TL;DR: Thanks Lincoln Riley. Appreciate you bro.
Okay, I just want to talk about this whole situation for a minute, because it's hilarious and really just made a brutal weekend a whole lot better. I watched a video earlier today with a guy talking about what Riley just did to both OU and LSU. Oh man.
If you don't care about recruiting, this probably isn't going to mean anything to you. But anyway.
Riley just pulled an absolute shocker by announcing his departure to USC. And what's so great about it is that the fans aren't the only ones with jaws dropping. LR just left the administrations at OU and LSU wondering what in the heck just happened. Stunned. Absolute mastermind stuff from Riley, his agents, and USC.
And what makes it even better? Riley just gave the Aggies a HUGE win on the the recruiting front. Massive. This guy just became one of my favorite coaches in college football.
Just think about this for a second.
September 13, 2021. USC fires Clay Helton.
Now, what should have been an immediate red flag is the fact that, despite USC being a huge head coach opening, we've heard very little about it. There were a few names thrown out from time to time, but if you really look back at it, the drama surrounding the hire was VERY little compared to that of LSU, and even Florida the past week or so. We probably should have wondered why that was, considering USC has deep pockets, great recruiting ground, and great football history. For the most part: all was quiet on the west coast.
It's pretty clear now why there was so little drama. Riley and his agents have been behind the scenes working up contracts with the Trojans, knowing all along that they were going to absolutely HOSE Oklahoma in the matter of a couple months. Incredible stuff really.
Next thing you know, LSU fires Coach O, and Riley's name is coming up as it has for many head coaching jobs these last few years. Riley doesn't directly and clearly shoot down any of the rumors. Why would he? This just gives Riley and USC a perfect smokescreen. I mean, it's possible that it was just the Bengal fans working that rumor up, but my guess is that the smokescreen was started by either USC, or Riley's agents.
The reason I say this had to be more than a fan rumor, is because of who believed it. While I can't say this with certainty, it sounds to me like LSU admin, including Woodward, thought that they had Riley in the bag. To the point where they were telling LSU current players and commits that it was going to come true. It adds up. LSU commits and even Will Wade were all following Riley on twitter all of the sudden. Not only that, but TreVonte' Citizen, a seemingly solid LSU pledge, decommits immediately following the news. If the commits were indeed told that Riley was going to be the guy, then you can bet there will be more decommitments to come. Stay tuned.
Meanwhile, Riley more or less denied any suggestions that he was leaving OU for the last couple months. Saying he was at OU to stay, all the way up till last night with the "I'm not going to be the next head coach at LSU." Shoot, I believed him last night. He wasn't lying. But I thought he was staying in Norman for sure. That statement just seemed too definitive. There had been talk for the last few days about RIley's meeting with OU admin today, but I figured they would be talking about an extension, or a departure to Baton Rouge.
The timing of this whole thing just adds to a pretty great play by Riley and his agents. November 28 was not an accident. Riley and his team have been waiting for the perfect moment to drop this news to the Sooners and Tigers. Would Riley have broken the news if OU were playing in the Big 12 title game? Maybe not. But it doesn't matter. With the loss, what better day to do it than today, November 28, which marks the beginning of the recruiting contact period. In other words, coaches are now allowed to go and visit recruits in their homes. Really, really important recruiting period, and OU and LSU are now scrambling to find a coach. Awesome stuff.
Some of Riley's biggest current verbal commits at OU right now?
2022 5* RB Raleek Brown (Santa Anna, CA)
2023 5* ATH Makai Lemon (Los Alamitos, CA)
2023 4* WR Deandre Moore (Los Alamitos, CA)
Y'all see where this is going? Lemon and Brown committed to OU around Sept 23, which guaranteed was well after Riley began talks with USC. LR knew full well what he was doing when he got these Cali kids to commit to OU. Just based on the word on the street, Riley was unhappy with OU's decision to move to the SEC, and it sounds like he had very little say in the matter. Pretty fair reason to want to leave. So yeah. Riley has been in contact with USC for months now. There is no doubt in my mind.
On top of that, OU just suffered a decommitment from the top WR in the 2023 class from the state of Florida, and you can bet he's considering following Riley to USC. It doesn't stop there. Gabe Brownlow Dindy made it pretty clear today that he is going to have a decision to make pretty soon (great news for the Ags), and a tweet from current OU QB Caleb Williams suggests that he could be heading to Sourthern Cal as well.
You think Williams just now found out about this, and is suddenly ready to transfer? Doubt it. This has been in the works, and my guess is WIlliams has been in the know. Just my guess. Either way, hilarious.
Anyway, I just thought this was worth the post, because this whole thing was probably one of the greatest gaslights I've ever seen.
And you better believe it puts Jimbo and Co. in a great spot heading into early signing day.
