Oklahoma Sooners Football Recruiting | A Slightly Optimistic Class of 2017 Prediction

We are now entrenched in the dog days of summer and as such recruiting takes a back seat. That doesn’t mean that commits won’t occur, but it’s safe to say we have reached a point where news will trickle out and not come in waves. With that being said, we thought it might be a good time to check on that state of Sooners class of 2017 and give you all a slightly optimistic class of 2017 commitment prediction list. You will also notice that this class is slightly larger than previously expected. More on this in another post. So here goes the homerism.

1. 4-Star QB Chris Robison 6-2/195 from Mesquite, TX.
2. 4-Star RB Trey Sermon 6-1/220 from Marietta, GA
3. 4-Star RB AJ Davis 5-11/200 from Lakeland, FL
4. 4-Star WR Charleston Rambo 6-2.175 from Cedar Hill, TX
5. 4-Star WR Jalen Reagor 6-1/190 from Waxahachie, TX
6. 4-Star WR Cedarian Lamb 6-3/190 from Richmond, TX
7. 4-Star WR Omar Manning 6-3/200 from Lancaster, TX
8. 3-Star TE Grant Calcaterra 6-4/210 from Rancho Santa Margarita, CA
 9. 4-Star OL Tyrese Robinson 6-5/300 from McKinney, TX
10. 4-Star OL Chuck Filiaga 6-6/330 from Aledo, TX
11. 4-Star OL Adrian Ealy 6-7/285 from Gonzalez, LA
12. 3-Star OL Creed Humphrey 6-4/290 from Shawnee, OK
13. 4-Star DT Greg Rogers 6-4/305 from Las Vegas, NV
14. 3-Star DT Deiontae Watts 6-3/300 from Plano, TX
15. 3-Star DE Dayo Odeyingbo 6-5/245 from Carrolton, TX
16. 4-Star LB Levi Draper 6-2/215 from Collinsville, OK
17. 4-Star LB Anthony Hines 6-3/220 from Plano, TX
18. 4-Star LB Jacob Phillips 6-3/230 from Nashville, TN
19. 4-Star LB K’Lavon Chaisson 6-4/220 from Houston, TX
20. 3-Star DE/OLB Isaiah Thomas 6-5/2230 from Tulsa, OK
 21. 4-Star DB Robert Barnes 6-3/200 from Southlake, TX
22. 4-Star DB Tre Brown 5-11/180 from Tulsa, OK
23. 4-Star DB Trajan Bandy 5-10/175 from Miami, FL
24. 4-Star DB Justin Broiles 6-0/170 from Oklahoma City, OK
25. 3-Star JUCO Ath Marcelias Sutton 5-10/195
26. 3-Star HB/TE Jeremiah Hall 6-3/225 from Charlotte, NC
27. Kicker Reeves Mundschau 6-0/170 from New Braunfels, TX

A couple of quick thoughts…

Why 27 in the class now?

The reality of taking Jeremiah Hall and Mundschau appear to be shouting that the Sooners will have more scholarships available for the class of 2017 than first expected. As to where the numbers will come from, we will have to wait and see, because speculation is unhelpful.

How Realistic is this Class?

Honestly there are a few players the Sooners will have to really work for in order to see this class happen. They are Greg Rogers, Chuck Filiaga, and Adrian Ealy. None are super long shots by any shot though.

Written on June 20, 2016 at 10:11 pm


Michigan State Gains Two 2017 DE Commits

Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

Today marks the first offical day of summer. While you might expect that to mean we are going to see a little more sun in the sky, Spartan fans got a little extra dose of brightness from Sunshine State itself in the form of commits from two Florida DE’s for the 2017 recruiting class.

First was the tweet from Donavon Winter, the 6’4” 235 pound defensive end out of Bishop Moore Catholic. According to 247Sports, Winter was given offers from Tennessee, Notre Dame and Michigan which was received after he attended the Michigan satellite camp earlier this month.

The news got even better when Lashawn Paulino-Bell from St. Thomas Aquinas in Ft. Lauderdale tweeted that he too had committed to play football at Michigan State. Paulino-Bell is a 3-star recruit according to 247Sports and is listed at 6’4”, 235 just like Winter. Paulino Bell picked Michigan State over like likes of Georgia, Cal and Notre Dame.

