Happy April Fool’s Day, friends and fans!

A trio of Oklahoma Sooners made Daniel Jeremiah’s updated Top 50 Prospect Rankings ahead of the upcoming 2020 NFL Draft. Former starting OU QB Jalen Hurts is a new addition this time around, rounding out the list at No. 50.

CeeDee Lamb is the highest ranked Oklahoma draftee as well as the top overall receiver on this list at No. 9. LB Kenneth ‘K9’ Murray is the next Sooner at No. 18, and it appears his stock is trending up as the draft draws near. Finally, as I stated earlier, Hurts makes his debut on the list at No. 50. We all love Jalen, and I certainly think he can carve out a niche in the NFL, but including him in the top 50 seems a tad generous.

The only former OU player to move down was DL Neville Gallimore, who dropped out of the rankings after being No. 45 in the previous version.

Make sure to check out the full list for Jeremiah’s individual breakdowns of all the top 50 draft prospects.

Now onto today’s Hot Links! Lincoln Riley leads the way among young HCs, Oklahoma could have a breakout star at LB this fall, Mike Leach may have found his gunslinger of the future and more!

OU Links

• In a recent conference call, Lincoln Riley discussed the impact the coronavirus pandemic has had on the new coaching hires, Trey Sermon’s decision to transfer to Ohio State, and the possible ramifications on the sport if players aren’t allowed back on campus by June.
• Speaking of Riley, CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd ranked his top 10 college football head coaches that are 45-years-old or younger, and the Sooners’ fourth-year leader tops the list. Also of note, former Oklahoma QB/OC Josh Heupel also makes the cut, as well as two other Big 12 coaches.
• Oklahoma sophomore CB Jaden Davis figures to be a key piece in Alex Grinch’s defense for the next few years, so his April Fools Day gag surely induced a few gasps across Sooner Nation.

• Rivals Recruiting Director Mike Farrell offered his take on who he can envision breaking out at linebacker in 2020, and one of those players is Oklahoma’s Nik Bonitto.
• Marquise ‘Hollywood’ Brown and his cousin Antonio Brown linked up with the retired Chad Johnson for some offseason training. That’s a lot of star power all in one photo.

• Hey all you cool cats and kittens! In case you missed it, the folks over at BreakingT came up with these sweet tees born out of the sweeping docuseries sensation known as ‘Tiger King’. If you haven’t yet watched the absolutely absurd true story, hop on Netflix and prepare to be mind-blown. Then do yourself a favor and check out these awesome t-shirts to fully wrap yourself in all the madness.

• In case you also missed this, be sure to give Allen Kenney’s latest Blatant Homerism Podcast episode a listen. This week he caught up with SoonerScoop’s Eddie Radosevich to talk about all things coronavirus, Sooner Football and of course the notorious Tiger King himself, Joe Exotic.

Around the Sports World

• On Tuesday, NFL owners formally approved a plan to expand the total number of playoff teams from 12 to 14, beginning with the upcoming 2020 season.
• CBS Sports’ Dayn Perry writes that July 4 aka Independence Day could be a possible date on the calendar prime for MLB’s rescheduled Opening Day. Logistically, there is still a lot that is uncertain, but if current trends surrounding the pandemic are any indication, it may be realistic.
• First-year Mississippi State Bulldogs head coach Mike Leach has landed the verbal commitment of 2021 four-star pro-style QB Sawyer Robertson from his old stomping grounds in Lubbock, Texas. The SEC West is really about to get even more of a true taste of the ‘Air Raid’ offense, and I for one am extremely enthused to see it.
• SB Nation’s Chris D’Andrea took a look at the Cleveland Browns’ latest offseason moves for reasons why this could finally be the year the much-maligned franchise could be worth more than moral victories and on-the-field disappointment.
• Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart recently recovered from a positive bout with COVID-19, and now he’s donating his blood plasma to scientific research for a possible solution. I never thought I’d ever type out such a sentence, but Smart’s antibodies could be exactly what the people of the world need right now.

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