Sitting atop the Big 12 conference team recruiting rankings midway through July, the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners aren’t simply recruiting for the Big 12. With the impending move to the SEC a year or two away, the Sooners and Longhorns are preparing for their foray into the toughest conference in the country.
Oklahoma and Texas are contractually bound to the Big 12 through the 2024 season because of their current media rights agreement. However, there’s the possibility that the two departing schools and the Big 12 could come to an agreement on a buy-out that’s mutually beneficial.
So if the first year in the SEC becomes 2023 or 2024, the 2022 and 2023 recruiting classes will be pivotal to the Oklahoma Sooners’ move to their new conference.
In 2022, the Sooners finished No. 8 in the country in team recruiting rankings and the Texas Longhorns were No. 5. Including OU and Texas with SEC teams, the Sooners were No. 5 and the Longhorns No. 4. The two Big 12 schools have been great recruiters for some time, but the move to the SEC will help solidify their place on the national recruiting scene and more than likely give it a bump as kids look to play against the best competition in the country.
Playing in the SEC is significant on the recruiting trail. In the 2022 cycle, all 14 teams in the conference finished inside the top 32. Even the lowly Vanderbilt Commodores had a top 32 recruiting class, which would have finished fourth in Big 12 recruiting for 2022.
For 2023, the Sooners have made significant progress in the last few weeks to strengthen their recruiting class. They’re the No. 10 team in the country after a July that’s earned them seven commitments. Given that the move to the SEC is right around the corner let’s take a look at how Oklahoma and Texas stack up against their future SEC foes using 247Sports composite team recruiting rankings.