This is the third consecutive defensive commit for Dantonio and the Spartans, Jacub Panasiuk committed earlier this month, and it brings the 2017 total to 11 verbal commitments per 247Sports.

Written on June 20, 2016 at 9:35 pm


Oregon Ducks Offer 3-Star WDE Alden Tofa

Holds offers from BYU, Arizona, Oregon State, Hawaii and others.

Much has ben said about the Oregon Ducks‘ slow start to the 2017 recruiting class, but they’ve landed a trio of recent commits and are grinding away as the offseason progresses.

The latest Ducks offer was made this afternoon to Alden Tofa, a West Jordan, Utah-based weakside defensive end.

 

Tofa, 6-5 and 248 pounds, has offers from numerous Pac-12 schools including Arizona, Colorado, Oregon State, Stanford, Washington State and Utah, plus reported interest from Washington. Other teams to watch out for are BYU and Utah, in-state programs who have both offered Tofa.

He’s the second-highest rated defensive end in the state of Utah and would be a huge pickup for Brady Hoke’s defensive unit.

As always, we’ve got highlights for Tofa here:

Written on June 20, 2016 at 8:22 pm


2017 recruit Exree Loe decommits from Pitt

Pitt managed to land cornerback Exree Loe, their first commit for the 2017 class, while they were still working on the 2016 commits. Loe chose the Panthers back in August of 2015 and, as I typically do when the program lands someone more than a year out, I gave the standard disclaimer that it might not be over.

I reaffirmed that shortly after he committed. There was all kinds of talk that he was possibly interested in Penn State and vice versa, but Loe still maintained he was 100% committed to the Panthers.

And … action:

As usual, I’m certainly not pinning this on the kid at all. We’ve all heard the committed talk before, the ‘I’m 100% talk” before, etc. Players change their minds and it happens all the time. While it seems sort of comical the way recruiting is these days, the fact is that that’s the process and without allowing players to sign early, verbal commitments are just that – verbal only. Few kids are really all in when they’re committing more than a year away. Loe’s case is hardly unique here.

While Loe said he was committing to Pitt, he never stopped looking around. Some cracks started to show earlier this year when he visited Rutgers and talked about visiting them again since he had family there. He sounded less convinced of Pitt back in April in an interview. Just this past week, he was reportedly at Rutgers again. He’s also drawing interest from Penn State, West Virginia, and Tennessee among others.

Loe looks like a very good one but at the same time, you shouldn’t be concerned in the slightest about Pitt’s secondary. The Panthers still have sophomore Jordan Whitehead there. And incoming freshman Damar Hamlin. And hopefully still Paris Ford for 2017. Those are just the assumed stars, folks – we’re not even into the lower-rated guys where a few will pan out as well.

Make no mistake – Pitt’s secondary is in more than good hands with Pat Narduzzi at the helm. The program has some potential problem areas for the future but secondary doesn’t appear to be one of them.

Be sure to join Cardiac Hill’s Facebook page and follow us on Twitter@PittPantherBlog for our regular updates on Pitt athletics. Follow the author and founder/editor @AnsonWhaley.

Written on June 20, 2016 at 8:03 pm


South Carolina football recruiting: T.J. Moore on commitment watch?

The big-time OL prospect may be on the verge of his decision.

Last week, we received word that T.J. Moore, one of the country’s top offensive tackles, had placed South Carolina in his top six with Virginia Tech, Louisville, Tennessee, N.C. State, North Carolina, Syracuse and Maryland. If Moore’s tweet today is any indication, he may be on the verge of making his college decision.

Tough to imagine that this would be anything other than an announcement about where he’ll be playing his college ball at. It might be good news for the Gamecocks: Moore has stated in past interviews that South Carolina has been a favorite, and nothing of late has appeared to challenge that notion. It helps that Eric Douglas, Moore’s friend, teammate, and fellow lineman, committed back in April. Hard to see anyone but the Gamecocks landing Moore when he decides.

