Lincoln Riley Strikes a Tune
On day two of Oklahoma's 2016 summer camp, there was something unusual happening among the hustle and bustle of hundreds of young athletes conglomerated across the intramural fields.
There was one vast expanse of greenery simply dedicated to one quarterback and one quarterback coach. Those two men were 2018 Lewisville (Texas) Hebron pro-style quarterback Clayton Tune and Oklahoma offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley.
Tune was every bit of 6-foot-2 and looked the part of an athletic, strong signal-caller. He was paired with just a few of the camp's top wide receivers, which included Jones (Okla.) four-star Sean Shaw, so that Riley could give Tune the best look possible. It was clear that this was no ordinary work-out session and that the plan all along was to get spotlighted, individual attention.
The current Hebron Hawk quarterback was a marvel in consistency. His succinct and tight motion produced nary a wobbly pass, as he spun it with precision on nearly every throw. Riley made the young thrower work by feeding him ball after ball; testing his release point, footwork, and accuracy on every throw.
After the solo session had completed, Riley instructed the quarterback and his group of upper-echelon receivers to only work with each other when it came time to one-on-ones with the defensive backs. Again, attempting to maximize the most realistic of opportunities for Tune. The decision paid off for everyone, because whenever Tune was throwing the ball - it was not only completed, but done so in a nonchalant manner that suggested this was almost too easy for him.
Oklahoma players such as Baker Mayfield, Jeffery Mead, Jordan Smallwood, among others were able to meet Tune and his family afterwards. Riley, Mead, and the young Tune even engaged in some sporting basketball trash talk.
Riley has already sent out offers for three quarterbacks in the class of 2018 to Southmoore (Okla.) four-star Casey Thompson, Cartersville (Ga.) five-star Trevor Lawrence and Newbury Park (Cali.) four-star Cameron Rising. So he may provide the Oklahoma quarterback coach an option in Texas, as he moves forward with his evaluations of those soon-to-be juniors.
Tune has already visited Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, TCU, and Texas A&M. Although he holds no offers as of yet, the expectation is that will change very soon and the word is Oklahoma and Texas may have the upper hand if this were to turn into a contested race.