Crimson And Cream Machine

OU Football Recruiting - Sooners Finally Land Their 2013 Quarterback

2012-05-17T17:49:00Z

After initially missing out on five star quarterback Max Browne, there was some confusion as to what direction the Sooners would go with their next offer at the position in this 2013 class. There were several names out there, Brayden Scott, Kelly Hilinski, Cody Thomas, and Hayden Rettig but no one really knew just where OU offensive coordinator/QB coach Josh Heupel was leaning.

Some of the mystery was revealed when news broke that Colleyville's (TX) Cody Thomas had received the coveted offer just a few weeks ago. However because Thomas is a highly regarded baseball prospect and was in the midst of his season, there was some question as to whether or not he would be OU's primary focus. There had been considerable talk that Heupel was planning a trip to California to watch Rettig throw and that an offer was definitely possible.

That talk all ended today however with the news that Thomas committed to the Sooners Wednesday night.

Thomas is arguably the best pure quarterback in a very talented 2013 quarterback class and could prove to be one of the top overall pro-style QBs in this entire class. As we mentioned, he's a pretty highly touted baseball prospect and with that as you'd likely suspect he has an outstanding arm. He is a player who can make every throw you would ever ask a quarterback to make, but it's not just about pure arm strength with him. He has shown the ability to put a good touch on the ball when asked to do so and displays good accuracy even though he's still learning to play the position.

Thomas plays in a spread system that consistently puts him in the shotgun, so he'll need to work on dropping back from under center. It also does not demand that he sit in the pocket and go through multiple reads, so that is another aspect of his game that will require work at the next level. He is an above average athlete and while he won't necessarily beat you with his legs outside the pocket, he does display more than enough athleticism to move around and make plays when facing pressure.

Given his talents on the baseball diamond and the fact that he could very well be drafted by a major league baseball team at some point, you have consider that risk in making the initial offer and then accepting his commitment. The Sooners have been down this road before, just recently in fact, with Archie Bradley. The main difference between Bradley and Thomas is that the latter is not a pitching prospect nor is he projected to go as high as Bradley went in the MLB draft. Both are obvious positives for Oklahoma and their chances of eventually getting Thomas on campus. The downside with this kind of commitment is the threat of that MLB money being too much to pass up, as it is for many kids fortunate enough to be in this position. The threat of a potential baseball career did not prevent schools like Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, LSU, Notre Dame, Oregon, TCU, and USC among others from offering Thomas.

Clearly, this was a risk Heupel and the OU coaches felt was worth taking and not just because of Thomas' upside as a prospect. Not to get way ahead of ourselves, but there are several top 2014 quarterback prospects (a couple in-state actually) the Sooners have already begun evaluating. So this may be a situation where the OU coaches felt Thomas was worth the risk and if he does eventually go the baseball route, they won't be completely hung out to dry because of those 2014 prospects.

But that is all talk for another time. For now, we can simply celebrate the Sooners landing their 2013 quarterback and an incredibly talented one in that.

Welcome to Sooner Nation Cody!

College Baseball Preview: Samford At #24 Oklahoma

2012-05-17T17:23:33Z

As Oklahoma heads into the final weekend of the college baseball regular season they still very much have their NCAA Tournament hopes on the line. After getting a much needed sweep over Baylor last weekend the Sooners dropped a mid-week contest against #20 TCU on Tuesday night.

Samford comes to Norman with a decent RPI ranking of #58 which means a series win, or better yet a weekend sweep, will Bolster Oklahoma's chances of a post-season birth. They're not a team that you want to overlook though.

The Bulldogs return 23 players from last year's team that finished 37-23 overall. So far this year they've scored a 34-19 season record. Led by Saxon Butler (.346), Samford has five players hitting .300 or better. Butler has 11 home runs and 51 RBI. However, Brandon Miller has a team high 20 homers with 58 RBI. With a total of 55 home runs on the season, the Samford lineup provides multiple challenges.

RPI Watch

Even with Tuesday's loss to TCU Oklahoma still climbed in the RPI rankings one or two spots depending on which ranking you look at. Nolan currently has them sitting at 48.

