Commitment Surprised Redmond

For the 6-foot-3, 235-pound pass rushing prodigy to have committed on Saturday was a surprise to most everyone - not so much in his decision to become a Sooner but in the timing of it. For months the talk had been that Midwest City, Okla. EDGE rusher Jalen Redmond would be waiting for a decision until the end of the football season.

And in the end, no one was more surprised than Redmond himself.

"Going down (to Oklahoma) I had no intention of committing, I didn’t plan on it, I didn’t have it in my mind," Redmond admitted. "I was still planning on waiting until December. When I got there, it just happened.

"I was actually over there talking to Patrick (Fields) and Ron (Tatum) and was joking around with them. They asked when I was committing and I was saying ‘nah, I’m going to Arizona’, I was just playing with them. Then I walked over to my mom and she was just standing around. I said ‘mom, I think I’m going to commit’ usually when I say that she knows I’m just playing she’ll say ‘no you’re not, going you’re going to wait until December’ or something. And I said ‘No for real I think I’m going to commit’ and she said ‘well, ok, if this is what you want to do’, my heart started beating and thought, 'I’m really going to do it'.

"I asked coach (Lincoln) Riley if I could talk to him for a second and I think he knew what was going to happen from there."

Though big-time commitments are starting to become common for Riley, that didn't hold back his enthusiasm for the decision of the player who currently sits at No. 4 in the Sooner State Rankings. But it's not just Riley that has played a big role in closing the latest Bombers star as defensive ends coach Calvin Thibodeaux did plenty to help the Sooner cause.

"He said ‘woohoo’, he was just so excited. Coach Thibs was right there, he was very excited. They had a little microphone and he had one of the guys say it on the mic and everyone, it felt really good actually – I think it was the right thing to do," Redmond recalled.

"Coach [Thibodeaux] had a relationship back then, I actually started talking to coach Thibs before I started talking to coach Mike (Stoops). Then I started talking to coach Mike more and then it was kind of back and forth – I talk to both of them."

With Thibodeaux's involvement the obvious question becomes just where does the nation's No. 20 weakside defensive end fit into the plans? Not surprisingly the multi-talented prospect could be attacking offenses in multiple ways - however, where that will be doesn't seem to be a big concern for him.

"No, they haven’t exactly told me [how they'll be using their defensive fronts] but they told me I can be doing both up or with my hand in the dirt. It depends on what plays they are running," he explained. "It really doesn’t matter to me, I kind of like my hand in the dirt, which is fine with me but standing up is fine too."

As the SoonerScoop had reported a few weeks ago there was some talk that his decision to wait until December wasn't entirely of his own doing, and the comments from his mother would seem to fit into that.

"She wanted me to wait, I picked the actual December date because it was just a thing for me and her. She wanted me to wait until National Signing Day, wanted me to wait until February. We just came and I said ‘I’ll do it in December’ so that I could look forward to basketball season. We just decided on that so I can get it done and we won’t have to worry about it," he said.

But for Redmond he admits that the feeling he got each time he was in Norman was something he just didn't want to risk missing out on.

"The love they give you when you are there, there is so much love. It’s a big family, and I wanted to be part of that," he explained. "Seeing Ron, and Patrick, and Jordan (Kelley) and all of them, when I wasn’t committed, even at the barbecue all of the commitments were together and I thought ‘I like this group of guys’ and I didn’t want to miss out on playing with them."

Just days after dramatically changing his plan it's no surprise that Redmond is still of the mind to take some trips. However, he will talk that over with Oklahoma.

"I want to take a few visits but it’s all up to the school if they would want me to. I want to but it’s up to them, if they won’t allow me to, that’s fine, I won’t have any problem with it."