How Oklahoma Players Performed at Under Armour All-America Practice

ORLANDO — If Brent Venables’ pitch alone isn’t convincing sufficient that Oklahoma is due for a brighter future, simply look at the incoming surge of expertise.

The Sooners have 13 highschool All-Americans scheduled to reach in Norman, many in about two weeks for the spring semester.

It’s OU’s first top-five recruiting class since 2010, based on the 247 Sports group rankings.

Most of the All-Americans have spent the week between Orlando and Kissimmee, the place they’ve been practising at ESPN Wide World of Sports for Tuesday’s Under Armour All-America Game. The recreation will probably be staged at Camping World Stadium — identical venue because the Sooners’ loss to Florida State within the Cheez-It Bowl simply 4 days in the past — and will probably be televised by ESPN. Kickoff is 5 p.m. ET.

With seven gamers within the recreation, Oklahoma has the second-most All-Americans on the roster. Alabama is first with 10. Texas and Georgia every have six.

OU really had eight gamers chosen to Under Armour All-America standing, however defensive finish Derrick LeBlanc opted to observe with the Sooners for the Cheez-It Bowl as an alternative.

The Sooners even have 4 gamers chosen to play in Saturday’s Adidas All-America Bowl in San Antonio: middle Joshua Bates, linebacker Sammy Omosigho, cornerback Jasiah Wagoner and defensive again Makari Vickers. Defensive lineman Ashton Sanders performed two weekends in the past within the Army All-America Bowl in Frisco, TX.

AllSooners has been in Orlando since Dec. 26 and has interviewed 10 of the 13 All-Americans, together with all seven taking part in in Tuesday’s Under Armour recreation.

At virtually no level in observe this week was there a rep that didn’t embody a future Sooner, and a number of other instances, the No. 1 offense and No. 1 protection each included three members of OU’s incoming class going head-to-head.

Following is an evaluation of their practices at the Disney advanced:

DE P.J. Adebawore

Easily the No. 1 edge rusher on Team Speed this week. His lengthy, lengthy arms and in depth body mix with a freakishly quick first step to place him on the quarterback in a blink. He’s 6-foot-5 and 240 kilos however is ready to play low off the ball and acquire leverage on large offensive linemen. 

When he will get to OU, he’ll wish to mess around 270 kilos, so he’s received a variety of bodily rising to do. In Kissimmee, Adebawore picked up issues rapidly and put his prodigious abilities to good use, particularly within the one-on-one cross rush drills towards different Power 5 offensive tackles. He is lengthy and lean however is all to make the most of shocking upper-body energy.

Grade: A

QB Jackson Arnold

By far the perfect quarterback for the week, though Iowa State’s J.J. Kohl received Monday’s abilities competitors and Florida’s Jaden Rashada is an impressive participant. Arnold confirmed a agency grasp of the scheme and didn’t hesitate in communication with the Team Speed teaching employees — or in telling his teammates the place to be and what to do. 

Arnold’s pure management qualities stood out, however perhaps not as a lot as his electrical launch, which is lightning fast. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound Arnold missed receivers just a few instances earlier within the week as everybody was getting used to issues, however his accuracy is particular.

Grade: A

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S Peyton Bowen

Didn’t have a very busy week as a defensive again or return man, however ran all week with the No. 1 protection. Might be the neatest defensive again at the occasion, and appears to anticipate issues earlier than they occur. His lateral motion is astonishing, with an innate skill to flip and rotate to vary course a number of instances in a single play. 

The 6-foot, 185-pound Bowen’s intelligence and confidence put him a lower above the competitors, and his athletic skill is second to none. He’ll be extra impactful at full velocity on Tuesday evening.

Grade: A-

LB Lewis Carter

No shock that coaches needed to remind Carter early within the week that he’s not speculated to hit his All-America teammates too laborious. Carter did that in a 7-on-7 drill and, after he helped his opponent up, he was talked to. 

Carter performed largely outdoors linebacker this week, switching sides with the sturdy formation name, and routinely concerned himself within the motion. The 6-foot, 210-pound Carter’s love of the sport and enthusiasm for contact stands out, as does his skill to learn what’s taking place and get himself to the soccer. He’ll be more practical at recreation velocity Tuesday evening.

Grade: B+

OL Cayden Green

An absence of our bodies total compelled Green to change backwards and forwards between left deal with and left guard. A mammoth human at 6-foot-5 and 310 kilos, Green is a mauler, an overwhelming presence regardless of which place he performs. 

He’s higher suited to deal with however stated he didn’t thoughts selecting up among the nuances of taking part in guard. In one-on-one drills, Green largely dominated, shutting down the frenzy with stifling energy, lengthy arms and fast ft. He actually appeared to get pleasure from blocking down and caving within the left facet of the road.

Grade: A

DB Jacobe Johnson

Johnson was good on Saturday however appeared slightly below the climate on Sunday. He appeared again at full velocity in Monday’s walkthrough, though gamers didn’t exert themselves. There have been instances the place it appeared just like the 6-4, 187-pound Johnson may need lacked slightly confidence in among the one-on-one drills because the large receiver expertise on this squad is otherworldly. 

Johnson performed a variety of security in highschool, and likewise a variety of receiver, so press protection isn’t his energy. But every time he struggled, he instantly sought session from the Team Speed teaching employees and corrected.

Grade: B-

WR Jaquaize Pettaway

Pettaway largely labored into the No. 1 rotation however routinely stood out. The 6-foot, 177-pound Pettaway is fast as a lizard and extra muscled up than you assume, so his explosiveness is fluid and pure. He is perhaps the perfect receiver on Team Speed at getting out and in of his breaks. 

He additionally confirmed fast, sturdy arms at the purpose of the catch, outmuscling the DB a number of instances to make a catch. He can also contort his physique to make acrobatic catches when the throw isn’t excellent, and often frolicked absorbing instruction from the teaching employees.

Grade: A