Whether or not there is a football season going on, there is always the year-round machine that is recruiting. The Oklahoma Sooners are coming off a top 12 class where they ranked No. 11 according to 247Sports composite team rankings. They take into account each of the three major recruiting outlets. Despite only 16 signings, the Sooners brought in a good amount of talent that will be on display for years to come.
ESPN highlights two key positions in recruiting
According to a column by ESPN*, they ranked which schools brought in the best talent on the offensive side of the ball. The focus here being the quarterback and the wide receivers.
*Editor’s note: Link to story requires a paid subscription
The Quarterback (Caleb Williams)
For the 2021 class, the Sooners were mentioned among three teams in signing quarterbacks. The USC Trojans signed two passers in the ESPN 300 which put them at the top ahead of Washington and Oklahoma.
Lincoln Riley’s success at quarterback is well documented, and Williams fits in perfectly with this offense. Outside of Williams’ ability and talent, the most promising aspect of this signing is that in the past Riley had been relying on transfer quarterbacks. Now, with current starter Spencer Rattler, who Oklahoma recruited out of high school, the coaches will be able to develop Williams and keep consistency at the position within the program.
Following the Rattler era, Lincoln Riley will have another No. 1 quarterback in Caleb Williams waiting in the wing. With his recent run of making quarterbacks into Heisman Trophy finalists, Riley likely won’t see a shortage of top tier quarterbacks any time soon.
The Wide Receivers
The Sooners signed a total of four wide receivers among the ESPN 300, which put them at the top of the list of wide receivers.
- Mario Williams (247Sports composite No. 4 WR)
- Billy Bowman (No. 2 Athlete)
- Cody Jackson (No. 17 WR)
- Jalil Farooq (No. 21 WR)
It’s no surprise Oklahoma is on the list of top receivers — the staff has had a lot of success at the position over the past few recruiting classes. Williams is the No. 1 receiver in the class, and it’s the second time Oklahoma has signed the top receiver in the past three classes after signing Jadon Haselwood in 2019.
All four of the receivers in this class are inside the top 150 and two are in the top 100 with Williams being the highest ranked at No. 17 overall.
The Sooner faithful have watched top receivers over the years with CeeDee Lamb, Dede Westbrook, Marquise Brown, and others. These four could make their mark sooner than later. Case in point, Marvin Mims was the leading receiver as a freshman.
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