Safety from Athens, GA offered

We haven’t seen any wild, wooly recruiting battles between Kirby Smart and Will Muschamp yet. But Muschamp’s latest offer, to Clarke County (Ga.) safety Zay Smith, might be an attempt to grab a player that might be passed over by UGA. Smith has been offered by Charlotte, Colorado State, Georgia State, Lousiville, Wake Forest, and Western Kentucky, but not Georgia as of yet.

Written on June 20, 2016 at 7:27 pm


Several Utes Getting Preseason All-American Honors

Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

It is getting to be that time of year when preseason predictions come out for overall record, conference champions, preseason rankings, and preseason All-Americans. Phil Steele is generally considered the most accurate with his preseason predictions. He released his list of preseason All-Americans and All-Conference players. He has two Utah football players on his preseason All-American teams: senior kicker Andy Phillips (first-team) and junior defensive tackle Lowell Lotulelei (second team). Steele also has Phillips as the preseason Special Teams Player of the Year.

Steele’s preseason all-Pac-12 teams were filled with even more Utah football players: junior defensive end Kylie Fitts, Lotulelei, and Phillips were all named to the first team. Senior offensive guard Isaac Asiata, senior offensive tackle J.J. Dielman, senior defensive end Hunter Dimick, senior snapper Chase Dominguez, and junior safety Marcus Williams were all tabbed as second team selections. Athlon also released their preseason all-Pac-12 teams. Utah players were better represented on Athlon’s first team than Steele’s with Dielman, Fitts, Lotulelei, Phillips, and Williams all being named first-team all-conference. On the second team, Athlon had Asiata and Dimick.

Written on June 20, 2016 at 7:00 pm


COMMIT: Texas DB Paulson Adebo Chooses Notre Dame

Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

The Fighting Irish have landed their fourth verbal in as many days.

Notre Dame football encountered a nice surprise this afternoon when Mansfield, Texas athlete Paulson Adebo verbally committed to the Fighting Irish (some of you may recognize him by another name, Saiid). This makes four verbals for the Irish in as many days. Adebo, however, was not among the recruits on campus this past weekend for Irish Invasion. His last visit to Notre Dame was during the March Junior Day. The 247 Composite ranks the 6’1″/180-pounder as the #16 athlete in the country #254 overall player in the class of 2017.

Recruiting Service Rankings

247 — 4 star (90 rating), #251 overall, #14 position (ATH), #34 in Texas

Rivals — 3 star (5.7 rating), NR overall, #60 position (WR), NR in Texas

Scout — 4 star, #222 overall, #17 position (ATH), NR in Texas

ESPN — 4 star (82 rating), #169 overall, #23 position (WR), #28 in Texas

247 Composite — 4 star (.9054), #254 overall, #16 position (ATH), #39 in Texas

Cohort

Adebo chose the Irish over other offers from Texas, Baylor, TCU, Oklahoma, Duke, Georgia, LSU, and Ole Miss among many others.

Highlights

When watching Adebo’s highlights, it doesn’t take long to realize that the Irish just landed a fantastic athlete. He reads the play really well (you’ll see that at about the 1:35 mark of these highlights) and he also has some pretty great ball skills. If the ball is in the air, he’ll make a play on it. He’s a physical defender and looked great during the couple of goal line passes he defended between minutes 8 and 9. He has all the makings of an elite defensive back.

Impact

This is an extremely good pickup for Notre Dame. Adebo could easily play any one of receiver, corner, or safety at the college level. Notre Dame has reportedly been recruiting him at cornerback, though. He could not be a more perfect fit in the current defensive system. He should match up really well with receivers on the outside as a physical, man coverage player, allowing the defense to play in more aggressive formations. The Notre Dame depth chart isn’t exactly bare at corner, but Adebo should see the field early.

Welcome to the Irish family, Paulson!

Written on June 20, 2016 at 6:48 pm


FINALLY! It Looks Like Adidas Has Fixed The UCLA Stripe

Some may say this is three years’ late and millions of dollars short, but it looks like, in a last ditch attempt to keep the UCLA apparel contract, Adidas has finally fixed the UCLA Stripe.

We all know how Under Armour has spoken of respecting the traditions of UCLA’s uniforms. And we’ve looked at the details of the new Under Armour contract in depth.

But, just how important was fixing the “UCLA Stripe” on the Bruin Football uniforms as part of the apparel negotiation process?

