Oklahoma Sooners No. 4 college football brand in high school player survey

In a survey of 1,000 high school football players, Oklahoma ranked as the No. 4 brand in college football.

In a survey conducted of 1,000 current high school football players, OfficialVisit.com determined the Oklahoma Sooners were the No. 4 brand in college football.

The survey itself has a few surprises. It is interesting to see what the future of the sport actually thinks about the schools recruiting them. In the first few spots, it’s the usual suspects. Alabama is No. 1, Ohio State is No. 2, Georgia No. 3 and Oklahoma checks in at No. 4.

This is a very good thing for the Sooners. Brand recognition is everything. Having two quarterbacks win the Heisman in back-to-back seasons and having a finalist the following year probably helps the brand a little bit. Thanks, Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray and Jalen Hurts!

Bob Stoops and Brent Venables have been relentless in reminding people that Oklahoma is one of the best programs in college football. Or as Venables would say, “Oklahoma takes a back seat to no one.”

Here’s the full list:

Oklahoma moved up four spots since Official Visit’s last survey in 2018. How did they come to this conclusion?

To tailor this question to college football brands, we have asked 1,000 high school football players the simple question: “If you were the No. 1 recruit in the nation with offers from every program, how likely (1-10 scale) is it that you would choose [program]?” The results were averaged to produce our OfficialVisit Brand Score (OVBS) as the industry-specific derivation of a NPS. You can think of this rating as the gravitational pull each program has to any given recruit prior to making contact. – Mike Nowoswiat, Official Visit

Official Visit also shared that none of the high school students surveyed were being recruited by Power Five programs in an effort to eliminate any bias that might occur because of recruiting activities.

It would seem the efforts by Venables and company are going quite well for Oklahoma to rank ahead of heavy hitters like Texas and Notre Dame.

If this same survey were done about 15 years ago, Texas would be in the top three. To fall below Texas A&M is an indictment of how the program has been mismanaged since Mack Brown resigned.

Some might argue that this list is just of teams that are “good,” but I would argue that winning is the greatest brand builder of all.

Unless you’re the Maryland Terrapins. Mike Locksley might be onto something in College Park.

As for the future of the sport, don’t expect the top three to change anytime soon. Nick Saban isn’t going anywhere. Neither is Kirby Smart. Ryan Day might just be the next great college football mind of our time. The Buckeyes are in very good hands.

But sitting at No. 4 is no small feat. It’s a great indication that high school students perceive the University of Oklahoma as one of the best brands in college football. Even after the coaching change, the Oklahoma Sooners are viewed in a very positive light. To quote Stoops, “this is still Oklahoma.”

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.