Happy Monday, friends and fans!

The first day of measurement testing at the 2020 NFL Combine took place on Monday. For the Oklahoma Sooners, QB Jalen Hurts and WR CeeDee Lamb had their height, weight, hand size, arm length and overall wingspan recorded for pro scouts and GMs.

When it comes to Hurts, none of his recorded measurements raise any major concerns, nor are any particularly surprising. It should be noted that out of the 18 quarterbacks on site in Indianapolis, Hurts is the third shortest. Only Michigan’s Shea Patterson and Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa checked in smaller with both of them standing at 6’ even.

Lamb is likely OU’s best bet for a first round selection, and his official measurements shouldn’t do anything to diminish those odds. Since the pre-draft process really took off following the end of the college football season, many football heads have compared and contrasted Lamb with Alabama WR Jerry Jeudy. If this is round one, OU’s pass catcher is in the lead in every department other than hand size.

Keep in mind that for the most part these numbers are negligible and really only explain a fraction of why these athletes are in this position. Even the physical ability testing coming later in the week won’t provide the defining verdict on most of the players. Still, if you’re going to separate yourself somewhere, the NFL Combine is a good place to start.

To see Hurts and Lamb’s on-field drills, tune in to the NFL Network this Thursday, Feb. 27 at 3 p.m. CT. Oklahoma LB Kenneth Murray and DL Neville Gallimore will follow that group up on Saturday, Feb. 29 beginning at the same time.

Now onto this week’s Monday edition of Hot Links! Oklahoma Basketball’s postseason hopes are on life support, the Sooner women’s gymnastics team continues to set the bar, Colorado makes its head coaching hire and more!

OU Links

• Speaking of the terrorizing linebacker Kenneth ‘K9’ Murray, he recently caught up with the Houston Chronicle to talk about what he’s looking forward to while in Indy for the combine, and what he believes gives him a leg up on his competition.
• Despite getting body-slammed in Bedlam on Saturday, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi still projects Oklahoma as a 12-seed in the NCAA Tournament, albeit among the Last Four In (meaning they would play in Dayton). CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm currently has a little bit more confidence in the Sooners’ standing, as he’s projecting OU as a 10-seed. It goes without saying that the upcoming week’s games against Texas Tech (Chesapeake Energy Arena in OKC) and West Virginia (Morgantown) are pretty enormous.
• The OU baseball team (7-2) won three of four games against Illinois State over the weekend behind a balance of timely success at the plate and solid pitching from the mound. Here are some of the highlights from Sunday’s win over the Redbirds.

• Speaking of which, the Sooners are up to No. 15 in Baseball America’s Top 25 for this week. They next head to Houston, where they’ll face No. 9 Arkansas, No. 14 LSU and unranked Missouri at Minute Maid Park.
• The Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic didn’t end the way Patty Gasso and the OU softball team would have wanted. After beating Nebraska, Texas A&M and Seattle, the Sooners finished the trip with back-to-back losses to Washington and Wisconsin. Sooners Wire’s Derek Parker has a recap.
• The undefeated OU women’s gymnastics team remains No. 1 in the nation in all major polls, including the season’s NQS rankings debut. The Sooners’ 197.930 opening score is the highest starting point in program history. Also, the timing of this reveal couldn’t be better, as Oklahoma welcomes No. 5 Denver to the LNC for a major test this Saturday. Boomer!

• In case you missed it, Bob Stoops and the Dallas Renegades (2-1) won their second straight game to improve over .500 for the first time in team history. Check out the highlights from Landry Jones and company as they defeated the Seattle Dragons on the road, 24-12.

• In case you also missed this, make sure you give Allen’s latest article a look. In this piece, he broke down each of the Power Five Conferences by coaches, and an argument for the Big 12 as the top league from a coaching standpoint is there to be had.

Around the Sports World

• LeBron James hit the Boston Celtics with that Dream Shake and a fadeaway in the final minute of Sunday’s marquee matchup to carry the Los Angeles Lakers to a 114-112 victory.

• The Milwaukee Bucks (48-8) officially clinched an NBA playoff spot on Sunday, and in doing so now claim the record for the earliest a team has accomplished such a feat. Impressive stuff.
• An unexpected red flag may have surfaced during measurement day at the NFL Combine. Potential first overall pick Joe Burrow’s hands checked in at nine inches, which is well below the average size for incoming QBs. In all reality, it’s probably not even a big deal, but if the rest of this week doesn’t go well for Burrow, prepare yourselves for some spicy hot takes.
• After much speculation surrounding the Colorado Buffaloes’ coaching search going into the weekend, CU finally found their guy in former Miami Dolphins WR coach Karl Dorrell. It’s a bit of a homecoming for Dorrell, who coached two stints over a seven-year period during the 90s in Boulder.
• Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Madison Bumgarner was recently discovered at a rodeo under the name ‘Mason Saunders’. Apparently, he uses this alias so he’s able to enjoy this hobby of his without the public bombardment that his actual moniker would bring. He’s making so many boss moves all at once here. Awesome stuff.

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