Back home, Kobie McKinzie picks Sooners
It’s very easy to preach patience on the recruiting trail, but it’s a lot harder to actually follow that practice.
Especially in the middle of what has easily been the craziest coaching carousel month in a long time in college football.
But all is well that ends well and Lubbock (Texas) Cooper inside linebacker Kobie McKinzie is finally done with the process, picking Oklahoma Monday afternoon.
McKinzie will sign with the Sooners on Wednesday, the program he had been committed to from January 2020 until two weeks ago.
Throughout the process, McKinzie and his family had emphasized relationships. And with OU, that meant former coaches Lincoln Riley and Brian Odom.
After the jolt that was with Riley leaving for USC, McKinzie was one of the first recruits to decommit and start looking around. He visited Texas last weekend and committed following the official visit.
Strangely enough, around the same time McKinzie was picking the Longhorns, OU was getting ready to welcome Brent Venables back to Norman. If you want someone who can coach a linebacker or two, Venables is an obvious choice.
McKinzie is one of those recruits who has been so highly thought of since he was a freshman that you wondered how his trajectory would go. Instead of topping out as a sophomore or something like that, McKinzie has continued to get better with each season and has earned the No. 6 ranking at inside linebacker in the nation.
With Venables firmly in place, the Sooners went back to work and had an in-home visit with McKinzie last week. That set up McKinzie returning to Norman for a visit over the weekend, and the writing was on the wall.
It remains to be seen how Wednesday is going to go for the Sooners with the beginning of the early signing period, but it’s a nice little splash by Venables in the last couple of days.
Earning a couple of Rivals 250 commitments, both from the state of Texas. Flower Mound (Texas) High quarterback Nick Evers chose OU on Monday morning and Venables with the first shot in the Red River Rivalry recruiting battles, getting McKinzie back.