Near the end of June, the Oklahoma Sooners were sitting at No. 35 in the 247Sports 2023 team recruiting rankings. As the calendar hit the summer months, national observers and opposing fans were reveling in how the Sooners recruiting efforts were going. Oklahoma’s July and August put those thoughts to bed really quickly.
After early the first two days of the early signing period, Brent Venables has the No. 5 recruiting class in the nation, something OU hasn’t had in more than a decade.
The lesson to be learned is quite simple: Recruiting classes aren’t finalized in June.
The Sooners racked up commitment after commitment in July. Other than Colton Vasek’s flip to Texas and Anthony Evans’ to Georgia, the Sooners held on to their phenomenal class after a disappointing 6-6 season. They signed 100% of their commitments leading into the early signing period and added three-star defensive lineman Markus Strong and five-star safety Peyton Bowen.
If the Sooners can show even the slightest bit of improvement, there’s no reason to suspect Brent Venables and his coaching staff will not put together another highly ranked recruiting class. One of the priority targets in 2024, David Stone, just dropped his top 10, which included the Sooners. He could be the foundational piece of the next recruiting cycle.
Venables and his staff are proving they can recruit. They’re moving the needle in recruiting hotbeds of Florida and Texas, where they pulled in a combined 11 players, including eight four- and five-star prospects. So, how do the Sooners rank on the four major recruiting sites for 2023?
ESPN: 4th
247Sports: 5th
On3: 6th
Rivals: 7th
So depending on who you ask, this class was either top five or close to it. This was Brent Venables’ first full year on the recruiting trail as a head coach, and he and his staff accomplished this after a bad season.
After he left for USC, Lincoln Riley shared his thoughts on roster building at OU, and this quote will go down in the Freezing Cold Take Hall of Fame.
“We had really good rosters, but they weren’t the same. … I can’t imagine that there could be a setting that we could build a better roster than we can here.”
Many thought the Sooners would take a step back in recruiting. But they improved. Right now, the Trojans are No. 15 in the 247Sports team recruiting rankings. Lincoln Riley never had a top-five recruiting class during his time as head coach at OU. Venables did it in his first full year with the program. Perhaps the setting wasn’t the problem.
Recruiting is the lifeblood of college football programs, and the Sooners have just reminded everyone why Brent Venables was the right man for the job.
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