Aside from the question being asked at the UCLA-UA press conference, it’s not quite sure how important it was during the discussions.

But, today, we may finally have an idea.

We’ve heard for years about how difficult it was for Adidas to manufacture a jersey with a real UCLA Stripe.

Well, an image from the UCLA Football Twitter account seems to indicate that Adidas has finally found a way to extend a real UCLA Stripe that doesn’t look like someone took a ginsu knife to it.

You’ll notice that the jersey shown in the tweet has the same font for the numerals, albeit not the shiny version from last year and a real UCLA Stripe that looks the best in a really, really long time.

What took you so long, Adidas?

It looks like you’re a few years and a few million dollars too late.

Go Bruins!!!

Written on June 20, 2016 at 6:29 pm


Arizona football recruiting: 3-star corner Malik Hausman verbally commits to Wildcats

The Arizona Wildcats almost went an entire three days without seeing a commitment. Malik Hausman, corner out of Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, NV) ended that drought. Arizona continues to tap into powerhouse programs including IMG Academy, Mater Dei, Long Beach Poly and now Bishop Gorman. Hausman is a 6-foot, 170 pound cornerback ranked 3-stars by both Scout and Rivals.

If you kept up with my recruiting rounds up, Hausman was a name I had said to keep an eye on. When we last spoke, he told me he wanted to wait until after his senior season to commit, so things clearly changed. With that, I felt like other programs would have jumped on board. He did visit Arizona State and Boise State recently, but had told me that his Arizona visit was by far his favorite.

Having Greg Johnson, Scott Young, Xavier Bell and now Malik Hausman on board gives Arizona an extremely strong secondary class and it’s cool to see a lot of the guys buy into the ‘DBU’ mindset, only enhancing this new culture change. Give Jahmile Addae and Donte’ Williams some time with this unit and it will be a quick turn around for Arizona.

Written on June 20, 2016 at 5:07 pm


USC Football Recruiting: 2017 Three-star safety C.J. Miller commits to the Trojans

Last week, the Trojan coaching staff absolutely shocked the grossly underrated safety with a scholarship offer. He’s now joined the Trojans 2017 recruiting class. He talks with us below.

C.J. Miller is probably a name that USC recruiting fans are extremely unfamiliar with. The Powder Springs (Ga.) defensive back is not rated very highly among recruiting services and finds himself not even being ranked at all in others. After seeing his recruitment blow up during the first month of the summer, Miller was extremely excited to receive an offer from the Trojan coaching staff, nearly committing on the spot.

The 188 pound athlete waited just a couple days to ultimately pull the trigger and announce his verbal commitment to the Trojans after speaking with USC head coach Clay Helton

For Miller it ended up being a pretty easy decision after all telling Conquest Chronicles:

“It’s a blessing. There’s no place I’d rather be than USC. I thank God for giving me this opportunity to go there.”

Holding over 20 scholarship offers from smaller but respected programs around the country, having a program as prestigious show interest and produce an offer was something that certainly stuck with Miller. The opportunities in attending USC also led Miller to make a quick, but thought out decision.

“USC was the first big school to pull the trigger and offer me,” said Miller. “The education from USC will bring me along way in my life. Of course, the athletics at USC are also amazing you know!”

The Trojan coaching staff saw great potential and fantastic ability in Miller. Clay Helton and company completed an amazingly quick recruiting job with Miller, building a strong bond with the defensive player, which Miller noticed.

Adding: “The USC coaching staff is basically like my family!”

Overall, the Trojans are getting an extremely athletic player and an extremely fast one too. Miller was last clocked at running a 4.38 second 40 yard dash. USC is also getting a recently discovered gem in Miller, meaning other programs will likely pull the trigger and offer Miller somewhere down the line.

With National Signing Day over half a year away, Miller isn’t shutting down his recruitment completely, but the stud safety is solid to the Trojans, telling USCFootball’s Gerard Martinez:

“I’m like 75-percent closed off from recruiting right now. I’m still open to talking to other schools, and my parents want me to take some visits, but I feel like USC is right. I don’t think a de-commitment is coming.”

Written on June 20, 2016 at 4:43 pm


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