Tag: 2023 Recruiting Cycle

No reason to worry about Oklahoma Sooners 2024 recruiting

Despite missing out on a four-star defensive lineman, the Oklahoma Sooners are still on track to have a fantastic recruiting class in 2024.

This time a year ago, think pieces were written wondering if the Oklahoma Sooners had a problem on the recruiting trail.

Fast forward to February of this year, and [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] and his staff had the last laugh, pulling in the No. 4 recruiting class according to the 247Sports composite.

One would think the way the 2023 recruiting cycle turned out, there would be a little more faith and a little more patience. But after Xadavien Sims committed to the Oregon Ducks, the same questions about the Sooners on the recruiting trail emerged.

On June 1, 2022, the Oklahoma Sooners had four players committed to the 2023 recruiting class. One of those players was a holdover from the Lincoln Riley era, [autotag]Joshua Bates[/autotag]. Another was Brent Venables’ first commitment, [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag], who pledged to the Sooners in January of 2022. Of the four players committed to the Sooners, only Arnold was a four- or five-star prospect. At the time, Arnold was still a four-star prospect in the cycle.

As of May 23, 2023, the Oklahoma Sooners have six players committed to the 2024 recruiting cycle. Of those six players, four are blue-chip prospects:[autotag] Zion Kearney[/autotag], [autotag]Jeremiah Newcombe[/autotag], [autotag]Jaydan Hardy[/autotag] and [autotag]Michael Hawkins[/autotag].

Relative to the 2023 recruiting cycle, Oklahoma Sooners are ahead of schedule.

Take it a year further, and the Sooners 2025 class is way ahead of schedule with commitments from four-star prospects Kevin Sperry and Gracen Harris.

Venables, his coaching staff, the scouts and the on-campus recruiting team have proven in the year and a half in Norman that they can flat-out recruit. With two top-10 classes in two years and a top-five class in 2023, of that there is no doubt.

It’s certainly a bummer to miss on a four-star defensive line prospect such as  Xadavien Sims. The kid is talented, which is why a pair of national championship-winning defensive coordinators (Venables and Dan Lanning) were pushing hard for his commitment. In particular, for Oklahoma, missing on one of the top prospects in the state stings a bit.

But that doesn’t mean this staff can’t recruit. They’re still in a great place for  2024 five-star defensive linemen [autotag]David Stone[/autotag] and [autotag]Williams Nwaneri[/autotag], in addition to talented four-star prospects [autotag]Nigel Smith[/autotag] and [autotag]Joseph Jonah-Ajonye[/autotag]. They’ve also thrown their hat in the ring for five-star defensive lineman [autotag]Dominick McKinley[/autotag].

The Sooners have laid the groundwork to put together another top-five class in the 2024 cycle. As we saw last summer, the Sooners are about to remind the college football world just how good they are at recruiting.

The summer months of June, July and August brought in 15 commitments to the Oklahoma Sooners. With the Champ U BBQ right around the corner and Oklahoma targets taking their official visits elsewhere, look for the Sooners to begin reeling in commitments as they did a year ago.

Gear up. It’s going to be another busy summer.

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Jeff Lebby made an immediate impact with the 2023 recruiting class

Among assistants hired in 2022, Jeff Lebby made an immediate impact on the 2023 recruiting cycle.

The hiring of [autotag]Jeff Lebby[/autotag] helped provide continuity on the offensive side of the football for the Oklahoma Sooners. While the system changed, the ability to score points remained despite the change in play caller.

The new offensive coordinator was a familiar face in Norman. Keeping his offensive assistants intact allowed them to continue to build upon what they had done under Lincoln Riley.

Though the offense had its issues on third down and in the red zone, the Sooners averaged 35 points per game in 2022. Lebby’s relationship with [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] provided an experienced quarterback to lead his offense after Caleb Williams followed Riley to USC.

And as important as that was, it was the work he did early in the 2023 recruiting cycle that rebuilt the foundation for the Oklahoma Sooners on the offensive side of the ball.

As On3 looks back on the 2023 recruiting class, Jeff Lebby was included among assistants who made immediate recruiting impacts in their new locales on the 2023 cycle.

When Five-Star Plus+ QB [autotag]Malachi Nelson[/autotag] decommitted from Oklahoma after Lincoln Riley bolted for USC, the Sooners were in a bad place with their 2023 class. Not only had Nelson flipped, but so had OU’s top three receiver commits. Enter Lebby, who came to the Sooners from Ole Miss under the tutelage of Lane Kiffin.

