With a clear scheme and clear identity, it’s easy to figure out what Oklahoma defensive coordinator Alex Grinch wants from his group.
What has probably taken some fans a bit to accept is that those star ratings next to someone’s name doesn’t mean a whole lot to Grinch in forming his #SpeedD.
However, as the less than two years have shown, Grinch and company are doing a pretty good job of evaluating their guys.
Not all of them in 2020 received rankings jumps, not all of them stayed committed to OU, but you started to understand exactly what the staff was trying to accomplish.
“It’s always interesting. Everybody wants to judge classes when they sign, which is the absolute worst time you can judge a class,” said head coach Lincoln Riley in February. “That’s always yet to be seen. I would say in this class (2020) we had more, on both sides of the ball, guys that for whatever reason weren’t highly ranked by recruiting services that we were absolutely thrilled with when the committed and signed with us.
“Some years go like that. You’ve got to be confident and very assured in what you’re looking for and target. There’s a lot of guys that we signed that we wouldn’t trade with anybody.”
And for 2021, seems apparent there are a lot of guys committed that OU wouldn’t trade with anybody. As the latest Rivals 250 update Tuesday suggest, Grinch and company remain ahead of the curve with a lot of evaluations.
Previous ranking: 104
Movement: +25 spots
The story: OU’s most recent commitment and a huge win on the trail for defensive line coach Calvin Thibodeaux. Gilliam brings a versatile skill set where he could play inside or outside. He seems destined to be inside for the Sooners. With regional power Penn State making a strong run for Gilliam, this was a great job by Thibodeaux and Grinch in earning his pledge where it probably wouldn’t have gone OU’s way before. Gilliam was knocking on the door of the Rivals 100, but he’s now firmly in.
Previous ranking: 211
Movement: +83 spots
The story: There are going to be some OU fans who still believe Smith is way undervalued and the credit here has to go to first-year outside linebackers coach Jamar Cain. It was a huge statement by Cain, known for his ties to the west coast, to come into the state of Texas and land an elite recruit who fits exactly what OU likes to do at the EDGE linebacker position. Smith was back at OU over the weekend for the recruit-led Sooner Summit.
Previous ranking: NR
The story: Harmon was the first of the Virginia boys to commit this month. As his teammate Gilliam is versatile on the line, Harmon is the same way in the secondary. He could play any of the five spots moving forward and allows Grinch and cornerbacks coach Roy Manning a lot of flexibility moving forward. At a 5.6 Rivals ranking before Tuesday, Harmon wasn’t right on the cusp but has proven to be dynamic enough to now be solidified in the list.
Previous ranking: NR
The story: Cain’s wish list at defensive end might have begun with Rawlins-Kibonge. Known in the past for his basketball ability, Rawlins-Kibonge had a dominant junior season that saw him become a legitimate two-sport recruit. OU going into Oregon sounds crazy and not even worth the effort, but Cain made it happen. OU hasn’t had that type of size and speed from a defensive end in a while, and Rawlins-Kibonge is another sign of OU winning battles it simply didn’t in years past.
