Happy Presidents’ Day (more on the holiday and the construction of it’s name at the bottom), friends and fans!

As the 2019 NFL Draft draws ever closer, all eyes will be squarely affixed on Kyler Murray, who could become the first athlete ever to be drafted in the top 10 in two different professional sports. The combination of his unique athleticism and special talent as a passer in the pocket has scouts and coaches’ undivided attention. A major shift could be coming to the league very soon, and K1 will likely be at the precipice of it.

NBC Sports’ Peter King caught up with Lincoln Riley, the man who runs the show for the Oklahoma Sooners and has been around the Heisman Trophy-winning Murray for the past three years. What’s discussed is the percentage of throws that occurred inside of the pocket, and the number probably surprises some casual observers. For the young coach, he saw what so many others are just now starting to see a long time ago, and he’s not saying ‘I told you so’, but he certainly could.

Riley also says he’d be “shocked” if Murray isn’t selected within the first five picks of the draft. There are several teams that are either already in place to take him early, such as the Arizona Cardinals, the Oakland Raiders or the New York Giants, and there are others who simply have the draft pick currency to make a potential move in the first round. For example, King laid out a scenario in which the Super Bowl-winning New England Patriots could make a play for Murray’s services.

The media circus that will ensue at the NFL Combine and Oklahoma’s Pro Day will be unlike anything else in recent memory, and that’s because of how captivating Kyler Murray is as a prospect. He’s changing the game, and he’s not slowing down any time soon.

Now onto this Presidents’ Day edition of Hot Links! The Sooners swept Cal Poly, Trae, Buddy and Blake did their thing in Charlotte, Denny Hamlin won the Daytona 500 following a massive wreck and more!

OU Links

• According to Adam Schefter, Marquise Brown will be unable to participate in the NFL Combine and OU’s Pro Day following January foot surgery. Watching him run the 40 in Indianapolis and Norman would’ve been fun for all involved, but it’s not meant to be.

• Oklahoma basketball finally ended its losing streak with a crucial road victory over TCU. Now the Sooners return home for a Saturday rematch against Texas. Tip-off is at 11 a.m. CT and tickets are still available.

• Sooner baseball opened the 2019 season on the right foot with a three-game series sweep over Cal Poly. Next up is a Tuesday trip to Dallas Baptist. UPDATE: The game will now be played on Wednesday in Norman.

• Lincoln Riley is indeed the QB whisperer, but the talent he’s had to work with has certainly made his job a tiny bit easier. Pro Football Focus rates the last three years of quarterback play at Oklahoma as the nation’s best since 2014.

• Last week, it was reported that freshman DT Derek Green would be leaving Oklahoma with plans to serve in the military. However, he now says he intends to simply transfer to another college to play football.

• I’m on record in saying that I believe Baker Mayfield should have won NFL Rookie of the Year honors over Saquon Barkley. One guy has dramatically redirected a franchise and uplifted an entire city, while the other has highlights blown way out of proportion on a weekly basis. Am I mad? I don’t know, maybe.

• It was a big weekend in Charlotte for three former Sooners during the 2019 NBA All-Star events. Trae Young participated in the Rising Stars game as well as the Skills Challenge, Buddy Hield let it fly in the three-point contest, and Blake Griffin did what he does in the All-Star game. Kartik has you covered in case you missed any of the action.

Around the Sports World

• In the final moments of the NBA All-Star game, sharp-shooter Steph Curry made a reverse dunk that surprised just about everybody in the building.

• The Oklahoma City Thunder’s Hamidou Diallo won the 2019 Slam Dunk Contest, and his incredible elbow dunk over Shaq was the highlight of the event. Now it’s on a t-shirt that you can purchase from BreakingT. Good stuff.

• Denny Hamlin won the Daytona 500 after a massive crash with nine laps to go took out 18 drivers. Fortunately, nobody was injured.

• Are you interested in the Alliance of American Football, but you don’t exactly know which team you should be rooting for? These maps should help you more easily find your rooting interest.
• The HBC is still throwing shade at Tennessee, I see.

Stick to Sports!

• Have you ever wondered how to properly construct today’s holiday name? Does the apostrophe come before or after the final ‘s’? Should there even be an apostrophe at all? The answer is not so simple, only leading to more confusion, but when it comes down to it, it’s really all about what this day represents for you. As you might’ve noticed at the beginning of this post, I decided to go with Presidents’.

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