoops mentioned that he is happy his brother was able to leave OU on his own terms.
• As you likely are aware by now, the Sooners were voted by the media as the favorite to with the Big 12 in 2017. Despite the losses of Samaje Perine, Joe Mixon and Dede Westbrook, Oklahoma’s offensive line seems primed to pave the way to a third straight conference championship.

National Links

• Mayor Mick needs to give Peyton Manning a key to the city ASAP.

• Ole Miss Rebels head coach Hugh Freeze decided to filibuster today.
• SEC and national college football pundits often compare the Florida State Seminoles and Clemson Tigers to SEC teams. To tell you the truth, they’re probably better than that.
• Speaking of the SEC, there’s an Auburn Tigers fan who paints his dog into a tiger ever eight weeks or so.
• Our boss, Matt Brown, wrote a book about the strangest facts and biggest questions in college football history, and it’s available on Amazon.

“STICK TO SPORTS!”

• Netflix is taking over the world, and that definitely includes the Emmy Awards.
• Turns out scientists have created a musical instrument that is played simply using one’s mind. This is huge, especially for those who are disabled.
• So apparently you can snort chocolate now? Seems like a bad idea.