Oklahoma Sooners

Every Thursday, SoonerNation releases the Sooner Intel, a sneak peek inside Oklahoma Sooners football recruiting with news and notes on the latest happenings around the program. Talk about it on our forum. A few things discussed in this week's update:

• ESPN 150 prospect enjoyed watching OU's defense vs. Texas
• The Sooners make the top four for a former decommitment

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Every Thursday, SoonerNation releases the Sooner Intel, a sneak peek inside Oklahoma Sooners football recruiting with news and notes on the latest happenings around the program. Talk about it on our forum. A few things discussed in this week's update:

• More on OU getting back in the mix with a top tailback.
• Could a out-of-state- prospect who was in Norman last weekend visit again this fall?
• Four-star offensive tackle knows he could play early at OU

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The name Cale Gundy hadn’t meant much to ESPN 150 running back Greg Bryant (Delray Beach, Fla./American Heritage-Boca Delray) in recent months.

Bryant, ranked No. 30 in the ESPN 150 and No. 2 running back, said in the past he didn’t have a stronger bond with a coach than with Gundy, Oklahoma’s running back coach.

Bryant surprised many, including himself, when he committed to the Sooners on an unofficial visit March 31. But most agreed it would be a tough chore for OU to hang onto him until national signing day.

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ESPN 150 running back Greg Bryant (Delray Beach, Fla./American Heritage) says Alabama, Auburn, Georgia and South Carolina are the four schools he's looking at, and he has no leader.

"Alabama just began talking to me a little bit recently," Bryant said. "None of the programs have jumped out front right now."

The 5-10, 195-pound senior had tough sledding Saturday in a ESPN-televised game against Cocoa. Bryant rushed for 111 yards on 24 carries but struggled to break off any big runs.

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Every weekday morning, a member of the SoonerNation gives his take on three things happening in the Sooner sports world.

1. This is why OU is recruiting Florida and California. From all reports here early in preseason camp, three freshman who are standing out are center Ty Darlington, cornerback Gary Simon and linebacker Eric Striker. Common thread? All three are from Florida with Darlington from Apopka, Simon from St. Petersburg Gibbs and Striker from Seffner Armwood. The quality of play in Florida from a high school standpoint does a tremendous job of preparing recruits for taking a step to that next level. It would almost be a bigger shock if any of the three redshirts this season.

2.The news on the progress of LaColtan Bester has to be promising. He seems to be a little forgotten at this point. Courtney Gardner was supposed to be the big-time junior college product and now Penn State transfer Justin Brown is getting a lot of attention. Bester is quietly going about his business. Remember Bester has only been a full-time receiver for one season. The more time he puts in with Jay Norvell, the more improvement will be seen and OU fans have a reason to be a little bit giddy about that.

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Bob Przybylo answers readers' questions about Oklahoma football and basketball recruiting in his mailbag every week. Got a question for Bob? Send it to his mailbag at bprzybyloespn@gmail.com.

SoonerNation subscriber charlescitymosaic asks: It seems to me we should have pushed harder upfront with the local kids (Texas) and not so hard on the nationwide aspect. I could be wrong, but it looks like our philosophy this year bit us in the butt.

Bob Przybylo: This aspect of OU’s recruiting is going to be scrutinized immensely at all times. I still think it’s working. I do think the toughest part of evaluating this national recruiting state of mind is what makes it a success?

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Every weekday morning, a member of the SoonerNation gives his take on three things happening in the Sooner sports world.

1. And let the recruiting for the 2014 class officially begin. Texas, known for not offering any prospects until after the previous year’s signing day, had the recruiting world buzzing with offers to more than a dozen recruits. Several of them are OU offers and maybe the most intriguing one is Las Vegas Bishop Gorman running back Nathan Starks. Starks has been a huge OU fan for a long time and has been in constant communication with OU running backs coach Cale Gundy this summer. Either way, with Texas letting the offers be known, the dominoes should fall a lot sooner than they have in the past.

2. He’s now OU’s top-ranked recruit, but Cypress (Texas) Ranch running back Keith Ford is far from the class’ most vocal commit. However, with the departure of Greg Bryant, Ford let everybody know Thursday afternoon he is not going anywhere. Ford tweeted he was OU all the way. Ford is the third-ranked running back in the nation and No. 32 in the ESPN 150.

