Happy Friday, friends and fans!

Jay Boulware has been part of the Oklahoma Sooners’ staff since 2013, coaching running backs, tight ends and special teams at various points during his time in Norman. On Friday morning, Orange Bloods’ Anwar Richardson reported that Boulware has emerged as the leading candidate for the Texas Longhorns’ special teams and tight ends coach. 247’s Chip Brown then reported that he’s expected to be named to the position.

There’s a natural tie for Boulware to UT. From 1991-1992, he lettered as an offensive lineman for the Longhorns before serving as a grad assistant on the staff from ‘94-96.

Running back play at OU under Boulware has been solid, although the consistency of Bill Bedenbaugh’s OL units and the level of talent he originally inherited at the position after he made the move from TE coach (Joe Mixon, Samaje Perine, Rodney Anderson) undoubtedly have had more to do with the successful rushing attacks over the past seven years. Also, special teams has largely been a non-factor for the Sooners when it comes to creating impact plays in the kick and punt return game despite a slight uptick when Shane Beamer was brought in ahead of the 2018 season.

If this development comes to a head and Boulware returns to his Texas roots, what Oklahoma loses in continuity could be made up for with the right hire. No matter who ends up coaching running backs this fall, whether it’s a current staff member or a fresh face, they’ll have one of the deepest and most experienced groups in the nation to work with.

One thing worth mentioning — A few weeks ago, Kamiar mentioned on the podcast that some staff shifting was expected in the near future. What I’ll say is that there’s reason to believe that this is connected to that. While the running back room is certainly not in a bad spot, recruiting at the position has been slipping a bit in recent years and hasn’t been quite up to par with potential. We’ve had a source confirm that Boulware had maybe another year but would absolutely be coaching for his job in 2020. If this move does indeed come to pass, it’s a case of him getting out at the correct time for his own sake.

Now on to this week’s Friday edition of Hot Links! Another Sooner checks into the transfer portal, Kyler still has goals for a career on the diamond, Baylor finds its next head coach and more!

OU Links

• The Athletic’s Jason Kersey reports that senior LB Mark Jackson has entered the NCAA Transfer Portal after redshirting in 2019. If you’re keeping count, that’s three Sooner linebackers that have now announced their intent to try out the portal waters in the last week. I wouldn’t press the panic button on this, as Jackson was a long way from making a contribution in the late stages of his career. Additionally, Grinch is making room for his own guys.

• Speaking of which, in case you missed it, one of the other transfer portal announcements came from Levi Draper on Thursday. Today, Draper made the official announcement.

• Lincoln Riley talked about the transfer portal and how it’s affecting college football today. While his teams have benefitted tremendously from the revolutionary movement, they’ve also experienced the down side of it. The Norman Transcript’s Tyler Palmateer has more.
• Kyler Murray says he’s still interested in joining the group of select few pro athletes to professionally play two sports at the highest level. The Oakland Athletics still hold the baseball rights for the former top 10 MLB Draft pick, but for now K1 remains focused on his football career with the Arizona Cardinals.
• ESPN’s Sam Khan Jr. looks at WR Jadon Haselwood as Oklahoma’s breakout star in 2020. With CeeDee Lamb on his way to tear up the NFL, the Sooners need a new go-to target on the outside, and the soon-to-be sophomore has all the physical tools to potentially make that leap.
• Sophomore guard Jamal Bieniemy previewed a pair of Jordan Brand sneaks from Chris Paul’s line — the CP3.XII. That’s hot.

• Make sure you check out Allen’s post where he revisits his 2019 preseason predictions of the Power Five Conferences. While he split the uprights in some places, he was a little wide right in others.

Around the Sports World

• The Baylor Bears have hired former LSU Tigers defensive coordinator Dave Aranda as their next head coach, replacing Matt Rhule who is now with the Carolina Panthers. This is the 43-year-old’s first head coaching gig of his career.

• The Georgia Bulldogs are reportedly hiring former Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator Todd Monken to the same role. Offense across the SEC looks like it’s finally starting to catch up with the rest of modern college football.
• New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram dropped a career-high 49 points and added eight boards, six assists, a block and this sweet mid-range game winner. Well, it would have been the game winner, but the Utah Jazz pushed it past regulation and into overtime. Nevertheless, the Pels used the extra five minutes in OT to win, 138-132.

• The San Francisco Giants have hired Alyssa Nakken on their coaching staff as Major League Assistant Coach, making her the first woman on an MLB staff in league history.
• Check out this amazing moment for Laurent Hurtubise, who has learned to live his life to the fullest while only having one arm since birth. On Thursday, he was on the course at the American Express PGA Tour site, and while competing in the pro-am, he sunk this pretty hole-in-one. Great stuff!

Stick to Sports!

• Today is Betty White’s 98th birthday! The actress and comedian is known for her witty charm and vibrant charisma. This ‘Golden Girl’ has been in the limelight for the last 80 years, setting her apart from everyone else in showbiz today. Thank you Betty, for making us laugh until we cry and smile until our cheeks become sore!

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