Oklahoma Sooners Hot Links: TJ Pledger hype, Tony Jefferson’s new home, and more!

Happy holiday, Sooner Nation!

We here at Crimson & Cream Machine wish you a happy (and safe!) 4th of July tomorrow. Although you may be off of work, keep an eye peeled — we should have some Sooner content for you to read in between drinking beers, grilling meats, and blowing stuff up (not necessarily in that order, though.)

And please, no Jason Pierre-Paul-type incidents. I’m counting on all of our readers to return with hands full of fingers.

Without further ado, today’s edition of Hot Links:

OU Links:

• Former fan favorite fullback (say that three times fast!) JD Runnels is working with Oklahoma DE commit Ron Tatum (who did not end up making it up to Oregon for The Opening). Runnels sees Sundays in Tatum’s future:

• Try not to get hyped for 2018 running back commit TJ Pledger, who shook the defender into next Friday:

• Pledger gets some MAJOR love in this Rivals piece — several analysts offer Pledger’s name up as a potential Heisman contender. While it’s too early to put those weighty expectations on Pledger, it’s still a pretty good indication of the talent coming Oklahoma’s way.
• Lincoln Riley’s first month on the job was a home run from a recruiting standpoint.
• The Baltimore Ravens’ Eric Weddle has a lot of respect for his new teammate (and former Sooner) Tony Jefferson, saying that Tony makes it mentally easier to do his job. Weddle has gone All-Pro five times, so his words definitely carry weight.

National Links:

• Apparently Alabama has been using Russian satellite technology to track player movement and performance. I’m going to stay away from the obvious joke here, but you’re free to fill in the blanks.
• The Paul George to Oklahoma City trade made the Thunder into (dark horse) contenders again, but it crippled the Eastern Conference.
• The MLB has released the 2017 All-Star game rosters. I’m not thrilled with the lack of Cubs on the list, but going 41-41 over the first half of the season will make that happen.
• Although I’m not sure it ever really ended, Tom Ziller writes that it’s time to start up the Carmelo Anthony trade watch again.
• Can’t keep up with NBA free agency? All of the wildest rumors are handily compiled in one place for you.

‘Stick to sports!’

• Canadian supergroup Broken Social Scene is soon releasing their first album since 2010. If you’re impatient like me, though, you can stream it four days early!
• This kid has more talent in his big toe than I do in my entire body — literally: