How’s it going, friends and fans? It’s finally Friday, but it’s also Groundhog Day! Do we have six more weeks of winter? If you don’t already know, maybe you’ll find out if you stick around for the Hot Links!

But before you get to all of that, you absolutely have to watch this. Baker Mayfield will forever be known as one of the greatest to ever come through Norman. He gave us memories we’ll be able to share with younger generations. We witnessed history in the making during the Mayfield Era. I’m sure there will be plenty of tribute videos made in honor of Mayfield, but this one is one of the best I’ve seen so far. Boomer Sooner, Baker.

Now onto today’s edition of Hot Links, where we look at the fact that Trae Young actually considered donning the burnt orange once upon a time, Ogbo’s rising draft stock and more!

OU Links

• Rashard Odomes has always been a solid role player, and he’s never been asked to do a lot of scoring. Up to this point, what he’s brought to the table has been defense and toughness. Now it looks like his offensive game may take off. He’s great at getting to the rim, and it’s encouraging to see that Lon Kruger is utilizing his abilities in that area.

• As defenses have started to clamp down on Trae Young, focusing on his every move, Young’s offensive game has evolved. While at times this season he hasn’t been the most efficient with his scoring and decision making, he is learning quickly how to adjust. There’s no telling how high his ceiling is, but his opponents are helping him reach his potential faster than scheduled.
• Trae Young is a friendly guy, and that friendliness even extends to Oklahoma’s rival: the Texas Longhorns. In fact, there was a time when Trae Young thought about becoming a Longhorn himself. Now Young will have a chance to play against his Longhorn friend Mohamed Bamba on Saturday.
• Not only does Oklahoma have the most wins out of every program in the country since 1946 (the modern era), it leads by a very wide margin. That’s just how we do it.

• Baker Mayfield likes the idea of potentially playing in New Orleans and learning from Saints legend Drew Brees. I like that idea, too. He can teach him a few tricks of the trade as far as undersized quarterbacking is concerned and the offense would be a nice fit as well. Unfortunately, that likely won’t happen unless the Saints trade up.
• With the Super Bowl just days away, now is a great time to revisit former Sooner Lane Johnson’s unconventional path to becoming one of the top offensive tackles in the NFL. Lane was a QB at the JUCO level and played TE and DE during his early days in Norman. That level of athleticism set him apart from a lot of guys once the combine rolled around, and the rest is history.
• Pro Football Focus took notice of Ogbonnia Okoronkwo’s performance at the Senior Bowl. I’m sure his draft stock will start to trend upwards as he continues to show NFL scouts what he can do.

• Speaking of Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, he’s one of four Sooners projected to go in the first round in CBS’s latest mock draft.
• Blake Griffin showed out in his debut with the Detroit Pistons. If he is indeed a great fit there, he could bring the Pistons back to prominence (relatively speaking) with the right cast.
• Check out where Oklahoma football ranks among the nation in the last five years. Also, is it any surprise that Alabama is No. 1?
• 2019 Oklahoma commit Trejan Bridges was recently visited by Nick Saban. I don’t think there’s too much reason to worry here, but an in-person visit from someone of his stature is nothing to sneeze at. It doesn’t appear that he has an Alabama offer at this time, but his stock as a prospect is beginning to rise quite a bit. In fact, he recently moved up to the top 200 or 247’s recent 2019 rankings and currently sits at 141 in the 247Composite rankings. UPDATE: He announced an offer at the exact minute that this was published.

• Theo Wease Jr., one of the top wide receiver recruits in the 2019 class, actually committed to the Oklahoma Sooners at this event last year before eventually taking a step back to further evaluate his options. OU is still right in the thick of things and recently made his top 7.

Around the Sports World

• The NCAA rule proposal that originated in Big 12 country would allow student athletes to transfer if the head coach leaves for whatever reason. While this is intended to empower the players, Berry Tramel argues that it also potentially gives another angle for the coach to gain power as well.
• This is insane, but I suppose it was to be expected. By the way, that $40.9 million dollars allocated to each SEC school is a record, but the Big Ten Conference could pass that mark.

• LaVar Ball is reverting to sliding into top high school player’s DMs to offer them a spot in his latest project, the JBA (Junior Basketball Association). By the looks of it, the recruits aren’t interested. Shocker!
• Oops. C’mon, guy. You had one job!

• NFL Mean Tweets have returned! These are always enjoyable. I like seeing people with their level of a platform be able to laugh at themselves. There was a great lineup for this one, too.

• This was almost painful to watch. I mean yikes, blanks for everybody? Really? I know not everybody follows sports, but who doesn’t know what a fair catch is? Also, Alex Trebek is pure gold.

Stick to Sports!

• So it’s Groundhog Day, which means the whole country stops to ask a small animal how many more weeks of winter we can expect. You can find the answer below. Also: what’s up with the ‘Dilly Dilly’ chant at the end? Maybe I’m missing something, or did this just turn into a Bud Light commercial? I have so many more questions for that groundhog now.

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