This is it. This is the weekend. Once upon a time, we were two months away from the #ChampUBBQ for Oklahoma. Then one month. Then one week. And now it’s here.
The recruiting dead period ended June 1, and the Sooners haven’t been shy about getting top-tier prospects on campus in the previous two weekends and during the course of the last few weeks.
However, all eyes have gone toward this weekend, and Saturday, if you just want to single out a particular day for the annual BBQ event.
COVID-19 canceled last year’s happening, and Lincoln Riley and the coaches and recruiting staff have all been building up to this moment.
Entering Friday morning, SoonerScoop.com can confirm 43 recruits for the 2022 and 2023 classes. An astounding 19 official visitors to go with seven unofficial visits in 2022 and 17 among the best of the best in 2023 for unofficial visits as well.
Do the math, and it checks out to 4.02 stars per recruit. That would be exceptional if you only had like 10 guys on campus. But to do so with more than 40 is a credit to what Riley and the staff have been able to accomplish and able to pitch in recruiting with some of the nation’s best.
Some of you are well-versed in what this weekend means, but for others, a review of what has been and a preview of what’s to come.
What is the #ChampUBBQ?
This started in summer 2016, and it was actually OU catching up to some of the other schools in the country who had been holding end of the summer recruiting events. The Sooners weren’t the first, but the staff has done a tremendous job of making it their own and not just copying what others have done at other places.
It’s a laid-back atmosphere featuring elite recruits and their families getting to know the staff and players currently in Norman. Events have ranged from Bob Stoops pitching wiffle ball in the first year to pie-eating contests to water balloon fights to the usual stuff like touring the facilities and having photo shoots in OU uniforms.
With the advent of spring official visits, the last couple of BBQ weekends were more about commits building a bond with another as opposed to attempting to land major pieces to the class.
That strategy is obviously changing this year since this is the first month since March 2020 to be open for recruits and their families to see college campuses again. No doubt that OU intends to strike.
Will June make a difference?
Another aspect of this year’s that is different is it’s the first time the BBQ is in June. It has traditionally been a late-July event, but it was moved.
One big difference that can occur now is the alumni factor. When you’re getting into the last week of July, guys are really starting to focus on their NFL season and rightfully so.
Third week of June, though, gives you a better chance for the likes of a Baker Mayfield or a Kenneth Murray or an Adrian Peterson to come back to Norman and put on their recruiting hat to help out Riley and company.
The plan is for several prominent names to be back at The Palace this weekend, but it remains to be seen just how many can actually return.
What makes it a successful weekend?
Always one of the biggest questions each year. With some recruits, it’s more of an introduction period where you’re finally getting to know them and their family. With others, it’s closing time. The bond is there, everything they need to know is known, and it’s time to get their commitment.
What helps is the mixture of who will be in town. It’s good to have a blend of commits with top targets because that’s how you can create that type of electric atmosphere to start having kids make their call.
As with everything since COVID-19, this year is a little different because so many recruits will be making their first trip ever to campus. A successful weekend will come from the plan in place.
OU’s recruiting staff hit home run after home run with virtual visits. Well, we’re back face-to-face again, and this is their weekend to really shine once again.
How many commits will happen this weekend?
The other easy question. When Riley took over, he began with a splash. The 2017 version of the BBQ had three immediate commitments (2020 running back Jase McClellan, 2019 DB Jeffery Carter and 2018 DL Jalen Redmond).
Then when spring official visits became a thing, Riley earned seven in a three-day period (2019 WR Theo Wease, 2019 WR Arjei Henderson, 2019 S Jamal Morris, 2020 RB Jaylan Knighton, 2019 DL Derek Green, Grad transfer DL Jay Hayes, 2019 S Jarrian Jones).
As you can see, not all the names panned out. Some never even made it to Norman, but the momentum from those types of weekends make a difference.
The days of seven in 72 hours seem like they’re done, but it’s incredibly realistic to think 2-3 by week’s end and a considerable bunch more when signing day comes around.
This won’t be OU’s only mega-recruiting weekend until December, but this is the one where you’re hoping for a good chunk of the class to come from.
The SoonerScoop (released every Friday) will have a detailed look at who are some of the names to be on commit watch for OU fans this weekend.
Are there too many visitors?
A new question for this year because this has never ever been uttered for an OU recruiting event before. When you start getting to 40-50 guys, is that too much?
In the past, probably would have leaned toward yes. Not now. There are a lot of reasons why bringing this amount of talent in at once actually makes sense.
Some of it is a numbers game. Check out the Crimson Corner for the full list of visitors, and you can see there are a lot of names at the same spot. Get them all together like this, and you’ll find out where you stand with them and where they stand with you.
If somebody is willing to commit, that’s gonna cause a ripple effect with other recruits. Just the way it works. Whether it’s for Bill Bedenbaugh’s guys at offensive line or what Roy Manning has been trying to do in the secondary, there are names galore.
It’s the honest approach. Hey, there’s three or four of you we like. Whoever jumps in first, they’ve got their spot. Not pressuring, per se, but just letting them know the lay of the land.
The other, and this is new, is the transfer portal. Face it, you’re not getting all 40 of these recruits, and that’s OK. Maybe you don’t get a couple now, but give it a couple of years, and maybe they surface again in the transfer portal down the road?
OU absolutely used that to its advantage in landing former Tennessee players Wanya Morris and Keshawn Lawrence from the portal in January. Both visited OU during their initial recruitment, and they had the bonds already created. Once they left Knoxville, you knew the Sooners were going to be major players for both and surprised nobody that they ended up with both.
So bring every name possible. Just because it doesn’t work now, doesn’t mean the door would be officially closed forever.
What position is the one to circle?
There is no wrong answer here. Seriously. Look up and down the visitors list, and each coach is going to be busy. You love to see it.
One coach who needs this opportunity, though, is running backs coach DeMarco Murray. It’s his second year on staff but his first BBQ. And after not earning a 2021 running back from the high school ranks, he needs to knock it out of the park here.
He’s the got the chance with Raleek Brown, Jovontae Barnes and Gavin Sawchuk all coming to town. Sawchuk for an official visit and Brown and Barnes on unofficial trips.
In a perfect world, this is OU’s 2022 running back class in Barnes and Sawchuk and then however you want to classify Brown because the speedster can and will do a little bit of everything.
Nobody is calling for Murray’s job yet, but if you want to silence some critics, a strong in-person showing here with elite recruits is a great way to do just that.
Will Lincoln Riley provide the brisket?
Ha, you’re not tricking me into that one. There will be plenty of good BBQ for all, let’s just put it that way.
