Happy Tuesday, friends and fans!

Shortly before the Oklahoma Sooners’ Pro Day kicked off last month, Jalen Hurts was interviewed by five-year-old super kid Kannon Simmons. After connecting on some routes and sharing dance moves, the two of them are now best friends for life. Check it out!

Seeing this side of Hurts is awesome because there’s probably not a more serious guy with a microphone in his face than him. Perhaps the key to getting to the answers underneath the coach speak is to simply have a cool little dude like Kannon asking the questions.

In any case, I know Jalen will keep good on his pinky promise to Kannon. That’s just the kind of guy he is. Even though he won’t be suiting up for Oklahoma any longer, Sooner Nation is going to give him all the standing ovations each and every time he returns to the Palace on the Prairie.

Now onto today’s Hot Links! Cedarian Lamb has a chance to become the highest drafted OU WR ever, Maggie Nichols is honored with the AAI Award, the Bolts charge up a new era with a new look and more!

OU Links

• Cornerbacks coach Roy Manning recently spoke about draft hopeful Parnell Motley and what he brings to the table. P-Mot quietly had one of the better seasons for an OU DB in quite some time, and throughout his college career he grew and made plays when plays absolutely needed to be made.

• The Tulsa World’s Eric Bailey took a look at the highest NFL draft pick for each position in Oklahoma history. As a wide receiver, CeeDee Lamb will have a chance to become the highest drafted Sooner at his position should he land somewhere within the top 10.
• Speaking of Lamb, ESPN NFL analyst Louis Riddick recently compared the elite OU receiver to Pittsburgh Steelers star JuJu Smith-Schuster.
• Episode Two of the OUDNA draft series dropped on Monday, and several Sooners anticipating phone calls from an NFL team talked about Lamb and why they believe he’s the cream of the receiving crop in this year’s class.

• It’s no secret the Baltimore Ravens have grown fond of drafting Sooners in recent years, and if things shake out the right way, Kenneth Murray could be the next player to go from Norman to the Charm City, writes Sooners Wire’s Kegan Reneau.
• Speaking of K9, many NFL folks believe Murray is a near can’t-miss prospect largely due to the kind of person he is off the field in addition to his abilities on a football field. The Norman Transcript’s Tyler Palmateer breaks down the kind of cerebral approach to the game and life itself that has put the coveted linebacker on the radar of GMs everywhere.
• OU women’s gymnastics phenom Maggie Nichols was named winner of the AAI (American Athletic, Inc.) Award for an incredible 2020 senior season. Boomer!

• Joey Helmer over at OU Insider compiled a list of the All-80s Oklahoma team. With so much success under Barry Switzer over the majority of that decade, it had to be tough to narrow it down between the plethora of All-Americans and national champions.

Around the Sports World

• Reigning NFL MVP Lamar Jackson has confirmed that he will be on the next cover of EA Sports’ Madden ‘21. Things worked out pretty well for Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs last year, so perhaps the curse has finally been lifted after all.

• Former XFL commissioner Oliver Luck has filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against league owner Vince McMahon. It’s an unfortunate situation because there’s a good chance none of this would even be happening if it wasn’t for everything getting shut down.
• DL Korey Foreman, the nation’s No. 1 overall recruit from the class of 2021, has announced his decommitment from the Clemson Tigers.
• A recent study has estimated that 47% of the world’s major sporting events have been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, with the chance of that number increasing beyond the summer.
• The Los Angeles Chargers have joined the NFL’s new uniform party, but I’m going on record in saying these are now my favorite new threads yet. The bolts on the pants are great, and that all-dark color rush look is way too clean.

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