Happy Hump Day, friends and fans!

Today is National Signing Day, but as many of you are well aware, most of the recruiting fireworks fizzled out for the Oklahoma Sooners during the Early Signing Period in December. Still, this is another chance to review the class and catch up with Lincoln Riley to gather his thoughts on his latest crop of student-athletes as well as other happenings in and around the program.

One noteworthy bit of news that Riley discussed on Wednesday was the upcoming spring football schedule. According to the head coach, the team intends to kick off practices some time in late March, and will conclude those practices with a Spring Game in late April. If you recall, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic forced OU to shut down its spring training just one day into practice.

Riley also shared his thoughts on the recent announcement regarding senior DB Brendan ‘Bookie’ Radley-Hiles entering the NCAA Transfer Portal. While he’s free to test the transfer market, he’s also free to exit the portal and return to Oklahoma for 2021 if that’s what he ultimately decides to do. For now, it looks like he’s played his last down as a Sooner.

In some exciting news, outside receivers coach Dennis Simmons is adding assistant head coach and passing game coordinator to his official list of titles on the staff. It’s well deserved for a man who’s not only recruited some of the best talent on the team throughout his career in Norman, he’s also shown the ability to develop said talent into nationally elite players capable of transitioning their skills to the next level.

Stay tuned as more information regarding the OU Spring Game is released in the coming weeks.

Now onto today’s Hot Links! Oklahoma adds a top specialist to its signing class, 2021 could be the year of the Rattler, a ‘Coach Prime’ documentary is in the works and more!

OU Links

• Lincoln Riley discussed how strange it was to see his incoming recruiting class in person, many of which he was formally meeting for the very first time.

• 2021 long snapper Jake Mann — the nation’s No. 1 LS prospect out of Pittsboro, North Carolina — made some NSD noise after flipping his commitment from Florida State to Oklahoma. Sooner Scoop’s Bob Przybylo has confirmed that he will join the Sooners as a preferred walk-on. Welcome to the team, Jake!

• Pro Football Focus ranks Spencer Rattler as college football’s top QB going into the 2021 season. If he avoids a sophomore slump and improves across the board, he’ll be able to back up this claim quite easily in my estimation.
• Trent Dilfer had some glowing analysis for 2021 five-star signee Caleb Williams. The nation’s No. 1 QB earned Elite 11 MVP honors last year, and will look to take his game to the next level at OU under Riley.

• Today is National Girls & Women in Sports Day! At Oklahoma, that means we celebrate the achievements from all the outstanding Sooner women who have made their mark in basketball, cross country, golf, gymnastics, rowing, soccer, softball, tennis, track & field, and volleyball. Thank you all for choosing to join the OU family! Boomer!

Around the Sports World

• 2021 five-star RB Camar Wheaton has officially signed with the Alabama Crimson Tide. Nothing more to see here, folks. Carry on about your day.

• On Tuesday night, Toronto Raptors point guard Fred VanVleet set a franchise record with 54 points in a 123-108 win over the Orlando Magic. It’s also the most points scored in an NBA game for a player who began his pro career undrafted.

• The No. 2 Baylor Bears held onto their undefeated status (17-0) after walloping the No. 6 Texas Longhorns in Austin, 83-69. Nice!

• Reportedly, Philadelphia Eagles QB Carson Wentz wants his team to trade him away, but Philly does not feel the same way. I smell a dramatic hold-out coming very soon.
• Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders is entering his first season with the Jackson State Tigers, and it will all be documented for a behind-the-scenes look first at what goes into taking over at an HBCU and then taking it to the next level.

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