A likely NFL talent announcing he's stepping away from football to graduate, move home and fight fires is one of the manliest decisions you'll ever hear of.
I don't know what you should do with this information, but here it is:
Jalen Hurts arrived to the postgame presser a little late. It appeared to me like he brought two red Starbursts: One for him and one for Lincoln Riley. They both unwrapped them and ate them quietly.
Baylor HC Matt Rhule: "Personally, I think the Big 12 champion should go to the College Football Playoff year in and year out ... If you win this week after playing nine league games and a rematch, I think you should go have a chance."
Caleb Kelly on his role on the defense moving forward: "Going forward, take over. This is my defense. I’m the oldest cat left. It’s no waiting for anything, no sitting behind anybody. Lord willing no injuries, just a full season playing football."
Lincoln Riley trying to give his defense some love. After the first half of the presser focues on offense/CFP: "Me, Jalen and CeeDee aren't answering another question until you ask these other guys (Neville Gallimore, Kenneth Murray) a question please."
Baker Mayfield: plants a flag after a big victory.
People: Why the hell did he do that?
Jalen Hurts: quietly says he's unsatisfied after a good performance.
People: Why the hell did he do that?
I would have no idea how to react at alI if I were a college QB.
Caleb Kelly's early thoughts on Bedlam next week: "I think the fans in that stadium really do hate us. That’s special, because you go in there and you get to beat somebody in their own crib and they’re really mad. That’s our goal every week."
NEW: Trae Young agrees to make $4 million donation to Norman multi-sport facility. It will cover a little more than half the construction cost. |
#Sooners
OU football at 125: Barry Switzer could have soured on Oklahoma after his exit in 1989, or vice versa.
Yet he remains here, the straw that stirs the drink, a unique bridge between generations of
#Sooners
football:
#Sooners
CB Parnell Motley on highly-touted DB Brendan Radley-Hiles' play in spring so far:
"I noticed it early. He really sits on routes. He knows where his help’s at. He’s on everything that you could possibly be. ... I believe the hype."
This is my pure opinion. But listening to Joe Castilgione talk about eligibility/redshirts after this development, I'd be stunned if OU doesn't fight like hell for an extra year for its seniors: Namely one Maggie Nichols.
"I’m trying to live a bigger, fuller life."
I spoke with Holly Rowe (
@sportsiren
). She's beating cancer. And this week, she realized she's feeling better than ever.
How the daughter of a former sheep herder got into sports & more: |
#WCWS
#Sooners
Riley says Bridges has bounced back fine from the onside kick debacle: "He did exactly what we coached him to do ... We've practiced that onside here for a long time and I don't think we've ever done it as good as we did in that game."
Grinch on the defense tonight: "Very proud. That's the word. When you're called upon — there's times we call upon the offense to save our tail — we talked about complementary football the past few weeks. It goes both ways."
Jalen Hurts was asked tonight what a complete game looks like in his mind.
"Completer than what ya’ll have seen. What ya’ll have seen, the stuff we’ve displayed is not complete football. It’s not what we want to do. We can be better."
Kyler Murray's talking with The Ticket ahead of accepting the Davey O'Brien Award. Says "There aren't many things I'm garbage at." Wishes he would've played soccer growing up because "I'd probably be in Europe right now."
White America should talk less and listen more. That's my takeaway after a conversation with Nick Basquine (
@NB5ive
), who gave me an opportunity for understanding Saturday. |
#Sooners
Lincoln Riley said recently Bill Bedenbaugh got a new pair of practice shoes for the first time since Riley started at OU (2015).
Bedenbaugh: "I’ve got stuff at home my wife buys me that still has tags on it, you know? I wear the same thing every day. I really don’t care."
"Half the guys who have my [combine] numbers, they're working at Wal-Mart or Chuck E. Cheese."
Orlando Brown (
@ZEUS__78
) has done everything he said he would, despite the 2017 combine. Now a Pro Bowler, he's living his best life in Baltimore: |
#Sooners
Jamar Cain from OU's release: "It was just an opportunity I couldn't pass up. Once coach Riley and coach Grinch reached out I thought this was perfect for my family. In the end, when you look at it, there's only one Oklahoma and you can't turn that down."
#Sooners
Some personal news: Some of you know tomorrow is my last day working at The Transcript. I’m moving to Nashville. Salacious reports that I have signed a lucrative record deal are mostly untrue. 1/1
Norman North girls wearing “Moore Strong” shirts before tonight’s game against No. 1 Deer Creek. Believe a few other teams are doing this tonight too.
#okpreps
Kyler Murray was among the most affected after OU's loss to Alabama.
“My goal was to be remembered here ... Make a place better than you found it. I hope I did that. I just hope everybody knows I never quit.”
|
#Sooners
Riley: Kennedy Brooks "is good. We're lucky because it was a bad, bad play. Coach Wells was classy about it. He felt about it what I would've felt about it. We were lucky he wasn't hurt worse, because he could've been."
#Sooners
Respect Kenneth Murray for the developmental strides he made this season.
Still really respect his role as a sophomore. Team captain & defensive spokesman during tough times for that defense. Repeatedly met with reporters to discuss a tough subject with grace/class. A good guy.
Spoke a little bit with
@TaylorWein
, whose recruitment hit a different level this week. He was born in Edmond, OK. Brothers played at Deer Creek. He didn’t go into a ton of recruiting details but did give a shout-out to
#Sooners
coaches for being the first to offer him.
Mike Gundy was asked if there was any truth to a 'social media' rumor that Boone Pickens left him a small sum of money to get a haircut. Gundy felt the question was disrespectful to Pickens and media in general and offered this:
This is about as playful as Jalen Hurts has been in a Q&A with media this season, asked whether his second completion to Charleston Rambo was actually intended for him:
Casen Calmus (
@casencalmus
) had a moment when watching his dad's college highlights.
“The tackling was so pure. The form was so good."
The
@theBAFootball
DB/WR will be a preferred walk-on at OU, where his dad is nothing short of a legend.
#Sooners
OU had 11 players make All-Big 12 Academic team:
Nick Basquine
Pat Fields
Jeremiah Hal
Connor McGinnis,
Bryan Mead
Tanner Mordecai
Reeves Mundschau
Devin Staton
Drake Stoops
Jon-Michael Terry
Clayton Woods
Kyler Murray goes with a "no comment" on what he's seen from Oklahoma State's defense.
Moments later says Mike Yurcich reached out to him during recruitment. Murray didn't have much interest, said he doesn't like Stillwater.
Bedlam.
Interesting nugget from after practice tonight: CeeDee Lamb said he really battled the cold conditions at OSU. Just could never get his body warm enough. Said it's not the first time it's happened.
I asked if he's considered long johns: "Nah, but my mom definitely would have."
In case you're curious about how the Maven/Sports Illustrated operation is going. Someone from there called me about a job. They confirmed that I write for "The Norman" then asked what that is.
"That's a city in Oklahoma? Where is that exactly?"
So that's where we're at.
By my count, Baker Mayfield, Lauren Chamberlain & Chenoweth have done social cameos w/ OU gear for its
#20Deep
signing class today. Smart on OU's part getting endorsements from folks with huge digital reaches. Those 3 combined have roughly 1.9 million Twitter followers alone.
Breaking: Ensworth's baseball season is over after it had to forfeit a win due to a TSSAA pitch-count violation.
In the forfeited win, Vandy commitment Connor Cobb threw a no-hitter with 16 Ks. His 121 pitches were just one over the max of 120.