The Red River Shootout rivalry has yet another delicious layer added to it, albeit unofficially.
Friday, Du’Vonta Lampkin announced via Twitter that he has "[o]fficially been admitted at Oklahoma University.” The fact that it’s the University of Oklahoma notwithstanding, his mother subsequently confirmed the admittance news, even as the football program has yet to publicly address the development.
The twist with this situation, of course, is that Lampkin was a signee as part of Texas’ 2015 recruiting class, but couldn’t enroll at UT because of a foreign language requirement. Charlie Strong, though, wouldn’t give Lampkin a release from his scholarship -- the UT head coach “doesn’t want to set [the] precedent that recruits can fail [a] course and go elsewhere” -- leading Lampkin to appeal the decision last month.
Officially admitted at Oklahoma University #BOOMERSOONER ⭕️🙌🏽
— 8️⃣2️⃣0️⃣ (@DeeChilllin) August 21, 2015
Just what Lampkin’s status for the upcoming season with the Sooners will be remains unknown -- he can’t officially speak to OU coaches because of the UT National Letter of Intent he signed in February -- although it appears that, when all of the technical dust settles, Lampkin may very well be eligible to play in 2015.
Whether UT has or will send Lampkin that written denial of admission is unclear, although it hadn’t been sent as of this weekend. The earliest Lampkin’s purported new home can or will comment on the situation is Monday, when head coach Bob Stoops is scheduled to address the media.
A three-star member of UT’s most recent recruiting class, Lampkin was rated as the No. 23 defensive tackle in the nation. He was also rated as the No. 48 player at any position in the state of Texas.
Lampkin was originally an OU commit before flipping to UT and signing with the Longhorns. Not surprisingly, the Sooners were far and away the favorite to land Lampkin once the academic issues in Austin surfaced.
(Photo credit: Rivals.com)