Heading into decision day, the Oklahoma Sooners looked to be the clear favorite for 2023 five-star defensive lineman David Hicks. Instead, Hicks chose the Texas A&M Aggies over the Oklahoma Sooners in a decision day shocker.
The battle always came down to Oklahoma and Texas A&M, but with crystal ball predictions from Steve Wiltfong and other recruiting experts sticking up until the moment Hicks committed, it seemed like the Sooners had their cornerstone piece for the defensive line.
Instead, the Sooners miss out on a five-star defensive line commitment yet again. It’s a new day in Norman with [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag], and they’ll win some of these battles. But to get so close to landing a foundational piece for a defense that will be making its debut in the SEC in 2024 or 2025 (Hicks’ sophomore or junior years) feels like the one that got away.
The Sooners still have a talented trio of defensive line prospects committed for the 2023 class. Five-star defensive end [autotag]Adepoju Adebawore[/autotag] and four-star prospects [autotag]Colton Vasek[/autotag] and [autotag]Derrick LeBlanc[/autotag] give Oklahoma a talented blue-chip trio to build upon moving forward.
It’s an unfortunate loss for Oklahoma, but all is not lost. Oklahoma currently has the No. 6 recruiting class for 2023, according to 247Sports. With more than four months until national signing day, there’s still time for the Sooners to make things happen on the recruiting trail.
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