Okay, I just want to talk about this whole situation for a minute, because it's hilarious and really just made a brutal weekend a whole lot better. I watched a video earlier today with a guy talking about what Riley just did to both OU and LSU. Oh man.
If you don't care about recruiting, this probably isn't going to mean anything to you. But anyway.
Riley just pulled an absolute shocker by announcing his departure to USC. And what's so great about it is that the fans aren't the only ones with jaws dropping. LR just left the administrations at OU and LSU wondering what in the heck just happened. Stunned. Absolute mastermind stuff from Riley, his agents, and USC.
And what makes it even better? Riley just gave the Aggies a HUGE win on the the recruiting front. Massive. This guy just became one of my favorite coaches in college football.
Just think about this for a second.
September 13, 2021. USC fires Clay Helton.
Now, what should have been an immediate red flag is the fact that, despite USC being a huge head coach opening, we've heard very little about it. There were a few names thrown out from time to time, but if you really look back at it, the drama surrounding the hire was VERY little compared to that of LSU, and even Florida the past week or so. We probably should have wondered why that was, considering USC has deep pockets, great recruiting ground, and great football history. For the most part: all was quiet on the west coast.
It's pretty clear now why there was so little drama. Riley and his agents have been behind the scenes working up contracts with the Trojans, knowing all along that they were going to absolutely HOSE Oklahoma in the matter of a couple months. Incredible stuff really.
Next thing you know, LSU fires Coach O, and Riley's name is coming up as it has for many head coaching jobs these last few years. Riley doesn't directly and clearly shoot down any of the rumors. Why would he? This just gives Riley and USC a perfect smokescreen. I mean, it's possible that it was just the Bengal fans working that rumor up, but my guess is that the smokescreen was started by either USC, or Riley's agents.
The reason I say this had to be more than a fan rumor, is because of who believed it. While I can't say this with certainty, it sounds to me like LSU admin, including Woodward, thought that they had Riley in the bag. To the point where they were telling LSU current players and commits that it was going to come true. It adds up. LSU commits and even Will Wade were all following Riley on twitter all of the sudden. Not only that, but TreVonte' Citizen, a seemingly solid LSU pledge, decommits immediately following the news. If the commits were indeed told that Riley was going to be the guy, then you can bet there will be more decommitments to come. Stay tuned.
Meanwhile, Riley more or less denied any suggestions that he was leaving OU for the last couple months. Saying he was at OU to stay, all the way up till last night with the "I'm not going to be the next head coach at LSU." Shoot, I believed him last night. He wasn't lying. But I thought he was staying in Norman for sure. That statement just seemed too definitive. There had been talk for the last few days about RIley's meeting with OU admin today, but I figured they would be talking about an extension, or a departure to Baton Rouge.
The timing of this whole thing just adds to a pretty great play by Riley and his agents. November 28 was not an accident. Riley and his team have been waiting for the perfect moment to drop this news to the Sooners and Tigers. Would Riley have broken the news if OU were playing in the Big 12 title game? Maybe not. But it doesn't matter. With the loss, what better day to do it than today, November 28, which marks the beginning of the recruiting contact period. In other words, coaches are now allowed to go and visit recruits in their homes. Really, really important recruiting period, and OU and LSU are now scrambling to find a coach. Awesome stuff.
Some of Riley's biggest current verbal commits at OU right now?
2022 5* RB Raleek Brown (Santa Anna, CA)
2023 5* ATH Makai Lemon (Los Alamitos, CA)
2023 4* WR Deandre Moore (Los Alamitos, CA)
Y'all see where this is going? Lemon and Brown committed to OU around Sept 23, which guaranteed was well after Riley began talks with USC. LR knew full well what he was doing when he got these Cali kids to commit to OU. Just based on the word on the street, Riley was unhappy with OU's decision to move to the SEC, and it sounds like he had very little say in the matter. Pretty fair reason to want to leave. So yeah. Riley has been in contact with USC for months now. There is no doubt in my mind.
On top of that, OU just suffered a decommitment from the top WR in the 2023 class from the state of Florida, and you can bet he's considering following Riley to USC. It doesn't stop there. Gabe Brownlow Dindy made it pretty clear today that he is going to have a decision to make pretty soon (great news for the Ags), and a tweet from current OU QB Caleb Williams suggests that he could be heading to Sourthern Cal as well.
You think Williams just now found out about this, and is suddenly ready to transfer? Doubt it. This has been in the works, and my guess is WIlliams has been in the know. Just my guess. Either way, hilarious.
Anyway, I just thought this was worth the post, because this whole thing was probably one of the greatest gaslights I've ever seen.
And you better believe it puts Jimbo and Co. in a great spot heading into early signing day.