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Happy Tuesday, friends and fans!
Class of 2021 five-star RB Camar Wheaton out of Garland, Texas was in town this past weekend for the Sooner Summit, and on Monday night/Tuesday morning he narrowed his list of possible collegiate destinations to three. As expected, the Oklahoma Sooners made the cut. Joining OU as the three schools remaining in the hunt are the Alabama Crimson Tide and LSU Tigers.
Sorry for the wait & the small error ... official top 3 pic.twitter.com/XtmhxjtcJp
— Camar Wheaton (@CamarWheaton) August 25, 2020
Going into Monday, the expectation was that Wheaton would be announcing a final two, but at the last minute he switched things up and provided a top three instead. So far, Oklahoma is in a great place with Wheaton, but OU running backs coach DeMarco Murray won’t be able to rest on his laurels with the likes of SEC recruiting powerhouses Bama and LSU involved.
What’s particularly interesting with Wheaton’s recruitment is that it would seem he has no qualms about leaving the Lone Star State. Living just a few hours from Austin, this is yet another blow to the Texas Longhorns, who have struggled to keep some of the top homegrown offensive talent from playing their college ball elsewhere. Add in the fact that Texas was considered neck-and-neck with Oklahoma a few weeks ago and this one stings even more.
Not only is Wheaton the kind of prospect who OU doesn’t want to miss out on from a talent standpoint, he plays at a position of real need with the running back room potentially losing both Kennedy Brooks and Rhamondre Stevenson by 2021 (even with the NCAA’s eligibility freeze). If the Sooners can land Wheaton along with a number of the other elite targets that have yet to announce their decisions, then the 2021 class could easily become Lincoln Riley’s most special group to date.
Now onto today’s Hot Links! OU releases more COVID-19 testing data, Oklahoma is QBU, Tech picks up an Aggies transfer and more!
OU Links
- Lincoln Riley spoke to the media via Zoom call, and he did not name a starting quarterback, although it sounds like there is a competition between Spencer Rattler and, I don’t know, the field or something. We’ve caught on to your ways, Mr. Riley. You can’t fool us this time.
Lincoln Riley isn't naming a starting quarterback today.
— Eric Bailey (@EricBaileyTW) August 25, 2020
Riley: "They are both playing well. They are moving the ball well. Mentally they are in a good place ... we'll continue to evaluate them."#Sooners
- Sounds like sophomore WR Jadon Haselwood is recovering nicely from the knee injury he sustained earlier in the spring. Apparently he’s also stepping up as a leader, as well. Time will tell if he’s able to play at all this fall, but he’s going to positively impact this team regardless.
Riley says Jadon Haselwood hasn't been able to practice with the team but brings energy to the team. Is in every single meeting and every single walk through. Riley says if a player opts out they have to live up to his example to stay in the facility and work out.
— SoonerScoop.com (@SoonerScoop) August 25, 2020
- On Monday, Oklahoma Athletics released its latest round of COVID-19 testing data, and on Aug. 17, 88 football players were tested with five coming back positive. Three days later, 78 players were tested, yielding one positive. Classes for the fall semester officially began at OU yesterday, Aug. 24, so if the numbers are going to fluctuate more than they did during the summer, being surrounded by thousands of students on campus will likely be the reason why.
Latest COVID testing results from August 17-21.
— Oklahoma Sooners (@OU_Athletics) August 25, 2020
➡️ https://t.co/hWSqQ9hffJ #BoomerSooner pic.twitter.com/mhZq5LBUj8
- Good news following OU Athletics’ COVID testing numbers. Riley says many of the players who tested positive last week are now back with the team as of Tuesday.
Lincoln Riley says they got 8 or 9 of their quarantined players back today. They had 17 players quarantined before that. "We're definitely under 10 active cases."
— SoonerScoop.com (@SoonerScoop) August 25, 2020
- ESPN’s David Hale updated his series of top 10 lists for QBU, RBU etc., and OU is the only program to appear in the top six for at least six of the designated position groups (QB, RB, WR, TE, OL and LB). Boomer!
No one:
— ️♈️ (@ADavidHaleJoint) August 25, 2020
Absolutely no one:
Not even an insane person:
Me: You know who I haven’t heard from in a while? Angry NC State fans.
Here’s Position U 2.0: The Wolfpack Strike Backhttps://t.co/trWmJlHuv8
- Before hosting ‘Sooner Summit’ last weekend, five-star QB commit Caleb Williams worked with Oklahoma’s compliance office to make sure no NCAA rules were being violated. This is just one more reason why OU fans already love Caleb — the kid does his homework. Sooners Wire’s Steven Plaisance has more.
- Speaking of the aforementioned eligibility freeze, here’s what OU’s roster could look like in 2021 courtesy of the The Athletic’s Max Olson.
Welcome to the new world of roster management in college football.
— Max Olson (@max_olson) August 25, 2020
Looked at last year's CFP teams and what the eligibility freeze means for their 2021 rosters: https://t.co/J8kStQKC05 pic.twitter.com/Y75KRejAqC
- Former Sooner safety and current free agent Tony Jefferson could be finding a new NFL home very soon with safeties around the league needing to be replaced for various reasons. He’s already proven himself as a valuable commodity for several years, so hopefully he’s fully recovered from that knee injury he suffered with the Baltimore Ravens last fall.
Browns lost rookie safety Grant Delpit to a season-ending torn Achilles, Ravens cut safety Earl Thomas, and the free-agent safety that teams are now reaching out to is former Ravens safety Tony Jefferson, who’s just about fully recovered from last season’s knee injury.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 25, 2020
- No surprise here. OU Twitter is one of the strongest collegiate fan base presences on social media today, and Lincoln Riley is totally invested in maintaining the strength of his brand and the brand of the Sooners.
College football head coaches generating the most interactions on their Twitter accounts in July 2020. pic.twitter.com/JCg3PwQeEu
— SkullSparks (@SkullSparks) August 25, 2020
Around the Sports World
- The Texas Tech Red Raiders have picked up highly-touted Texas A&M Aggies transfer DE Tyree Wilson. Since the former TAMU defender is in Lubbock via a traditional transfer, he’ll have to earn a waiver to be eligible to play this fall.
- Before he retired, Kobe Bryant helped design a device that helps athletes recover quicker and more efficiently. Of course, being the competitor that he was, he enjoyed having the game-changing technology to himself, but nowadays, it’s become a staple in the NBA and for all athletes across the sports landscape.
Every player in the bubble has a new piece of tech at their seat. It got there thanks to Kobe Bryant and a partnership years in the making: https://t.co/OskGRTeE8a
— Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) August 25, 2020
- Eight-time Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt recently tested positive for coronavirus after attending a mask-free party celebrating his 34th birthday. The world’s fastest man is currently in self-quarantine at his home in Jamaica.
- FCS powerhouse North Dakota State previously announced it would not be playing football this fall, but on Monday officials decided to grant one game scheduled for Oct. 3 in Fargo against Central Arkansas. Bison QB Trey Lance is widely considered a slam-dunk first round talent, so this game could serve as a showcase for his talents before moving on to the NFL.
- During Monday’s 11-4 loss to the Houston Astros, Los Angeles Angels veteran slugger Albert Pujols moved up to second place on MLB’s all-time RBI list at 2,087, passing Alex Rodriguez.
Moving on up on the all-time RBI list with number 2️⃣0️⃣8️⃣7️⃣! pic.twitter.com/RLCvT11KfM
— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) August 25, 2020
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