2-for-Tuesdays: Two thoughts on the team, and two on recruiting

As the dust settles on OUInsider’s move to the Rivals network, the OUInsider team is rolling out a number of new feature elements for members through the transition. In the future, this Tuesday column will be available as premium content to members, but is unlocked and free today.

With that, it’s time for a pair of Tuesday insights on the team, followed by another pair of insights on recruiting.

1) Interior defensive line is still a question mark. Sure, the Sooners have numbers at the position, but it doesn’t feel like anyone truly separated themselves from the pack in spring. Kori Roberson is out the door, a victim of the persistent processing on the defensive side of the ball. We’ve yet to see a fully healthy and disruptive Kelvin Gilliam. Jordan Kelley is a guy that seemingly generates some rave reviews every spring, but proves to be less than a difference-maker in the fall. It's apparent that though he's nasty in the trenches, Gracen Halton still needs to pack on some more muscle, and Derrick LeBlanc is still a pup. That leaves one incumbent in Isaiah Coe, a pair of transfers in Jacob Lacey and Devon Sears, and a transitioning defensive end in Jonah La’ulu. Lacey and Sears have the inside track in terms of experience. That said, Coe has had some nice moments in a Sooner uniform, and La’ulu probably has the highest sheer physical ceiling. Nevertheless, nobody in that room has demonstrated the type of game-wrecking potential that Oklahoma has lacked at defensive tackle since Neville Gallimore’s exodus.

2) Damond Harmon’s departure speaks volumes for Peyton Bowen. As Brandon Drumm reported last week to OUInsider members, the Oklahoma coaching staff essentially told Harmon it was time to look for greener pastures. Obviously, the Sooners have a pair of established veterans in line to start at safety this fall; Billy Bowman and Reggie Pearson are your lead tandem. However, with Robert Spears-Jennings on the shelf after shoulder surgery, that leaves Key Lawrence and Bowen as the only other healthy safeties on the roster. Granted, Erik McCarty will be back to full speed by the time fall camp rolls around, and Daeh McCullough will join the fold in June. But the willingness to part ways with Harmon still indicates enormous faith in Bowen. The former five-star flashed his immense potential in the spring game, most notably on a memorable diving interception of Dillon Gabriel. Oklahoma wouldn’t have told Harmon to move along if they didn’t feel like Bowen could contribute right off the bat and be a member of the two-deep at safety. That’ll be the fair expectation come September for the Denton Guyer product. Now, for a couple of thoughts on recruiting…

1) Miguel Chavis is recruiting much more effectively right now than he’s being given credit for. The Sooners’ second-year defensive ends coach has staked OU to a lead for one of the country’s top overall prospects in Williams Nwaneri, but it’s not just Nwaneri or bust right now for Chavis. Brandon and I will have more intel later in the week on a few other edges for whom Oklahoma is surging, including Kellen Lindstrom of Missouri, Wyatt Gilmore of Minnesota and Houston-area stud Loghan Thomas. Todd Bates is commanding the headlines on the recruiting trail as of late, and deservedly so. But Chavis made an enormous splash down the stretch in 2022 by landing R Mason Thomas and Gracen Halton, and secured one of 2023’s big fish in PJ Adebawore. He’s very poised to make similar noise in 2024 if the current trends hold. Now, the larger question becomes whether Chavis can squeeze top-tier production out of his group on the football field. The Sooners didn’t generate much pressure in 2022, but they also weren’t terribly athletic or savvy on the edge. With Thomas, Trace Ford, Ethan Downs and Rondell Bothroyd leading the charge this fall, that’s subject to change.

2) Bill Bedenbaugh may end up making a big play into the Midwest to round out his offensive line class. The Sooners’ lone commit on the offensive line right now is four-star tackle Isaiah Autry, and they’re trying to hold off Alabama and Clemson for four-star guard Casey Poe as official visits draw near. However, a couple other prospects with whom the Sooners are quietly sitting pretty are four-star Iowa native Grant Brix and three-star Kansan project Kaedin Massey. Brix’s film is some of the most impressive that I’ve seen in the 2024 class; he’s an executioner as a run blocker and very nimble in pass protection. While Massey still has plenty of weight that he needs to add before he’s ready to play college football, he’s pushing 6-foot-8 with a very athletic frame. He’s well worth stashing for a year or two based on his long-term potential. As of right now, I expect both Brix and Massey to take officials with Oklahoma. The former is a little bit more wide open in terms of his recruiting process, but the latter favors Oklahoma and Nebraska for the moment despite a recent surge of new P5 offers. If the Sooners could even go 1-for-2 with Brix and Massey, close out Poe and add a Jason Zandamela or a Bennett Warren (both of whom will OV at Oklahoma), that’s a very satisfactory haul for Bedenbaugh in the 2024 cycle.