OU Impressing Elite LB

Few players in the country carry a more impressive physical presence than Dallas South Oak Cliff rising junior linebacker Kelvion Riggins. That said, Riggins is far more than a weight room monster putting up 55 tackles, 12.5 for loss, and 4.5 sacks for the, now, two-time defending state champions.

During the recent Dallas Under Armour camp, Riggins's physique was marveled at by several coaches on hand, including some of the Under Armour coaching staff. He couldn't help but laugh as they forced some of his South Oak Cliff coaches to confirm he was just a 16-year old sophomore.

And as for how he has developed beyond so many of his peers?

"I do three-a-day workouts. (I've) got to stay in the lab and get big like those college linebackers," Riggins chuckled.

Like any linebacker at a camp, Riggins was well aware he was fighting an uphill battle of covering running backs in man-to-man coverage 40-yards down the field. But he knows that's just part of the game in camp life.

"I was telling coach that, it’s offensive drills sometimes but you’ve got to go ahead and compete," he said. "It’s awesome, it feels great, (I) talked to some great coaches and had some great competition."

Riggins, who hit up Oklahoma on March 25 with hopes of furthering his relationship with the Sooners coaching staff in particular area recruiter Jay Valai who has built a good early relationship with the nation's No. 162 overall player.

"Coach Valai, he’s coming on strong," Riggins laughed. "Just his energy, when I’m around, with nicknames and everything.

"It was a great visit The Sooners are always a great host to me. Out of the many trips I've had up there this time I was able to get the full tour and able to see inside Headington Hall."

Riggins has built a bond with Valai but he isn't the only Sooner staffer that the big man has gotten familiar with. During his visit though he didn't get the personal time he was hoping for with Brent Venables due to the star linebacker having to leave a bit earlier than expected.

"Venables, I spoke to him on the field but I had to leave early. (When we talked later) he said they'll just talk to me next time they come to [South Oak Cliff]."

The nation's No. 4 inside linebacker already has a pair of Sooners he's very familiar with and hit up while he was in Norman. Interestingly he's also got a strong relationship with one of Patty Gasso's stars.

"I'm really cool with Billy Bowman and Kobie Mckinzie. My sister trains with Jayda Coleman and her dad, thats how I met Billy," Riggins recalled.

"And my school beat Kobie in the 4th round of the playoffs (a few years ago)."

But Riggins would never bring that last part up with McKinzie, right?

"I bring it up every time," he laughed. "He's a cool guy."

With all of these connections to the Sooners, it's no surprise that Riggins expects to have Oklahoma near the top of his list for the foreseeable future. However, he's also not missed the fan response to all of his social media interactions.

"(OU will) always will be in my top 5," he explained. "The fans, they post 'Boomer Sooner' on all my college posts."

For now though he's just taking his time and after a trip to Ohio State last weekend is expecting to hit Texas A&M on April 15 and make his way to Notre Dame on April 22.