Happy Friday, friends and fans! After finally taking the field and showing what he could do in 2017, Rodney Anderson is no longer under the radar. In fact, he’ll be squarely in the spotlight this season with what he did last year in combination with the watch lists he’s listed on currently.

Doak Walker Award watch list for the nation’s best running back? Check. Maxwell Award watch list for best college player? Check. Now the Walter Camp Award watch list for player of the year has been released, and you best believe Anderson’s name is on it.

Baker Mayfield won both the Maxwell and the Walter Camp Awards in 2017. Could Rodney Anderson make it back-to-back for either one, or both? Shoot, at this point Oklahoma might as well start up Rodney’s Heisman campaign. If he picks up where he left off, and keeps up that pace throughout the season, I’d expect to see No. 24 in New York this December.

Now onto this week’s Friday edition of Hot Links! Chip Viney is back with the Sooners, Bob Stoops almost retired before Lincoln Riley showed up, Patrick Reed confronts an annoying camera dude on the golf course and more!

OU Links

• In case you missed it, with Eric Striker now playing in the CFL, the Oklahoma Sooners have welcomed back Chip Viney as the new recruiting analyst. Viney was an Oklahoma defensive grad assistant and special teams specialist from 2013-16, and was most recently with the Nevada Wolfpack as cornerbacks coach. It’s another fantastic hire for the coaching staff. Boom!

• Even though Baker Mayfield is not the presumed starter in Cleveland at the moment, he still fully intends to work like he is the starter. This guy has done it at every level along the way, so he has a proven track record of finding his way to the top of the depth chart.

• Speaking of Mayfield, he and his fellow QB teammate Tyrod Taylor have a QB-only RV clubhouse. No one knows for sure what Mayfield, Taylor and the other Browns quarterbacks have set up in there, but whatever it is, I hope it’s featured on HBO’s ‘Hard Knocks’.

• Much has been made about Oklahoma’s partnering with Jordan Brand, and rightfully so. The contract deal is worth nearly $70 million, and has increased the amount of the Sooners’ yearly compensation from $1.4 million to $1.78 million. Give it up for Joe Castiglione, the best AD in the nation.
• Remember that awful Russel Athletic Bowl against Clemson to cap off the 2014 season? Yeah, I did my best to forget that one, too. Turns out Bob Stoops considered hanging up the visor after that season, but fortunately for the fate of the program he snapped out of that idea and brought in Lincoln Riley from East Carolina, and the rest is history.

Around the Sports World

• Patrick Reed, the winner of the 2018 Masters, and his caddie had enough of this nearby cameraman and his change-jingling shenanigans. In a sport that requires a healthy amount of concentration, you never want to be this guy. I cringed and laughed at the same time while watching this.

• Which Power 5 programs have over-performed and under-performed the most over the past 10 seasons? The results may surprise you. (see how dramatic that was?)
• The Tennessee Titans have extended left tackle Taylor Lewan to the richest deal for an offensive lineman in NFL history. Lewan’s new deal with the Titans is worth $80 million over five years, with $50 million guaranteed. Wow, that’s a lot of cheddar.
• The Washington Wizards posted a picture of John Wall on Twitter that was so unflattering they deleted the tweet. Of course, the internet taking turns to roast the hell out of the picture didn’t help things, but if you need a good laugh, please check this out.
• LeBron James talks about how he regrets naming his son LeBron James Jr. because he wishes that kind of pressure wasn’t on his son as he grows up. I get where he’s coming from, but I still think it’s kind of cool.

Stick to Sports!

• All Disney Theme Parks plan to stop providing plastic straws and stirrers in an effort to better the environment and decrease ocean pollution. The Walt Disney Company now joins Starbucks and Marriot Hotels in this endeavor.

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