Happy Monday, friends and fans!

With the 2021 NFL Draft now in the books, the conversation has begun to shift toward the stars of next year’s draft. For Oklahoma Sooners third-year QB Spencer Rattler, he’ll be eligible to declare for the league following this upcoming college football season. If he has the kind of campaign most OU fans expect him to have, he’ll likely be one of the handful of players strongly considered for the No. 1 overall pick.

Even though it’s literally a year away, it’s never too early to look down the road to try to predict who goes where. For Derrik Klassen of NBC Sports Edge, Rattler will join the likes of Sam Bradford, Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray as OU QBs chosen first overall in the draft.

According to Draft Wire’s Luke Easterling, Rattler is projected to become the second signal caller and second overall pick in 2022, while CBS Sports’ Ryan Wilson also sees Spencer as the No. 2 QB, yet falling a bit further to the No. 8 spot.

Of course, nothing is for certain until draft night, and a lot can and will happen to affect how it all shakes out over the next 12 months. Plus, Rattler still has to officially declare, and while that currently looks like the most likely scenario, I suppose it’s no guarantee.

Now onto this week’s Monday edition of Hot Links! Adrian Ealy signs with Baltimore, OU claims the 2021 Bedlam baseball series, the racing world mourns the loss of an all-time great and more.

OU Links

• With five Sooners being drafted over the weekend, Oklahoma extends the nation’s best streak of having at least four players selected to 14 straight years. In that span, a total of 71 OU players have been picked, including 10 in the first round. Boomer!

• Spencer Rattler will be eligible to declare for the 2022 NFL Draft if he so chooses to following the upcoming college season, and if he does just that, he could very well be the highest rated quarterback prospect in the class according to Pro Football Focus.

• In case you missed it, former OU OL Adrian Ealy signed with the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent. Over the next few months, he’ll be competing with other UDFAs for either a spot on the 2021 practice squad or a place on the active 53-man roster. SI Sooners’ John Hoover has more. Good luck, Adrian!
• Amid an up and down season, Oklahoma Baseball (22-20, 6-9) nearly swept the No. 18 Oklahoma State Cowboys this weekend. On Friday in Stillwater, the Sooners blasted OSU, 16-2, then followed that performance up with a gutsy 5-3 victory in Norman on Saturday to clinch the series. On Sunday, the two rivals met once again in L. Dale Mitchell Park and battled for 12 innings before the Pokes were able to squeak out an 8-7 win. Overall, it was a successful Bedlam series for Skip Johnson’s squad.
• On Monday, the OU men’s basketball program announced the signings of the four transfer players it acquired since the end of 2020-21 season. Sooner Nation can now officially welcome senior forward Ethan Chargois (SMU), senior guard Jordan Goldwire (Duke), redshirt senior forward Tanner Groves and his brother, junior forward Jacob Groves (Eastern Washington). There are still two spots left, so stay tuned.

Around the Sports World

• Los Angeles Lakers guard Dennis Schröder is expected to miss up 10 to 14 days for health and safety (COVID-19 related) protocols. LA is currently on a three-game slide and is sixth in the Western Conference standings with two weeks of the NBA regular season remaining.
• On Monday morning, former Ohio State Buckeyes WR Jameson Williams announced his decision to transfer to the Alabama Crimson Tide. Per rules, he will be immediately eligible to play this fall.
• Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic is now one technical foul away from receiving an automatic one-game suspension from the NBA after being tagged with his 14th and 15th T’s in Sunday’s 111-99 loss to the Sacramento Kings.
• The Oakland Athletics have placed pitcher Jesús Luzardo on the team’s 10-day injured list after the 23-year-old reportedly broke his left pinkie finger while playing a video game. No worries, my guy, we’ve all been there before.
• On Sunday, three-time Indianapolis 500 winner (‘68, ‘75, ‘81) Bobby Unser passed away from natural causes at his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The legendary racer was 87.

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