Lebby quickly identified Arnold as his guy, and the nation’s No. 4 QB committed in January. On top of that, nearly a year later, Arnold’s best friend, five-star safety Peyton Bowen, signed with the Sooners — in no small part due to his future quarterback. – Pope, On3

Lebby’s relationship with [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] dated back to his time as the offensive coordinator with Ole Miss. It didn’t take Arnold long to commit to Oklahoma once Lebby and Brent Venables made their pitch. As the first commit for Venables in the 2023 class, Arnold provided a ton of stability to a class that almost completely evaporated. Center Joshua Bates was the lone holdover from the Lincoln Riley era.

Oklahoma’s offensive coordinator got a player in Jackson Arnold that was on the rise. Arnold had a tremendous 2022 that saw him win Gatorade National Player of the Year, Elite 11 MVP, and earn consensus five-star status from the recruiting industry. While all of that’s great, it was his unwavering commitment to the program that was critical for the Sooners.

That commitment provided the stability for the rest of the class. Even as players like Anthony Evans and Colton Vasek flipped, the rest of the group stayed together. That’s in no small part to Jackson Arnold hanging with Oklahoma despite a 6-7 season.

Jeff Lebby’s offense will be a big reason why the Oklahoma Sooners return to contention in the Big 12 in 2023. And equally important, his prowess on offense and on the recruiting trail is a big reason why they’ll remain contenders beyond this year.

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‘Lincoln Riley wasn’t touching that’: Joel Klatt dishes on Brent Venables’ historic 2023 class

In his evaluation of the 2023 recruiting classes, Fox Sports Joel Klatt shared that he loves what Oklahoma has done on the recruiting trail.

When Lincoln Riley left for USC, one of the big national talking points wondered how well Brent Venables and his staff would perform on the recruiting trail.

Riley himself intimated it was going to be easier to build a championship roster at USC.

“I’ve walked into four playoffs, and I’ve never had better than maybe the third-best roster (of the four teams),” Riley said. “Every other year, we were 4 of 4. 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.”

Time will tell if Brent Venables and his staff can get to a College Football Playoff. But based strictly on recruiting rankings, Riley’s comment was a lie.

The Sooners have done an incredible job over the last year on the recruiting trail and have a chance to follow their No. 4 class with another top-five group if a few things fall right. If they can build on their success on the recruiting trail in the 2022 and 2023 cycles, there’s no reason the Sooners will not be national title contenders in the future.

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On the latest Joel Klatt Show, the Fox Sports analyst broke down the 2023 recruiting cycle and had some positive things to say about the Sooners class. In particular, Klatt mentions Venables is already outperforming Riley on the recruiting trail.

Oklahoma. I thought Oklahoma had a really great class. And obviously the the rankings suggest that as far as the total class, in terms of recruits and transfers No. 6, their best since 2021, when Caleb Williams came in. They had the the No. 4 class in the country when it just looks at high school recruits. That’s their best high school class since 2005. So, like, Brent Venables did a great job. I looked back at some of these classes that they had had high school only over the last few years, and Lincoln Riley wasn’t touching that, you know. 2019 I believe they had like the sixth best class in the country. They had an eight in there, but then like 10, 13, 9, 19 in 2016. So Brent Venables has done a really good job. Their first class is the best they’ve had in a long time. Six of their best seven recruits are either defensive players or offensive linemen. How do you get good? How do you win going into the SEC? You better play good defense. You better play good on the line of scrimmage, and their best player overall is their quarterback that they got, Jackson Arnold. So I loved what Oklahoma did. – Klatt, The Joel Klatt Show

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It took Brent Venables just one year to put together one of the best recruiting classes in Oklahoma history. It’s an incredible signing class made even more incredible by the balance it has. As Klatt mentions, as the Sooners prepare to play in the SEC, they have to be good on defense and good up front on both sides of the ball.

Ten of Oklahoma’s four- and five-stars come on the defensive side of the football. The six offensive blue-chippers are the No. 4 quarterback, [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag], offensive linemen [autotag]Cayden Green[/autotag] and [autotag]Joshua Bates[/autotag], running back [autotag]Daylan Smothers[/autotag], and wide receivers [autotag]Jaquaize Pettaway[/autotag] and [autotag]Keyon Brown[/autotag]. With Bates, Green, Adepoju Adebawore and Derrick LeBlanc, Oklahoma added four blue-chip players to their offensive and defensive line.

That’ll have to continue or even get better to get on Alabama or Georgia’s level, but it’s a great start.

Perhaps the most impressive collection of players they brought in at one position is in the defensive backfield, where they added six four- and five-star defensive backs.