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Every weekday morning, a member of the SoonerNation gives his take on three things happening in the Sooner sports world.

1. ESPN 300 safety Hatari Byrd's (Fresno, Calif./Central East) commitment to OU on Tuesday was the good news Sooners fans needed after a disastrous Monday. But how will Byrd be utilized when he gets to Oklahoma next summer? ESPN.com scout Billy Tucker says Byrd's strength is his physical style around the line of scrimmage. Tucker thinks Byrd could be moved up to help run support or even play the nickelback in Mike Stoops' defense. Remind you of anyone, Sooners fans?

2. Assuming Courtney Gardner gets his grades in order this fall and enrolls at Oklahoma for the spring 2013 semester, Gardner could play a similar role to freshman receiver Trey Metoyer in that he'll have a chance to practice for the entire spring with the Sooners before the 2013 season. With Gardner in 2013, OU's receiving corps could be elite.

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The Sooners lost a big one offensively in ESPN 150 running back Greg Bryant (Delray Beach, Fla./American Heritage) but got a boost defensively with the pickup of ESPN 300 prospect Hatari Byrd (Fresno, Calif./Central East), a complete safety prospect at a position of major need.

Oklahoma stretched into California to land Byrd who has a physical style that defensive coordinator Mike Stoops likes in his defensive backs.

Byrd brings very good size, range and aggressiveness to the safety position; he can make plays in all three levels of the defense. He is a fast pursuer who will close on the ball in a hurry and clean up on the underneath pass limiting RAC. More of a zone guy but he is athletic and quick enough to match up in space and utilize his length to press and reroute smaller slots.

Also a strong run supporter and stout box defender, Byrd's physical and versatile skill-set and overall hybrid type qualities likely attracted Stoops to Fresno. Oklahoma's new defensive coordinator and secondary coach likes to utilize his safeties in run support and also employ them in sub package 4-2-5 schemes as the Nickel back. Byrd has those qualities. His scheme versatility and major need for young talent in the secondary make it very likely this young man will compete for early playing time upon his arrival in Norman.

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ESPN 150 running back Greg Bryant (Delray Beach, Fla./American Heritage-Boca Delray) decommitted from Oklahoma on Monday night and wasted little time renewing contacts with a couple of schools that would be closer to home for the nation’s No. 2 tailback.

“I talked to Georgia and South Carolina today,” he said. “That is about it.”

The four-star tailback would be a big catch for the Bulldogs, who do not have a running back committed in the 2013 class.

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Oklahoma fans can’t wait for July to end.

Hours after Sooners fans found out Courtney Gardner and Will Latu would not be eligible to play this fall, elite running back commitment Greg Bryant (Delray Beach, Fla./American Heritage-Boca Delray) announced his decommitment from OU. Bryant is No 30 in the ESPN 150 with a 87 rating and is the No. 2 running back in the nation.

Bryant’s decommitment is a blow to the Sooners' class but fellow elite running back Keith Ford remains committed to OU. Ford is No. 32 on the ESPN 150 with a 87 rating and is the No. 3 running back in the nation.

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Every weekday morning, a member of the SoonerNation gives his take on three things happening in the Sooner sports world.

1. Monday night was a tough one for OU fans as Delray Beach (Fla.) American Heritage-Boca Delray running back Greg Bryant decommitted from the Sooners. It’s a major blow even though OU does have the commitment of the third-ranked RB in the nation in Cypress (Texas) Ranch back Keith Ford. Where might OU turn? Two names stick out in Adam Taylor (Katy, Texas/Katy) and Derrick Green (Richmond, Va./Hermitage). And one incredibly dark horse name to keep tabs on is in-state back Diquon Woodhouse (Altus, Okla./Altus), who fared well at OU’s camp in June. With no favorites, the search is back on for Cale Gundy.

2. With USC taking the commitment of ESPN 300 defensive end Torrodney Prevot (Houston/Alief Taylor) on Sunday, the Trojans are officially out of scholarships. The Trojans have used up their 18 scholarships and 16 of their 18 commits have OU offers. The good news for OU is with USC out of the way, there are a lot of west coast products that have the Sooners on their short list. And OU can no longer be beaten in a head-to-head battle with USC.

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