Oklahoma Sooners

SoonerNation has released the latest edition of the Sooner Intel, a sneak peek inside Oklahoma Sooners football recruiting for SoonerNation subscribers only.

As with any good piece of intelligence, everything that is reported in Sooner Intel stays on the There’s Only One forum. Sometimes some of the information is so sensitive and for Sooner fans’ eyes only, that it simply doesn’t need to be passed on beyond this thread.

Some things discussed:

• More on Taylor McNamara's commitment to Oklahoma and how he became a Sooner.
• OU commits are put on their recruits hats at the high school all-star games.
• Could the Sooners be interested in a fourth tight end for 2012?
• Are the Sooners still after defensive tackle Javonte Magee?
• A 2013 QB target talks about his options.

Check out the Sooner Intel here.

Oklahoma Sooners junior center Ben Habern interviews his teammates about what they think of the Iowa Hawkeyes and their time in Arizona.

The early success of the Oklahoma men’s basketball team has been a testament to the attitude of first-year coach Lon Kruger.

And the good news could keep coming as the Sooners might get another key contributor to their lineup as the conference season is about to begin.

Small forward Jarion Henry (Dallas/La Jolla Prep) signed with OU in November and hoped to be able to join the team and play in January.

That hope still remains.

“We don’t have a ruling from the NCAA yet,” said Skeeter Henry, Jarion’s father. “We should know here in the coming days. Eventually he’s going to be at Oklahoma, one way or another.”

Skeeter Henry is a Sooners legend and said he is excited about his son getting a chance to play at his alma mater. For that reason, the Henry family has stayed pretty calm about the process because they know Jarion will get to play for the Sooners. They just don’t know if it will be in January or in the 2012-13 season.

“He’s going to be at OU, and we’re so happy about that,” Skeeter Henry said. “It’s getting closer and closer to happening so this hasn’t been real stressful to us.”

Skeeter Henry said he hopes the decision will come in the upcoming days but said he is not exactly sure when everything will be decided. Jarion Henry is home in Dallas for the holidays after spending the semester at La Jolla Prep in California. Classes for the spring semester at Oklahoma start on Jan. 17.

Skeeter Henry said the family is ready to accept whatever decision is made and is ready for the next step.

Jarion Henry, 6-foot-8 and 200 pounds, graduated from Dallas Kimball and originally signed with New Mexico but didn’t qualify academically. Jarion said he would never make that mistake again when he signed with the Sooners in November.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- How well do Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops and Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz know each other? So well that Stoops once helped Ferentz paint his house 30 years ago.

Ferentz was the Hawkeyes’ offensive line coach. Stoops was an Iowa graduate assistant.

“Mary (Ferentz’s wife) was after him to paint their house,” Stoops recalled during Wednesday’s Insight Bowl press conference. “So myself and some other GAs went over to help him. He didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know how to paint a house.”

Stoops painted houses as a player at Iowa to earn money in the offseason. Ferentz apparently didn’t know the first thing about it.

“He was scared to get all the way up to the peak. So I had to get the ladder and get all the way to the high part,” Stoops said. “Needless to say, we had a good time when it was done.

“(But) he’d have a hard time paying me now. It’d cost too much to get me up there.”

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones reiterated Wednesday that he will wait until the Jan. 15 deadline to decide whether he will declare for the NFL draft.

“I've gone back and forth so many times that right now, it's kind of like a null point where I'm not even thinking about it anymore,” Jones said during the Insight Bowl's media day. “I just really need to sit down after the year's done and clear my head, without any thoughts of Iowa or my next game coming up."

Jones acknowledged noticing Matt Barkley’s announcement last week to return to USC, which potentially could improve Jones’ draft standing. But Jones said ultimately none of that would factor into his decision.

“I mean, you notice it, that sort of stuff, but you've got to do what's best for you,” Jones said.

Jones chuckled when asked if he would have the marching band on hand for his announcement like Barkley did.

“I don't know if I'll do that,” he said.

Oklahoma junior cornerback Demontre Hurst was asked to grade the defensive backs this season.

“Average. Right at a ‘C,'" Hurst said. “Overall, the first half of the season, we played very good. But in the second half, against profound offenses that like to throw the ball, we didn’t step up to the challenge.

“We weren’t as good as we thought we were. But not as bad as everyone is saying.”

The secondary gave up more than 400 yards passing and four passing touchdowns in losses to Texas Tech and Baylor. The “Sharks” played better against Oklahoma State, though didn’t force any big plays, either.

“Coach (Willie) Martinez has told us we dominate 85 percent of the game, 68 plays out of 75,” Hurst said. “But we give up big plays and yards in those eight-nine plays, and it destroys the defense, the whole momentum of the secondary. We played 85 percent of the game good. But not the other 15 percent.”

When the Cowboys went up 44-3 in the third quarter, a couple of OSU linemen put shark fins to their foreheads, mocking the OU secondary. Later, the Boone Pickens P.A. played the theme to “Jaws.”

Hurst both saw the former and heard the latter.

“Yeah, I seen all that. They kinda got out on us on that one,” Hurst said. “When you put yourself out there, you really have to back yourself up. We didn’t live up to high expectations.”

But despite the disappointing season, Hurst said the secondary will be keeping the “Sharks” moniker in 2012.

“We started with it, so we gonna finish with it,” he said. “We always going to be sharks, gonna scream sharks ‘til we outta here. We’re gonna ride with it and prove that we really are sharks.”

Oklahoma’s battle with Iowa in the Insight Bowl could be a much different game than the Sooners have played in this season.

The Hawkeyes will be focused and physical when they take on OU on Friday, Dec. 30.

“It’s the most physical team we will have played all year,” offensive lineman Gabe Ikard said. “So it will be a different game for us.”

With a physical game expected, the Sooners have been going hard at each other in bowl practices with several reps with the No. 1 offense against the No. 1 defense.

“We’ve definitely turned it up, a lot of good on good,” Ikard said. “They’re a very physical football team so that’s what we’ve needed to practice against, our first team defensive guys, to get ready for a strong, physical Big Ten team.”

Setting a physical tone on offense could be a terrific way to spark a quality offseason and spring for the Sooners.

USC quarterback Matt Barkley announced his decision to stay in LA for his senior season, and as a result, two Big 12 quarterbacks have moved up Mel Kiper's Big Board.

Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III is still undecided on his future, but he moved all the way up to No. 6 from No. 11 on Kiper's last Big Board update.

"Not buying any talk he'd be higher on some boards than Luck, but his altered delivery has resulted in better accuracy on downfield throws," Kiper wrote. "Great kid, underrated passer, big-time athlete. No ill effects from 2009 knee injury. Remarkable numbers."

That's an unbelievable rise for Griffin, who was nowhere to be found on the Big Board at midseason.

Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones simply slid up to No. 12 from his spot at No. 13 last week.

"I still like the way he's battled in 2011, but it's fair to say his reputation outpaced his performance this season," Kiper wrote. "Accuracy is still very good. Good size, strong arm but needs to improve footwork. Still a very good prospect."

Jones hasn't announced his decision, but Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said last week he expects Jones to stay. That's what he should do, too.

Justin Blackmon stuck at No. 5 on the Big Board.