Lincoln Riley did a good job on the recruiting trail, but his best high school class in 2019 didn’t have the desired impact, and he definitely didn’t recruit this well on defense.

They had 16 blue-chip players signed to that class, eight of which were on the defensive side of the ball. Their highest-rated defensive player was ranked No. 163. That class had three top 200 defensive players signed. In the 2023 cycle, Venables added six top 200 players on defense, four of which were top 100 signees.

Of those 16 four- and five-star players in the 2019 class, only four or five had a significant impact for the Sooners: [autotag]Spencer Rattler[/autotag], [autotag]Woodi Washington[/autotag], [autotag]David Ugwoegbu[/autotag], [autotag]Theo Wease[/autotag] and [autotag]Jadon Haselwood[/autotag]. Of those five, only Woodi Washington remains with the squad. Everyone else transferred.

[autotag]Jaden Davis[/autotag], [autotag]Marcus Stripling[/autotag], [autotag]Joseph Wete[/autotag] and [autotag]Marcus Major[/autotag] are still with the squad, but have not taken the step into stardom.

In two recruiting cycles, Brent Venables has added 33 four- and five-star players to the Sooners’ roster. Nineteen are on the defensive side of the football.

Venables and his staff can recruit. That much has been made clear. They did a great job in the two months they had prior to 2022 national signing day putting together the No. 8 class in the nation. And did even better with a year to work with in the 2023 class. Given two years to work on the 2024 class, it’s possible Venables and his staff can recreate the success from 2023 or even exceed it.

And that’s what it’s going to take for Oklahoma to be in a position to contend with Alabama and Georgia, whether it is in the Big 12 or the SEC. With the success it has had on the trail, there should be little doubt that the staff can build a roster that can contend for national championships.

To steal from Riley, there may not be a setting where Oklahoma could build a better roster than it can here.

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How Oklahoma and Texas’ 2023 recruiting classes stack up with the SEC

Though Oklahoma and Texas may not enter the SEC until the 2025 season, their 2023 recruiting classes will be foundational to the move. How do they stack up in the 2023 team rankings?

The hope was the Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns would make the move to the SEC for the 2024 college football season. But after negotiations stalled during Big 12 meetings in late January and early February, the Sooners and Longhorns appear unlikely to move until 2025.

If they don’t make the move until 2025, the 2023 recruiting class players will be in their third year in Norman, providing the foundation for the Oklahoma Sooners’ team that will make the transition. [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag], [autotag]Adepoju Adebawore[/autotag] and [autotag]Peyton Bowen[/autotag] will be in their collegiate prime, which should allow the Sooners to make a smooth move to their new conference home.

If the 2023 composite rankings from 247Sports are any indications, the Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns will have little problem fitting in. Here’s a look at how the Red River rivals stack up with the SEC in the 247Sports team recruiting composite.

USA TODAY Sports considers the Sooners recruiting class one of the best of 2023

Now that the 2023 cycle is officially over, it’s time to evaluate how the Oklahoma Sooners and the rest of the country faired from a big-picture perspective. The Sooners finished with the No. 4 class in the cycle, according to the 247Sports …

Now that the 2023 cycle is officially over, it’s time to evaluate how the Oklahoma Sooners and the rest of the country faired from a big-picture perspective.

The Sooners finished with the No. 4 class in the cycle, according to the 247Sports composite[autotag]according to the 247Sports composite[/autotag]. They got big wins by closing the deal on Peyton Bowen and Makari Vickers. USA TODAY Sports’ Pete Myerberg believes the Oklahoma Sooners finished with one of the best recruiting classes on both the high school and transfer front.

Year 2 under Brent Venables looks much better for the Sooners, which again went heavy into the transfer portal to find plug-and-play starters from the Power Five. The most important is Rouse, who was briefly committed to Nebraska before joining the Sooners. He’s likely taking over at left tackle with former starter Anton Harrison off to the NFL. Another signee to watch is edge rusher Adepoju Adebawore, who may be the most ballyhooed prospect to come out of Kansas City in decades. Arnold was the Sooners’ top-rated signee and should see some snaps behind Dillon Gabriel in 2023 before taking the job the following season. – Myerberg, USA TODAY Sports

[autotag]Walter Rouse[/autotag] was a big-time transfer addition for the Oklahoma Sooners. Adding an offensive lineman with 39 starts and more than 2,500 snaps at left tackle. That’s an incredible amount of experience that [autotag]Bill Bedenbaugh[/autotag] gets to add to his offensive line to replace [autotag]Anton Harrison[/autotag].

