Happy Hump Day, friends and fans!

On Tuesday, The Athletic’s Jason Kersey reported that Oklahoma Sooners redshirt freshman CB Jaqualyn Crawford has entered the NCAA Transfer Portal.

Crawford was a four-star athlete out of Rockdale, Texas who signed with OU in the 2018 class. He originally began his Sooner career on the offensive side of the ball at receiver, but was later moved to defense as a DB. His lone game participation came against Kansas in ‘18, but ultimately he was not able to snag a regular spot in the rotation at either position.

It’s not a loss that will be felt on the depth chart, but it does open up another scholarship opportunity for someone else in the near future. If that someone else is on defense, particularly in the secondary, then that’s gravy. As for Crawford, it’s unclear where he’ll land next, but Oklahoma fans should wish him all the best.

Now onto today’s Hot Links! A new verbal commitment is on the way, Oklahoma is revving up the Rough Rider uniforms, Evansville stuns UK in Rupp Arena and more!

OU Links

• There was some drama in this week’s Butkus Brain Teaser, but Lincoln Riley is the G.O.A.T. when it comes to play calling for a reason. Still, even the great ones aren’t perfect. Did Teddy Lehman finally stump Oklahoma’s head coach? Watch and find out.

• Speaking of Riley, he dropped those eyes again on Wednesday morning. Another recruit has silently made his commitment to Oklahoma. I wonder who it could be.

• The Sooners are going with their Rough Rider road alternates for this weekend’s matchup against the undefeated No. 13 Baylor Bears. History has been mostly kind to Oklahoma when they’ve changed up the uniforms, so here’s to hoping an OU statement can be made on Saturday night.

• In case you missed it, here are the full game highlights from Oklahoma’s win over Oregon State late last night in the Phil Knight Invitational. You can also check out my recap of the contest right here.

• Speaking of basketball, Lon Kruger’s staff signed Tulsa (Okla.) Booker T. Washington guard Trey Phipps to its 2020 class Wednesday morning. With the Sooners only having one scholarship senior in Kristian Doolittle, this cycle’s class won’t be a large one.

• Kyler Murray and LeBron James shook hands during the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers game on Tuesday. That’s pretty cool, I suppose.

• Trae Young is in some serious company after another prolific performance on Tuesday night. Could he really be the next generational great? I know I can hardly wait to find out. Boomer!

Around the Sports World

• The Evansville Purple Aces shocked the nation with their road upset over the AP’s No. 1 team in the land — the Kentucky Wildcats. It’s not even March yet, but if this result is any indication of how this college basketball season is about to unfold, I’m so here for it.

• Former Houston Astros pitcher Mike Fiers has accused the team he won the 2017 World Series with of using advanced electronics to steal signs from opponents during games. Is this baseball’s version of a scorned ex, or is there more to the story? Stay tuned.
• The San Francisco Giants have officially hired Gabe Kapler as its new club manager. Up to this point in his career, his resume is rather underwhelming, but off-the-diamond he brings with him a controversial history that isn’t sitting well with a lot of fans.
• New York Giants RB Saquon Barkley refuses to be shut down for the season despite dealing with a number of physical ailments and coming off by far the worst performance of his young career. He’s got that warrior mentality, sure, but NY is a lowly 2-8 this season and is not trending upwards.
• Paul George plans on making his Los Angeles Clippers debut during the team’s current road trip. PG has missed the first few week’s of the NBA season while rehabbing his shoulder. Once he’s in the lineup and knocks off the rust, the Clips are going to be extra scary.

Stick to Sports!

• JetPack Aviation has raised the $2 million it sought to begin building the prototype of its flying motorcycle. Nicknamed ‘The Speeder’, the goal for this machine is to be able to transport riders at speeds of over 400 mph. A timeline for a completed working model is not set, but less than five years from now is the current approximation. Sounds like one gnarly Harley to me.

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