Going against them will be an Oklahoma starting rotation that has finished the season extremely strong. Jordan John will be the Thursday night starter. He's compiled a 8-5 record and a 2.23 ERA. Friday will bring Jonathan Gray to the mound. He's 6-4 on the season with a 3.67 ERA. The Sooners don't have a game three starter listed for Saturday yet but Dillon Overton and Damien Magnifico are the likely suspects. All of Oklahoma's pitchers will have to tread lightly this weekend because the Bulldogs can make you pay for leaving a ball hanging over the plate.

Max White will lead Oklahoma's lineup against Samford. His .343 batting average and 50 RBI are both team highs. Matt Oberste saw his average climb up to .307 last week. He could be coming on strong at just the right time to be a boost to the Sooner bats.

The good news for Oklahoma is that Samford only has one lefty starter and won't be throwing him until Saturday. Josh Martin puts his 10-1 record and 3.06 ERA on the line Thursday night in the series opener. Friday the Bulldogs will put Charles Basford on the mound. He has a 3.86 ERA and an 8-1 record. On Saturday the Sooners will be looking to end their streak of bad luck against left handed pitchers when they take on Lex Rutledge. He has a 1-3 record on the season and a 6.82 ERA.

First pitch in the series is set for 6:30 tonight. I will be at the game as Oklahoma's Sports Fan Ambassador. You can follow my experience on Twitter @SoonerSportsFan.

OU Baseball Featured On Baseball America

2012-05-17T14:13:40Z

OU Baseball Featured On Baseball America

The Sooners were featured in their 'Three Strikes' column following their sweep of Baylor last weekend and OU's chances at the postseason.

Always find it interesting to get an "outsider's" perspective on the team and coaching staff many of us here have at times been fairly critical of this season.

Sooners Wide Receiver, Kameel Jackson, Has Apparent Change Of Heart

2012-05-17T10:37:50Z

RT @Kameeljackson18: Decided to stay at OU. & w/ that being said, its time to silence all rumors.
— SoonerNation (@Sooner_Nation) May 17, 2012

RT @Kameeljackson18: My suspensions came from my failure to meet my class attendance policy. Nothing more; nothing less.
— SoonerNation (@Sooner_Nation) May 17, 2012

The strange offseason saga of sophomore wide receiver has taken yet another odd twist. Just a couple days ago, Matt asked the relevant question "Why was Kameel Jackson suspended by Bob Stoops when he was planning to transfer?" Well, now we apparently have our answer.

At this point, we don't know what this means with respect to his "indefinite suspension" and just how long he'll be forced to sit out, but it is a good sign that he's publicly taking responsibility for his actions.

Sooners Take Bedlam Series For Seventh Straight Year

2012-05-17T00:28:01Z

Sooners Take Bedlam Series For Seventh Straight Year

With the close of the spring regular season athletic schedule, I thought it worth mentioning that our Oklahoma Sooners came out on top of the Bedlam Series for the seventh straight year.

At one point, just looking at that start to things, I would have told you this was almost impossible but that was just me temporarily forgetting who Oklahoma State was, is, and always will be.

And, yeah, sure in the one year a decade they win the football game they'll tell you it's all that matters. When in every other year they're boasting about their greatness in wrestling, or golf, or animal husbandry.

So thank you to all of our student athletes for providing we fans with yet another year's worth of bragging rights!

BOOMER!

Oklahoma's Offensive Success In 2012 Could Be In The Hands Of Courtney Gardner

2012-05-16T20:04:53Z

Last Wednesday's news that Bob Stoops was suspending three of Oklahoma's receivers indefinitely may have been just the extra motivation Courtney Gardner needed to get him through the long dog days of summer. It was widely suspected that Gardner could come to campus this summer and earn a starting spot this fall but with the recent suspensions that's exactly what Oklahoma needs him to do. They have to get him on campus first though!

A thousand yard receiver (13 Touchdowns) last year in the JUCO ranks, Gardner was a kid that everyone was in on. Well, maybe not everyone but Oklahoma beat out schools from the Big XII, the Big East, the Big 10 and the Pac-12 (14 in all) for his services. At 6-3/213 Gardner was ranked as a 4-star recruit by Rivals. He's blazing fast on the field (4.4/40 time) but his arrival to Norman could be painstakingly slow.

