In the longest of longshots, Oklahoma may still have a chance to land highly coveted running back Camar Wheaton as a part of the 2021 recruiting class. You know the meme that floats around social media of Will Smith from the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air? The one where he’s in the empty house looking around because everyone is gone. That could easily depict Wheaton in terms of the primary coaches who recruited him to go to Alabama.
Yes, Nick Saban is still there and the defending national champions are heavy favorites to retain the commitment of the prized running back but please take note of that fact that right now he is just a commit and not a signee with the Tide. That means he still has the ability to change his mind and go elsewhere without restriction.
Oklahoma fans know all too well that nothing is final until a recruit signs on the dotted line and Wheaton’s hesitancy to do so with Alabama could actually turn out to be a benefit to the Sooners. His final decision came down to Oklahoma or the Crimson Tide and insiders say it was a pretty gut-wrenching decision. Now a whole lot has changed in Tuscaloosa.
Former Alabama offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian is gone and it’s yet to be seen how former Penn State, and Houston Texans, head coach Bill O’Brien will gel with the recruits and what, if any, changes will be made to the offense under his leadership.
It’s not just the departure of Sarkisian though. Offensive line coach Kyle Flood followed Sark to Austin to run the offense and offensive analysist A.J. Milwee left to become the offensive coordinator. Everything that Wheaton knew about the Crimson Tide offense could be changing with running backs coach Charles Huff being the only major person in his recruitment to remain in place…and he might actually have a foot out the door as well.
Ranked as the nation’s top recruiter by 247 Sports, Huff had the biggest role in Alabama earning Wheaton’s commitment. Now he’s a finalist for to replace Doc Holliday as the next head coach at Marshall. Should that transition take place then all bets could be off for Wheaton to actually sign with Alabama.
To use a boxing analogy, Oklahoma isn’t knocked out yet but the Sooners are down on the canvas and the referee is counting. However, there’s a reason why Wheaton hasn’t signed just yet. My bet is that he’s waiting to see how everything shakes out and if he ends up having doubts then you could see the Sooners pick themselves back up off the canvas and start throwing haymakers.
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