Oklahoma Sooners Football Recruiting: Catching up with EJ Ndoma-Ogar at The Opening Finals

Four-star guard EJ Ndoma-Ogar has been committed to the Oklahoma Sooners since April 25th and is one of the most intriguing members of OU’s 2019 class. The Allen, Texas prospect holds elite offers from the likes of Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Miami, Texas and USC and is ranked as the No. 157 overall player (No. 8 OG) in the country.

He’s spent recent days showing off his skills at Nike’s The Opening Finals, and if he keeps impressing the way he has at The Star in Frisco, it’s reasonable to expect his stock to rise.

Check him out as he “baptized” this poor D-lineman:

During the event, Ndoma-Ogar caught up with SB Nation recruiting director Bud Elliot to discuss potential official visits and what drew him to Oklahoma. Elliot first asked him about the position Oklahoma coaches have focused on him playing once he arrives in Norman.

“Left guard is where I’m at,” Ndoma-Ogar said. “Guard at either side. If you want to put me at tackle or center, that’s cool too, but guard. I love mauling people.”

In late March, Ndoma-Ogar took an unofficial visit to the Oklahoma campus, but he has yet to make the trip as an official visitor. When does he plan on taking an official visit to Oklahoma, and does he plan on taking any other officials?

“Yeah, I’m going to take an official to Oklahoma when they’re playing UCLA. I’m still talking to my dad about it, but I’ll probably take some. I mean, I don’t know what schools yet, but I'll probably take some.”

It’s totally normal for recruits to take visits to other schools while they are verbally committed, but when Elliot asked Ndoma-Ogar if the reason why he’s taking other visits is to make sure Oklahoma was the right choice for him, Ndoma-Ogar was adamant with his answer.

“Oh, no no no. Oklahoma was the right pick for me. Oklahoma was the right pick for me.”

There are a number of reasons why recruits choose to commit to one school over others, and for Ndoma-Ogar, what separated Oklahoma from the rest was the relationships he’s developed over the recruiting process.

“Coach (Bill) Bedenbaugh, Coach (Ty) Darlington, all those great guys, they help me a lot,” Ndoma-Ogar said. “They tell me that I can do anything I want if I put my mind to it, and I stuck with that ever since. I went to their camp in seventh grade and eighth grade, and they helped me with my drills. They believed in me ever since, and that was kind of the thing that stuck out out of all the other schools.”

Later this month, Oklahoma will be hosting its annual ‘Champ U BBQ,’ a huge recruiting event for the Sooners. Elliot asked Ndoma-Ogar if he was planning on attending, and he confirmed that he will indeed be there.

This is the part of the interview that provided the most inside information of all. I’m talking exclusive, premium stuff, folks. When asked about his barbecue item of choice, whether it be ribs, chicken or brisket, Ndoma-Ogar gave a typical offensive lineman answer.

“I eat everything — except tomatoes.”

As it turns out, there are actually two things Ndoma-Ogar doesn’t eat. He elaborated, “No tomatoes. I haven’t eaten a peanut butter and jelly sandwich since I was in the second grade. Those are the only two things I don’t eat.”

Bud Elliot then had to explore this mind-blowing fact, because who doesn’t like PB&J?

“Okay, so funny story,” Ndoma-Ogar said. “I had some PB&J in second grade. I started throwing up running up the stairs.”

I suppose Oklahoma fans can give EJ a pass for not liking PB&J given his traumatic association with it, but all jokes aside, Elliot then wanted some verification from Ndoma-Ogar that he had taken an official visit to Ole Miss recently. Ndoma-Ogar confirmed that he did in fact take “an official to Ole Miss.” He also mentioned that it’s been the only official he has taken up to this point.

When asked what was behind his decision to go to Ole Miss, Ndoma-Ogar said it was “just to see what else is out there.” He also added that his friend, Grant, was out there as well.

Sometimes all it takes to change a kid’s mind is taking a visit to another school and talking with the coaches, but when asked if Ole Miss gained any ground on Oklahoma, or if Oklahoma was still firmly entrenched as his school of choice, Ndoma-Ogar reassured Sooner fans.

“Oklahoma is still locked down.”

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