Happy Monday, friends and fans!

Oklahoma Sooners 2021 five-star recruiting target Caleb Williams is the No. 1 QB prospect in the nation, and on Monday he announced his highly anticipated verbal commitment date will fall on Saturday, July 4. Currently, the Washington D.C. product has OU, LSU and Maryland as his final three schools. Check out his latest blog entry for SI’s ‘All on the Line’ series to read more about the elite signal caller’s exciting news.

Since taking a second unofficial visit to Oklahoma in early March, Williams and his family have developed a close bond with Lincoln Riley and the Sooners’ program. Most recruiting experts believe OU is the team to beat when it comes to landing the commitment of this remarkable talent.

Whatever happens this Independence Day, it’s best to keep in mind that the recruiting process is always a marathon, never a sprint. Nothing will be official until Williams signs that National Letter of Intent on signing day. That being said, Oklahoma fans everywhere ought to be feeling pretty good when reading the tea leaves on this story.

Now onto this week’s Monday edition of Hot Links! The Lincoln Riley era in Norman turns three years old, Cedarian Lamb eyes Canton, Bubba Wallace has a scary moment on live TV and more!

OU Links

• All Sooners’ John Hoover took a look back on the highly successful ride Lincoln Riley has been on since being named Oklahoma’s head coach on June 7, 2017. When Bob Stoops suddenly stepped down from his legendary perch at OU, none predicted the kind of consistency this young yet brilliant offensive mind would bring to the table. Three years later, Riley hasn’t missed a beat, and continues to elevate the program at every level.

• College Football News’ Pete Fiutak has been previewing all FBS teams going into the 2020 season, and on Sunday he released his extensive breakdown of all things Oklahoma. Check out what he expects to see from the Sooners this fall.
• Bleacher Report’s Kerry Miller recently ranked the top college football backfields in 2020, and even though Oklahoma has to replace quite a bit of production from last year’s unit featuring Jalen Hurts and Trey Sermon, the Sooners still received honorable mention thanks to Kennedy Brooks and the eventual return of Rhamondre Stevenson.
• In a recent interview, Dallas Cowboys rookie CeeDee Lamb stated that his goal is to become a Hall of Famer by the time the book on his NFL career is written. With his amount of talent, the sky is truly the limit.
• The Norman Transcript’s Tyler Palmateer has a message worth receiving for those who feel players should ‘stick to sports’ when it comes to matters of racial injustice. Specifically, OU student-athletes have a unique opportunity to use their voice to create change thanks to the power of their platform.

Around the Sports World

• Another way the upcoming return of the NBA will be different from the league’s standard operating procedure is how a team’s winning percentage will determine its playoff seed. This is because the number of games each of the 22 teams left in the hunt have played vary, so by using percentages the playing field is leveled.
• Late Saturday night, UFC superstar Conor McGregor announced his retirement (third time in the last four years) from fighting professionally as a mixed martial artist. He later explained his reasoning for the timing. Something tells me we’ll eventually see ‘The Notorious’ back inside the octagon again.
• NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace appeared to faint during a live interview following his 21st place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Reports from on-site the medical crew and Wallace himself indicate he’s fine and that this was likely due to an extreme case of heat exhaustion.

• U.S. Soccer is considering repealing its ban on players kneeling during the National Anthem, a policy that was implemented in 2017. If repealed, the motion would go into effect immediately.
• Former Florida Gators WR Reche Caldwell was shot and killed outside of his home late Saturday evening. After a prolific collegiate career in Gainesville, he played seven seasons in the NFL, most of that time being with the San Diego Chargers. He was 41.

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