Oklahoma Sooners

For most college football recruits, announcing a top 12 doesn’t attract a ton of views. For someone like ESPN 150 safety Jamal Adams (Lewisville, Texas/Hebron), a top 12 is news that many programs have anticipated for months.

That’s because Adams, a 6-foot, 199-pound, four-star defensive back, has been quite vocal about his high school football team's expectations and teammates but very tight-lipped about his recruiting. Many have speculated his interest, but he’s rarely confirmed or denied any reports.

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Get ESPN 150 safety Jamal Adams (Lewisville, Texas/Hebron) in any competitive environment and you’ll begin to understand very quickly why he’s so coveted.

Take for example the Dallas Nike Football Training Camp in Allen, Texas, on April 7 when he set the tone in 1-on-1 drills by shoving a wide receiver three yards behind the line of scrimmage at the snap of the ball.

Adams, the No. 23 player overall and No. 3 safety, isn’t naming any favorites. But we caught up with him to get a sense for where he stands with a few of the programs generally thought to be in the mix.

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Every Friday, 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:

• Why OU isn't out of the picture for a four-star Houston safety.
• An OU linebacker target who visited for junior day is taking his time and will visit other schools.
• What the Sooners' newest commit brings to OU's future defense.
• An in-state tight end is dedicated to becoming great. Will the Sooners offer?
• Keep an eye on a 2015 in-state defensive back who is working out with elite DBs.
• More on what went wrong with OU's basketball decommitment.

Read the Sooner Intel after the jump.

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In Mike Stoops' first year back as defensive backs coach, OU got exactly who it wanted at safety for the Class of 2013.

The same can be said so far for the Class of 2014, as OU secured the commitment of three-star safety Vontre McQuinnie (Lancaster, Texas/Lancaster) three months ago at the Sooners' first junior day.

Since then, there has been no question about the level of McQuinnie’s commitment. The question now is who is going to join him in Norman?

Stoops has made sure OU has options. He hasn’t offered any safeties so far during the spring evaluation period. Instead he and the Sooners have focused on maintaining a tight bond with these top targets:

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NORMAN, Okla. -- Is it possible that Oklahoma could be shut out from all of the elite defensive backs in the state of Texas for the Class of 2014?

It didn’t seem likely last year. But now, in the middle of spring, it’s getting a lot tougher to gauge where the Sooners fit in with some of the best the Lone Star State has to offer.

There were only four defensive backs in Texas that finished in the ESPN 300 for the Class of 2013, so it wasn’t that big of a deal for OU to not get one of them.

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SAN ANTONIO -- You knew about Tony Brown, Jamal Adams and Ed Paris. Those three have been talked up, written about and recruited for more than a year.

But admit it: You know decidedly less about Arrion Springs, the San Antonio Roosevelt corner who’s suddenly one of the state’s hottest recruits.

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The first ESPN 150 has been released with one of Oklahoma’s four commits making the cut in Under Armour All-American Justice Hansen (Edmond, Okla./Santa Fe).

That doesn’t mean it’s a weak class for the Sooners as the list is peppered with top targets. Adding some of these 10 prospects -- listed from highest to lowest rank -- would be a great way to get OU back up in the recruiting rankings:

1. ATH Michiah Quick (Fresno, Calif./Central East)
6-foot, 170 pounds
ESPN 150 Rank: No. 22

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ALLEN, Texas -- The 2013 Nike Football Training Camp tour continued in the Dallas area on Sunday as several top prospects from Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana showcased their skills at the brand new Eagle Stadium in Allen, Texas. The defensive back group was as loaded as expected, and several players earned invitations to The Opening.

Recruiting Nation’s Max Olson attended the camp. Here’s what he learned:

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The Nike Football Training Camp series will continue outside of Dallas on Sunday. Athletes will trek to Allen, Texas, the home of one of the most impressive high school stadiums in the country. Allen Eagles Stadium, a $60-million facility, opened last year and featured nearly 22,000 fans watching Texas powers Allen and Southlake Carroll clash.

Here are five storylines to watch on Sunday.

Talented DBs aplenty

It’s been said on multiple occasions that the 2014 class may be one of the strongest in years at producing big-time defensive backs in the region. The battle for defensive back MVP has the potential of being extremely competitive with players such as Laurence Jones (Monroe, La./Neville), Jamal Adams (Lewisville, Texas/Hebron), Tony Brown (Beaumont, Texas/Ozen), Steven Parker (Jenks, Okla./Jenks) and Arrion Springs (San Antonio/Roosevelt) expected to be in attendance. Chris Hardeman (Houston/Alief Taylor) has committed to LSU, while Dylan Sumner-Gardner (Mesquite, Texas/West Mesquite) and Armani Watts (Forney, Texas/North Forney) have pledged to Texas A&M. Deionte Thompson (Orange, Texas/West Orange-Stark), a 2015 prospect, has verbally committed to Alabama. All of the DBs will have their shots in one-on-one drills against equally talented ESPN Watch List receivers such as Malachi Dupre (River Ridge, La./John Curtis), K.D. Cannon (Mount Pleasant, Texas/Mount Pleasant) and Texas commit Lorenzo Joe (Abilene, Texas/Cooper).

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Every Friday, 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:

• Two prospects from a north Texas high school will be on campus this weekend. One is the son of a former Sooner.
• ESPN Watch List OT is building a relationship with OU's new assistant.
• A Dallas safety target talks about being a lifelong Sooners fan.
• OU is hosting a defensive tackle this weekend who's looking to see what the Sooners are all about.
• An ESPN Watch List safety is visiting, too, but maybe not for junior day.
• How the Sooners lost out on their top defensive tackle target.
• More on ESPN Watch List DE Deondre Clark's decision to drop OU ... for now.
• More on OU basketball target Frank Booker and what the coaches are telling him.

Read the Sooner Intel after the jump.

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Oklahoma and Texas A&M are getting awfully familiar with each other here lately. The Aggies broke the hearts of Sooners fans by landing the commitment of ESPN 150 defensive tackle Justin Manning (Dallas/Kimball) two weeks ago.

OU returned the favor by getting three-star defensive tackle Kerrick Huggins (Dallas/Skyline) to flip to the Sooners from the Aggies.

OU basketball got a leg up on A&M with a 64-54 win in Oklahoma City last weekend. Oh yeah, there’s also the Cotton Bowl coming up Jan. 4 at Cowboys Stadium.

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Every year Oklahoma and Texas take center stage in October for the Red River Rivalry game at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.

And just as important as the game on the field, is the game on the recruiting trail between the Sooners and Longhorns.

But lately it has been the Longhorns winning the battles. Even though OU is gunning for its third consecutive victory on the field, the 2013 recruiting battles have been one-sided.

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With several months to go until national signing day for the Class of 2013, it's never too early to look at Oklahoma’s top prospects for 2014 with a 14 for ’14 wish list.

Up first was the offense and now it’s time to look at defense where the Sooners have not been bashful offering the top prospects across the nation.

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