Score one for Alex Grinch.
The Oklahoma defensive coordinator won one of his first Red River recruiting battles on Friday as four-star outside linebacker Clayton Smith committed to Oklahoma.
The 6-foot-4-inch, 220-pound standout from Texarkana, Texas committed to the Sooners over Texas, Arizona, Baylor, Oregon, Nebraska and several others. The race for the four-star ultimately came down to the two Big 12 blue bloods. Smith was thought to be headed to Texas for a majority of his recruitment.
Rivals ranks Smith as the 14th-ranked player in his position in the 2021 class, and No. 27 in Texas. He has 25 offers in total.
Before WR Mario Williams, the No. 1 ranked receiver in the class according to Rivals, and Smith committed on Friday, Oklahoma had the 43rd-ranked class according to Rivals with just five total commits.
With the addition of just Williams, the class already jumped up 11 spots to No. 32, and is bound to see another jump after Smith’s commitment.
The class consists now consists of three offensive and four defensive players.
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