Perhaps just as valuable, if not more, is the addition of [autotag]Rondell Bothroyd[/autotag], a defensive lineman with 13 sacks and 24.5 tackles for loss for Wake Forest over the last two seasons. Oklahoma struggled to rush the passer consistently in 2022, and he provides an immediate boost as someone who can play defensive end on early downs and defensive tackle in pass rush situations.

Then considering the Oklahoma Sooners landed the No. 4 class in the 247Sports composite rankings, this has been quite the offseason for [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] and his staff after their 6-7 season.

[autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag], from a talent perspective, could be considered the best quarterback in the class. [autotag]Adepoju Adebawore[/autotag] is an elite prospect who hasn’t even reached his peak as a defensive prospect. Landing [autotag]Peyton Bowen[/autotag] was the icing on the cake of what was already an incredible recruiting class for 2023.

After a No. 8 class in 2022 and No. 4 class in 2023, the Oklahoma Sooners are on a roll on the recruiting trail. What will they do for an encore performance in the 2024 cycle?

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Pair of defensive backs considered big recruiting wins by 247Sports for 2023

In 247Sports Big 12 recap of the 2023 recruiting cycle, a couple of Oklahoma signees were considered big wins for the Sooners.

The 2023 cycle went about as well as it could have for the Oklahoma Sooners. They had a top 10 class heading into the early signing period and then flipped Peyton Bowen from Oregon at the buzzer.

Getting Bowen was a huge win for the Oklahoma Sooners. Anytime your favorite football program is able to get a signature from a player that was heavily pursued by Notre Dame and Oregon, it’s massive. In the 247Sports’ Big 12 roundup from national signing day, Gabe Brooks agreed.

A longtime Notre Dame pledge who announced Dec. 21 for Oregon but flipped and signed the next day with Oklahoma, Bowen (No. 57 overall) gives Oklahoma a potential early impact player in the secondary, as well as a surefire special teams option, whether covering kicks or returning them. He’s one of the nation’s top safety prospects thanks to what he’s shown on the field and the layered athletic profile and combine testing data we’ve seen over the past couple of years. – Brooks, 247Sports.

[autotag]Peyton Bowen[/autotag] will be an impact player for the Oklahoma Sooners in year one. Even if it’s only as a rotational or matchup safety, Bowen’s athleticism and playing range will help Oklahoma on the back end of the defense, similarly to how [autotag]Billy Bowman[/autotag] did for Oklahoma in 2021.

In addition to Peyton Bowen being a huge win, Brooks called the addition of [autotag]Makari Vickers[/autotag] a “huge win” as well. What’s become evident in Brent Venables first full year on the recruiting trail, is that the Oklahoma Sooners are going to recruit blue chip defensive players at a much higher rate than before.

Another Sooner signee who should be considered a huge win is Makari Vickers (No. 101), who in our opinion represents a seismic victory for OU to pull the versatile, athletic defensive back out of Tallahassee (Fla.) Munroe and away from all the programs nationwide who frequent the Sunshine State. Vickers impressive in his man coverage ability during All-American Bowl week and, like Bowen, could become a personnel chameleon in Norman. Piling up defensive prospects such as Bowen, Vickers, big-bodied in-state corner Jacobe Johnson (No. 115),and Florida linebacker Lewis Carter (No. 123) gives Brent Venables and his staff exceptional talent for their stop unit. – Brooks, 247Sports

The Oklahoma Sooners defense struggled to get stops in 2022. They struggled both through the air and against the ground game. It was crucial for the Sooners to hit some home runs on the recruiting trail in 2023 and Venables and his staff did just that.

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Oklahoma Sooners up to No. 4 in the final 247Sports composite rankings for 2023 cycle

Oklahoma Sooners up to No. 4 in final 247Sports composite rankings for the 2023 recruiting cycle.

And just like that, poof, it was gone.

The 2023 recruiting cycle has now officially closed after national signing day on Wednesday. The Oklahoma Sooners didn’t have a whole lot going on but closed the book on the 2023 recruiting class with one more signature from local product Taylor Heim.

Heim gave the Oklahoma Sooners 26 players in the cycle. Of the top 10 teams in the 247Sports composite rankings, only Oregon (29) and Alabama (28) had more prospects signed to their recruiting classes than Oklahoma.

Only Alabama, Georgia, and Texas brought in more five-star prospects than Oklahoma’s three. Though Texas finished higher in the final team rankings than the Sooners, the Red River Rivals tied in the number of four and five-star prospects signed at 17.

Additionally, the Sooners are one of six current or future SEC teams in the top 10 of the composite team rankings. 12 of the top 25 are current or future SEC teams.

