There’s something to be said about Oklahoma’s ability to turn up the heat on the recruiting trail the way the Earth heats up from June to August.
Last year, July and August treated Oklahoma so well that it felt as if almost half of their recruiting class committed over those two months. The same summer recruiting explosion is becoming a staple for the Brent Venables era. Oklahoma landed its eighth commitment since June 20th when four-star wide receiver Zion Ragins committed on Tuesday afternoon.
Ragins is simply a blur once he gets going. Adding him to an offense that already likes to run at breakneck speed should give opposing defensive coordinators nightmares.
Ragins’ commitment marks a win for the Sooners in a state recruited so heavily by teams from the SEC and ACC.
BREAKING: Four-Star WR Zion Ragins tells me he has Committed to Oklahoma!
The 5’7 153 WR from Gray, GA chose the Sooners over Florida State & Georgia
“What’s better than Norman?”https://t.co/g1uHDsOe57 pic.twitter.com/jCT7dFWREO
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) July 18, 2023
The University of Georgia is an easy sell for any top athlete in the Peach State. Emmett Jones and the Sooners coaching staff deserve a lot credit for beating out UGA, Florida State, South Carolina, Miami, and Auburn, among others, for Ragins’ commitment.
The recruitment for Ragins took flight after Jones was hired to coach Oklahoma’s wide receivers after the season. An unofficial visit in January was followed by steady momentum in Oklahoma’s favor, which culminated in an official visit. Ragins would go on to take officials to UGA and Florida State after, but with no commitment to either, Oklahoma felt good about their chances.
Predictions from 247Sports and Rivals trickled in favoring OU and the rest is history.
Landing Ragins gives the Sooners another game-breaker with speed to add to a wide receiver corps that could resemble an SEC track squad.
Last season Ragins accumulated 46 receptions for 557 yards and three touchdowns while also carrying the ball 38 times for 161 yards and two more scores. His speed is elite, with verified times of 10.37, 10.53, 10.57, 10.58, 10.66, and 10.67 in the 100-meter dash. Many evaluators believe he’ll need to add some weight to his 5-foot-8, 165-pound frame to survive Saturdays in college. That didn’t slow down Marquise Brown, but Jerry Schmidt will get the first crack at that next year.
Ragins is the No. 215 prospect in 247Sports’ composite rankings and is a consensus four-star prospect. He joins [autotag]Zion Kearney[/autotag], [autotag]K.J. Daniels[/autotag], [autotag]Dozie Ezukanma[/autotag], and [autotag]Ivan Carreon[/autotag] in a deep wide receiver recruiting class.
With his commitment, the Sooners move up from No. 26 in the 247Sports team rankings to No. 22 and are breathing down the necks of their Red River nemesis, the Texas Longhorns.
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