Oklahoma needs Courtney Gardner on campus as soon as possible to help fill the void left by suspensions.

While freshmen Trey Metoyer, Durron Neal and Sterling Shepard will all be on campus next month to participate in volunteer workouts, Gardner will still be trying to finish up at Sierra Community College. After taking twelve hours in the spring he now plans on taking six hours (two classes) this summer and is currently on track to be on campus at some point in July.

I know what you're thinking, and honestly I had the same thought as well, we've already lived through this with Trey Metoyer in 2011. Gardner has already stated that if for some reason he can't make it to OU this fall that he'll remain faithful to his Sooner commitment and will be on campus next spring. However, Oklahoma can't afford that this year!

The Sooners have Kenny Stills who will enter the fall as Landry Jones' top receiver (with the suspensions he's also the only receiver to catch a pass in major college football) and Trey Metoyer proved during the spring that he's going to be a lot more than a solid #2 at before his time is up at Oklahoma. Beyond that the Sooners have...well...um...two true freshmen and some new tight ends.

Neal and Shepard were stars as freshmen and I truly believe that they have bright futures at OU. That said, I'm not necessarily excited about there only being true freshmen as the other options to Stills. Having gone to prep school last year, Metoyer is a year removed from high school already but Neal and Shepard are attending their senior proms this month.

Gardner is the glue that could hold things together here. His presence would allow the Sooner passing attack to continue move on at a high level of success, even with the suspensions. His absence would leave a major void still there, with the impact of the suspensions being a major blow to the offense.

No pressure there, Courtney. Study hard just in case though!

Oklahoma Drops Mid-Week Game To TCU In Pitching Duel

2012-05-16T04:59:10Z

Heading into this Mid-Week game, Oklahoma had a shot to solidify themselves as an NCAA Tournament team. Coming off a series sweet against the #2 Baylor Bears, the Sooners had proven once again that they can compete with the best in the nation. The game against TCU was stacking up to be a great one as both teams found themselves in the top 25. However, OU would drop the game 1-0 after a great outing by Dillon Overton, the player I put under fire for under performing late in the season. I guess the message was received and responded to...

Dillon Overton was to pitch a complete game tonight. With everything he had, he gave the Sooners a chance to continue their win streak in the seven game home stand. In 9 innings, Overton allowed six hits while recording five strike outs. The biggest stat of the night is that Overton did not walk a single batter. This would mark Overton's third complete game of the season.

The first run to cross the plate would prove to be winning run in the first inning. TCU plated a runner (unearned) on a double to right field after a Cody Reine made a two-base error. It would appear that one run was all it was going to take as Horned Frog starter Brandon Finnegan took his no-hitter into the eighth inning.

The no-no did not mean the Sooners weren't getting runners on base as three batters reached on errors and another was hit by a pitch. The chances were there but Oklahoma really got it going in the eighth...or so it would have appeared. Caleb Bushyhead laid down a bunt giving OU runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs. This would end Finnegan's night and his chance at no-hitter.

From there, Justin Scharf would take over quickly getting out of the jam as Chase Simpson failed on a sac-bunt, Tanner Toal struckout, and Erik Ross popped one up. A golden chance at taking control of the game came crashing down in the blink of an eye.

The Sooners would then make a push in the bottom of the ninth with Reine getting hit by the pitch as the lead-off. Max White knocked one through the gap of the infield and reached on fielder's choice while Reine was thrown out at third. Matt Oberste would also reach on a fielder's choice but again the runner would be thrown out, this time it was White. For the final out would come after Jack Mayfield recorded a single and Evan Mistich would strike out looking. Could this be as epic as Carlos Beltran's disaster in the playoffs as it may have eliminated the Sooners from NCAA contention?

Tuesday College Baseball Game Thread: #20 TCU @ #24 Oklahoma

2012-05-15T22:30:18Z

Location: L. Dale Mitchell Park

Television: Cox Ch. 3/703 HD and Fox College Sports

Radio: KREF 1400 AM