College Football Recruiting Offers of the Week
One week after landing 3-star California offensive lineman Dru Samia, the Oklahoma Sooners doubled down in the Golden State by offering a pair of 2015 standouts in 4-star receiver Ykili Ross and 4-star linebacker Khaylan Thomas.
The 6’2”, 185-pound Ross is a U.S. Army All-American with offers from powerhouses such as Notre Dame, UCLA, Oregon and Texas A&M among others.
Thomas, a 6’2”, 210-pound outside linebacker, holds offers from the likes of Arizona, Arizona State, UCLA and Miami among others.
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The fact that Bob Stoops and his staff are active in California is not a new phenomenon.
As Jason Kersey of The Oklahoman described, the Sooners began to make a dent in the Golden State with a 2010 class that included future standouts such as Brennan Clay, Tony Jefferson and Kenny Stills.
“I think a lot of things,” Stoops said to Kersey. “Success, you know, the championships we've been in and won, and not won. And I think they pay attention and see a lot of the success California kids have had coming out here. I think it all goes together. And the fact that we're on TV every week.”
Oklahoma currently has 11 commitments in the 2015 cycle, with its class modestly rated at No. 31 nationally and third among Big 12 schools in 247Sports' team rankings.
If Stoops is able to land a few more West Coast blue-chippers, expect the Sooners to make a run at landing the Big 12’s top class.
Stanford Offers Trio of 2016 4-Star Standouts
Things have started slowly for David Shaw and Stanford in the 2015 cycle, but it appears that the Cardinal are turning up the heat on some of the nation’s top juniors.
The biggest offer was made to in-state 5-star linebacker Caleb Kelly, whose Crystal Ball is currently reflecting the Sooners as his favorite, according to Justin Hopkins of 247Sports.
Texas 4-star wide receiver Devin Duvernay also picked up an offer from Stanford. The 5’11”, 185-pounder is the No. 38 player overall and the No. 5 wide receiver in the 2016 class. Duvernay has offers from powers such as Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Alabama and Auburn, among numerous others.
Finally, per Paul Strelow of TigerIllustrated, the Cardinal offered 4-star corner Tennessee native Nygel Edmonds. Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Clemson, Duke and Virginia Tech are among the schools who have offered the 5’11”, 181-pounder.
Ohio State Offers a Pair of 2016 Studs
Ohio State is the newest offer for 4-star corner Damar Hamlin.
The Buckeyes represent the fourth offer for the 6’0”, 175-pound Pittsburgh product. Penn State, Pittsburgh and Temple are his other three offers.
Hamlin camped at both Penn State and Ohio State in July, and he’s currently rated as the nation’s No. 12 corner in the 2016 class.
Urban Meyer also tendered an offer to 4-star North Carolina wide receiver Divine Deablo. The Buckeyes join Clemson, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia as a group of powers trying to land Deablo.
Alabama Offers 2015 Texas RB Commit
With T.J. Yeldon a potential candidate to turn pro after this season and the likely emergence of sophomore running back Derrick Henry this fall, a strong possibility exists that Nick Saban and his staff will look to use one of the last few 2015 scholarships available on a quality back.
The Tide offered 3-star Texas commitment Tristian Houston last week.
Alabama already has one back committed in 4-star in-state standout Desherrius Flowers, and they are in the running for 4-star Florida native Jacques Patrick.
While pulling Houston away from Texas and landing Patrick over favorite Florida State would be upsets, the Tide may still be active in searching for another running back to complement Flowers in the 2015 class.
2016 Florida CB Saivion Smith Blowing Up
Miami and Tennessee are the latest schools to offer 2016 4-star corner Saivion Smith.
The 6’1”, 175-pounder is rated as the No. 60 overall prospect in the 2016 class and the sixth-best corner.
Smith holds offers from Florida State, Florida, UCLA, Clemson and Ohio State, among others.
The IMG Academy standout attended a summer camp at Florida and came away impressed, according to GatorBait’s Luke Stampini (subscription required).
"I did a camp and then I did an unofficial visit after," Smith said. "It's real nice. Most schools are spread out. I like how the school is. All the athletes have easy access to all the classrooms, the dorms aren't spread out real far."
Best of the Rest
- Oregon offered 2015 3-star defensive tackle Raequan Williams.
- North Carolina offered 3-star 2015 defensive end Tyrone Riley, per Woody Wommack of Rivals. Kentucky, NC State and Mississippi State are among the suitors for the rising 6’6”, 230-pound pass-rusher.
- Temple is the first school to offer 2015 offensive lineman Calvin Taylor, according to Chris Smith of Vandy247Sports.
- Louisville offered 2016 3-star running back Alex Anderson, who is committed to West Virginia, according to Chris Anderson of EerSports. The Cardinals also offered 2015 3-star JUCO corner Justin Martin.
- Middle Tennessee State offered 2015 Atlanta (Westlake HS) 2-star wideout and Old Dominion commitment Hasaan Patterson.
- Miami (Ohio) offered 2015 sleeper Alabama tight end Kevin Marion, per Smith. His teammate at Spanish Fort High School, 2015 wide receiver Kristian Cotton, picked up an offer from UAB.
- Cincinnati is the first offer for 2016 offensive lineman Marcus Tatum, per Ryan Bartow of 247Sports.
- Mississippi State offered 2016 4-star wide receiver Dillon Mitchell, according to Keith Niebuhr of 247Sports.
- Mike Farrell of Rivals reported that Rutgers offered 2016 athlete Patrick Johnson.
- Southern Miss is the latest offer for 2016 3-star offensive tackle Parker Boudreaux.
- The fourth and latest offer for 2016 defensive end Christian Colon came from Boston College, per Adam Friedman of Rivals.
- South Carolina jumped into the Maleik Gray sweepstakes with an offer last week, per Barton Simmons of 247Sports. The Gamecocks join the likes of Alabama, Florida State, Georgia and Tennessee as programs chasing the 2017 4-star athlete.
- Tennessee offered 2017 defensive tackle Juan Harris, according to Steve Wiltfong of 247Sports.
Sanjay Kirpalani is a National Recruiting Analyst for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.
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