OU transfer portal intel: Sooners hoping to land pair of DL; Hickman excited to play in Norman
OU had a busy weekend in the transfer portal, hosting three key targets in Norman for Saturday’s spring game.
TCU defensive lineman Damonic Williams, Louisville defensive lineman Jermayne Lole and SMU center Branson Hickman all spent time with the Sooners this weekend. Hickman committed to OU on Sunday, while Williams and Lole are still mulling over their choices.
Here’s what SoonerScoop has heard about each following the weekend.
DL Jermayne Lole, Louisville
Lole is easily the hardest of the three to get a hold of. He’s been silent most of his recruitment. But one source close to Lole told SoonerScoop that he had a “great weekend and loves the staff.” Talking to sources Sunday, it sounded like Lole was close to shutting down his recruitment and not taking his other visits to Texas A&M, Washington and USC. That could still be the case and he is definitely one to monitor early this week as an OU commitment would not be a surprise.
From OU’s side of things, they’re hopeful Lole will come to a decision soon and are confident they have a chance to land him. The Sooners are hoping to land two defensive tackles in the portal. And they want to have them in the boat as soon as possible. If Lole or Williams or both don’t join OU, they will look elsewhere. And they likely won’t wait on either if they don’t make their decisions in the next couple of weeks.
One name to keep an eye on is Michigan State’s Simeon Barrow Jr. He is someone OU has been in contact with and the Sooners would like to bring him in for a visit this week. Only problem is that LSU is the frontrunner for Barrow, who visited Baton Rouge this past weekend and was still on campus as of Monday morning.
DL Damonic Williams, TCU
Like Lole, Williams enjoyed his weekend with the Sooners. One source said that Brent Venables is “the ideal coach” for Williams, who wants to play in a scheme like Oklahoma’s. Williams and his mom really connected with defensive line coach Todd Bates. And on the NIL side of things, there were no issues there. But as Williams’ recruitment continues, one has to wonder if his price will go up.
It certainly felt like OU had a chance to land Williams this weekend, but that won’t be the case. Williams — as expected from the start — wants to take other visits. He will be at Texas on Tuesday and Wednesday. He has since canceled his trip to Colorado and will instead visit Missouri this coming weekend. And then he will visit LSU. There is also still a chance he will visit Oregon.
OU tried to close the deal Sunday afternoon. Williams did not leave Norman until 7 p.m. And the Sooners won’t stop recruiting Williams. He remains their top priority. But Oklahoma also knows it can’t wait forever. And if Williams doesn’t make a decision in the next week or so, or if things start trending in a different direction, OU could start keying in on other defensive tackles.
OL Branson Hickman, SMU
Let’s finish with some good news. While defensive tackle is a position OU needs to fill, center might have been Oklahoma’s biggest void. That’s why it was pivotal for the Sooners to land Hickman, who started 33 games for the Mustangs.
For Hickman, he said the decision to choose OU was a “no-brainer.”
“Coach Venables was awesome. He seems like a genuine coach, which is kind of rare,” Hickman said. “And coach Bednebaugh with what he talked to me about with technique and the way he develops talent is special. What really stood out to me the most the whole trip was my conversation with coach (Jerry) Schmidt and the way he develops o-linemen and takes the time to really work with o-linemen.”
Hickman committed at Venables’ home Sunday morning. And he said that it was the spring game itself that put the visit over the top.
“To me, the spring game was great,” Hickman said. “I loved my time at SMU, but that was one thing I was looking for — a bigger environment. Being in front of 45,000 people for a spring game is not something I’m used to. That really solidified my whole reasoning for doing all this.”
Hickman feels like he can step in and help the Sooners. He’s already connected with several players, as Jacob Sexton was his host for the weekend.
“Since I only have one year left, it’s important to start building the connections now,” Hickman said. “It was made known to me that (center) was a position of need. I’m just excited to show up to a new place and prove myself. As a guy who was lowly recruited out of high school, I had to do the same thing at my first school and I did. I’m excited to do it again. It seems like the o-line room has a bunch of good guys in it and I’m excited to build a bond with those guys.”
The post OU transfer portal intel: Sooners hoping to land pair of DL; Hickman excited to play in Norman appeared first on On3.
