Oklahoma has received five verbal commitments in as many days.

Lincoln Riley is reconnecting with a pipeline that has been good to Oklahoma in the past, as the Sooners now have another commitment from Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas. Of course, probably the most impressive figure to play for the Sooners from Bishop Gorman is Demarco Murray, but now Lincoln Riley and Bill Bedenbaugh have secured the commitment of Jake Taylor, another high-profile offensive lineman. Taylor is nationally respected and committed to the Oklahoma Sooners over other institutions such as Alabama, Notre Dame, USC and several others.

Taylor stands tall at a frame of 6’6, 290lbs with a commitment to play in the HS All-American Bowl. The talented athlete will play tackle and despite being already massive, still has plenty of room to fill out and lose bad weight. He has very long arms, is a punishing force in the run game, and has quick enough feet to secure the edge. It’s no shock that he’s very well coached and technically polished, coming from one of the more premier private schools in the country.

Taylor is now the Sooners’ 13th commit of the 2022 recruiting cycle and is the second offensive lineman that Bedenbaugh has been able to secure since the holiday weekend. Currently, Jake Taylor is rated as the No. 286 overall player in the country, the No. 27 offensive tackle, and the No. 8 player in the state of Nevada according to 247Sports Composite rankings.

Norman police reportedly requested a warrant for Henderson’s arrest on Tuesday.

Oklahoma Sooners head coach Lincoln Riley announced the dismissal of Mikey Henderson Tuesday after local authorities requested a warrant for the running back’s arrest.

According to media reports, the Norman Police Department is alleging Henderson was involved in an April 15 armed robbery that already resulted in the departures of running back Seth McGowan and receiver Trejan Bridges. The warrant request followed a protracted investigation into the alleged involvement of a third participant in the robbery. SI Sooners first reported on the warrant request for Henderson.

OU fans saw glimpses of Henderson on the field at H-back during the 2020 season. In nine games, he caught 12 passes for 168 yards and a touchdown and added nine carries for 81 yards and score on the ground. Henderson made his biggest impression in the Sooners’ November win over the Oklahoma State Cowboys in which he had three catches for 61 yards and a TD.

OU’s coaching staff clearly valued Henderson’s versatility as a runner and receiver, but defining a consistent role for him in the offense proved elusive. While Henderson was experimenting with a full-time move to RB in the spring, the arrivals of transfers Eric Gray from Tennessee and Tre Bradford from LSU combined with Kennedy Brooks’ return to the field might have left him short on snaps in 2021.

On the other hand, OU’s roster is starting to look perilously thin at H-back following Henderson’s dismissal. Jeremiah Hall and Brayden Willis are each in their final years with the Sooners. Meanwhile, OU will have one scholarship tight end with experience on the team moving forward, and there’s a chance he takes his talents to the NFL after this season.

As such, look for OU’s coaches to start scouting potential transfer candidates at H-back in the fall.

Pro Football Focus has Spencer Rattler as its top player for 2021. Will he live up the billing?

Happy Tuesday, friends and fans!

Pro Football Focus recently named Oklahoma Sooners redshirt sophomore QB Spencer Rattler college football’s No. 1 overall player entering the 2021 season. To see PFF’s top-50 list in its entirety, click here or check out the link in the tweet below.

In addition to Rattler being selected as the top player in college football, two other Sooners also made the cut in PFF’s preseason player ranking. Redshirt junior EDGE Nik Bonitto checks in at No. 4 and redshirt junior RB Kennedy Brooks also makes an appearance at No. 42.

At this point, I think it’s safe to say that Spencer Rattler has the nation’s biggest microscope on his back entering the 2021 season. He leads virtually all preseason Heisman Trophy watch lists, and he’s the early favorite to become the first QB taken in the 2022 NFL Draft (if not the first overall pick altogether). Fortunately for OU fans, they’ll get see him wearing that Crimson & Cream for at least one more run at a championship before he sets his sights squarely on the league.

Now onto today’s Hot Links! Recruiting heats up in Oklahoma, some familiar names and faces are set to go for gold in this year’s Olympic Games, the Jags ink No. 1 T-Law to a hefty rookie deal and more!

OU Links

• On Tuesday, Oklahoma gymnast Anastasia Webb was named Big 12 Female Athlete of the Year by the conference. It’s the 14th time a Sooner (male or female) has been recognized as the league’s top player in a given year.

• Sporting News recently named Spencer Rattler and Nik Bonitto Preseason First Team All-Americans. The national publication also recognized sophomore WR Marvin Mims among its list of Second Team All-Americans.
• Oklahoma Football just had one heck of a weekend on the recruiting trail. In total, the program welcomed the addition of four verbal commitments. Sooner Scoop’s Bob Przybylo has more on each of the pledges as well as what this could mean for the 2022 class going forward.
• Speaking of which, four-star 2022 offensive lineman Jake Taylor will be announcing his commitment on Wednesday.

• In other recruiting news, 2022 three-star DL Jadon Scarlett out of Flower Mound, Texas recently unveiled his top three schools, and OU made the cut along with Texas A&M and Missouri.

• When you look at some of the prospects Oklahoma is beginning to pick up on the defensive side of the ball, it’s apparent that DC Alex Grinch’s approach to recruiting is paying off in a big way. Sooners Wire’s John Williams has more.
• As members of the Mexico National Softball Team, former Sooners Sydney Romero and Nicole Mendes are headed to Tokyo, Japan for the 2020 Summer Olympic Games. Good luck, ladies! Boomer!

Around the Sports World

• Game One of the 2021 NBA Finals between the Phoenix Suns and Milwaukee Bucks tips off tonight at 8 p.m. CT on ABC. It’s not a matchup featuring the two teams most prognosticators predicted to reach this stage when the season started, but these are the two teams who have passed every test they’ve faced up to this point.

• This week, the Jacksonville Jaguars officially signed QB Trevor Lawrence — the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft — to a four-year, $36.8 million contract.
• In other signing news, the Atlanta Hawks officially removed the interim tag off Nate McMillan’s title and have made him the team’s latest head coach behind a four-year deal.
• Jessica Springsteen — daughter of rock legend Bruce Springsteen — is heading to the Tokyo Olympics as part of the U.S. equestrian team. Sounds like some extremely talented genes, to me.
• On Monday night, the U.S. Women’s National Team defeated Mexico, 4-0 to cap their Send Off Series. Next stop — the Tokyo Summer Olympic Games. I’m looking forward to watching this squad compete for the Gold.

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