Here’s a look at the top 25 of the 247Sports team rankings.

Bethany prospect Taylor Heim officially signs with the Oklahoma Sooners

2023 Athlete out of Bethany, Okla. signs with the Oklahoma Sooners on National Signing Day.

After the early signing period, where Oklahoma received 25 national letters of intent, it appeared that the Sooners were done on the high school front. A few weeks ago, they began pursuing 2023 ATH [autotag]Taylor Heim[/autotag] out of Bethany, just outside of Oklahoma City.

It didn’t take long for the two-way three-star player to commit to the Sooners, and now he’s made it official signing to play his college ball in Norman.

Heim projects as a linebacker at Oklahoma. He’s athletic and displays good speed. On the offensive side of the ball, he regularly broke away from the pack for big plays as a runner and receiver. He displays a natural ability to attack the football in the air, which will make him dangerous in coverage at the second level.

Heim joins an athletic group of linebackers in the 2023 recruiting class, which includes Samuel Omosigho, Lewis Carter, and Phil Picciotti.

Taylor Heim is the No. 11 player in Oklahoma, giving the Sooners three of the top 11 in Jacobe Johnson, Erik McCarty, and Heim, highlighting the renewed emphasis for local scouting by Brent Venables and his staff.

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ESPN tabs Peyton Bowen as a ‘freshman worth following’ in 2023

ESPN considers safety Peyton Bowen a “freshman worth following” in 2023.

When Brent Venables and his staff pulled off the flip-flip of Peyton Bowen, it helped the Sooners secure their highest-rated recruiting class in the modern era. Beyond everything that transpired during the early signing period, Oklahoma earned a signature of a difference maker.

Peyton Bowen is one of the best players in the class and the No. 2 safety in the nation. It’s that talent that has ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg believing Bowen is a freshman to watch in 2023.

The [autotag]Peyton Bowen[/autotag] drama was one of the biggest stories around signing day, but we now know he will be an Oklahoma Sooner. Bowen, ESPN’s No. 2 safety and No. 14 overall player in the 2023 class, should be an immediate factor on a defense looking for production and playmakers in the back end. His adjustment to Brent Venables’ defense will be interesting, but Bowen is the type of elite-level recruit that OU needs. He will make the trip to Norman with his former high school teammate in Texas, quarterback [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag], who is set to play behind [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] but also could see the field. Arnold is ESPN’s top dual-threat quarterback and No. 8 overall player in the class. – Rittenberg, ESPN

The Oklahoma Sooners were 119th in passing yards allowed in 2022 at 273.5 per game. They didn’t fair much better in run defense, allowing 187.5 yards per game on the ground. The Oklahoma Sooners coaching staff has a mandate to make significant changes on the defensive side of the ball. That could lead to opportunities for Bowen to have a role for Oklahoma in year one.

The Sooners return Billy Bowman and Key Lawrence. Robert Spears-Jennings should see a jump in playing time in his second year in Norman and Oklahoma added Texas Tech transfer Reggie Pearson. The Sooners also brought in fellow 2023 signees Daeh McCullough and Makari Vickers, who could factor into the safety rotation as well.

It’s not impossible for Bowen to crack the two-deep at safety, but there will be a lot of competition at a position that’s much deeper in 2023 than it was this time a year ago.

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In-state 2023 ATH Taylor Heim commits to the Oklahoma Sooners

Oklahoma adds one more to their 2023 recruiting class with a commitment from Bethany, Okla. 3-star athlete Taylor Heim.

The Oklahoma Sooners made another addition to their 2023 recruiting class with a commitment from Bethany, Okla. product Taylor Heim. From just outside of Oklahoma City, Heim will get to stay close to home, choosing the Sooners over several out-of-state group of five teams.

Heim only received an offer from the Sooners a week ago, but it quickly became clear that the Sooners were high on his list. Targeted to play linebacker for Oklahoma, Heim has the athleticism to help out on special teams right away. He played quarterback, running back, wide receiver, and tight end during his time in high school.

Heim comes to Norman as the No. 11 player in the state of Oklahoma, giving the Sooners three of the top 11 players in the state. Brent Venables and his staff have made it a priority to target the top in-state players. Heim looks to be another promising addition to the 2023 recruiting class.

He’ll join a young but talented linebacker room that includes Danny Stutsman, Jaren Kanak, Dasan McCullough, Kobie McKinzie, Kip Lewis, Samuel Omosigho, Lewis Carter, and Phil Picciotti.

Heim is another intriguing three-star prospect that the Sooners targeted late in the process, hoping to unearth a prospect that can develop in their program despite the late cycle offer.

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