Off to the NFL
As expected, Oklahoma tight end Mark Andrews on Thursday announced that he is skipping his senior season and entering the NFL draft.
NORMAN — The Sooners will be without one more unanimous All-America selection next season.
Tight end Mark Andrews, the 2017 Mackey Award winner, announced he’s declaring for the 2018 NFL Draft on Thursday night.
“My four years in Norman have been among the best of my life,” he wrote in a Twitter post. “I have loved representing the Sooners on the field and have grown as a man off of it. After much considering and discussion with my family and coaches, I have chosen to enter the 2018 NFL Draft. I will miss my teammates, coaches and friends on campus, but I am excited for this next step.”
Andrews, a threetime All-Big 12 first team selection, leaves the program as the all-time leader in receiving yards by a tight end with 1,713.
He also ranks sixth overall with 20 career touchdown receptions.
In his final season as a Sooner, Andrews started every game and racked up 958 yards and eight touchdowns on 62 receptions.
“Though I will be playing on Sundays next fall," he wrote, "I look forward to my new role as a fan of the Sooners on Saturdays. I will be an Oklahoma Sooner for life.”
In a mock draft, Bleacher Report projects Andrews as the No. 23 selection overall to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
With Andrews' departure, rising sophomore Grant Calcaterra is poised to fill his position. Calcaterra had 10 receptions for 162 yards and three touchdowns in his freshman season.
On Wednesday, left tackle Orlando Brown announced that he was also entering the 2018 NFL Draft.
4-star LB announces signing with Sooners
Lincoln Riley never stops working.
Days after losing in the Rose Bowl, Riley rebounded in a big way by adding Rivals four-star outside linebacker Nikolas Bonitto.
Bonitto already signed his Letter of Intent during the December Early Signing Period, but waited to make his official announcement until Thursday's Under Armour All-America game.
True to form, the Sooners announced his addition to the signing class with a playing card video.
Bonitto, a product of Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas picked the Sooners over offers from Alabama, Auburn and Ohio State. He's ranked as the No. 17 weakside defensive end in the 2018, according to Rivals.
Riley: no urgency to hire 10th assistant
The Sooners can officially expand their coaching staff by one position on Jan. 9, but Riley isn’t hustling to hire his 10th assistant.
“I don’t feel a sense of urgency to get it done on that day,” he said. “To me, it’s more important to make sure that we get the right guy, not just the right guy, but that it fits within the staff.
“You have to see how the staff shakes out. When you win as much as we have people will continue to go after our guys. May be a deal where your staff is in place like it is you may have a clear direction. But if something changes, that might affect what you want to do with the 10th coach. We’ll kind of see how it all plays out.”
Riley hasn’t even decided what side of the ball he wants to add the coach.
“I don’t think we have a place, on staff, where there is a glaring need right now, where this one area is not getting enough attention,” he said.