Tag: 2025 recruiting class

All in the Family: Sooners land commitment from 4-star DB Maliek Hawkins

Oklahoma Sooners earn commitment from four-star cornerback Maliek Hawkins.

The Oklahoma Sooners like to keep it in the family. Last year, the Sooners added the Dasan and Daeh McCullough. This year, the roster will feature Peyton and Eli Bowen. Next year, joining the Bowens, the Sooners will have the Hawkins brothers after Maliek Hawkins committed to the Sooners 2025 recruiting class.

The four-star cornerback, according to Rivals and On3’s Industry Rankings committed to Oklahoma on Wednesday.

Hawkins’ is the younger brother of Sooners freshman quarterback [autotag]Michael Hawkins[/autotag].

The younger Hawkins is a talented athlete who will earn his keep on defense. There, he can showcase his elite athleticism and versatility to play multiple spots in the secondary. He’s got great size for the position at 6-foot-1 and displays great change of direction ability, necessary when covering wide receivers in the open field. But he isn’t simply an athlete, Maliek Hawkins is aggressive at the point of attack, bringing a physicality on the outside.

 

From the moment the Sooners were interested in Michael, they became similarly interested in Maliek. From there, the rest took care of itself. It helps that their father, Mike, also played for the Sooners under Brent Venables and Bob Stoops.

In a nutshell, this recruitment was likely to end only one way.  Predictions had been flowing in for Oklahoma to land Maliek Hawkins since last March, which isn’t a coincidence. That’s when Michael committed to Oklahoma. Oklahoma earned Maliek’s commitment over the Texas Longhorns, Arkansas Razorbacks, and the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

With Hawkins in the class, Oklahoma has its second commitment in the secondary, joining three-star safety [autotag]Marcus Wimberly[/autotag].  Hawkins gives Oklahoma its 12th commit of the 2025 class, currently ranked 6th in the country per 247Sports.

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Oklahoma Sooners trending well for 4-star, top-125 2025 cornerback

The Sooners are hoping to keep their momentum for a 4-star cornerback from Texas

The Oklahoma Sooners and cornerback coach [autotag]Jay Valai[/autotag] have been putting in the work trying to build depth at the cornerback position with the [autotag]2025 recruiting class[/autotag]. The Sooners are expected to land four-star [autotag]Maliek Hawkins[/autotag] later on Wednesday but they are also right in the thick of it for another 4-Star cornerback.

[autotag]Cobey Sellers[/autotag] is from Pearland, TX, and is a top-125 recruit and a top-15 cornerback. The Sooners will have to fight off the Texas Longhorns and the Texas A&M Aggies to earn his commitment.

They seem to be well on their way to doing that, landing a crystal ball prediction from 247Sports National Recruiting Analyst, Mike Roach.

The Sooners currently hold a lead over both the Longhorns and Aggies, according to On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine.

Sellers doesn’t have a commitment date set just yet but the Sooners have been all of the momentum.

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Sooners land commitment from three-star safety Marcus Wimberly

Oklahoma lands its 11th commit of the 2025 cycle with a pledge from safety Marcus Wimberly.

April has started with a boom for [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] and the Oklahoma Sooners.

The Sooners landed their 11th commit of the [autotag]2025 recruiting class[/autotag] when three-star safety [autotag]Marcus Wimberly[/autotag] announced his commitment to the Crimson & Cream on Saturday afternoon.

Wimberly, a native of Arkansas, was in town for Oklahoma’s “Heisman Hangout” weekend, which featured many guests from the 2025 and 2026 recruiting classes. Without much more information, it looks like that recruiting event has already paid dividends.

247Sports composite lists Wimberly No. 624 overall in the 2025 recruiting class. He is a top 50 safety nationally (No. 47) and a top-five player in the state of Arkansas.

Wimberly is a talented player with a nice blend of athleticism and instincts. Once he arrives on campus, he’ll be a safety in this defense.

In a previous interview with OUInsider at Rivals, Wimberly explained his priorities in his search.

“I’m gonna say the No. 1 thing is culture,” he said. “I want to go somewhere that I’m not only going to grow as a football player and an athlete, but I want to go somewhere that I’m going to grow as a human being to where I can be a great father, a great husband — and maybe one day, since God called me to it, a great youth pastor.”

Since Venables and Co. took over, Oklahoma has been known for its culture and plans for its players after football, an attribute that is central to winning recruits and their families. Wimberly had been trending in the Sooners’ direction for weeks as predictions rolled in for the Sooners to land him.

Wimberly is the fourth defensive prospect to pledge to the Sooners and the first defensive back in the Sooners’ class. He chose the Sooners over Michigan, Memphis, Tennessee, Arkansas and Wisconsin.

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Texas offers 2025 four-star LB Landon McComber

One of the top recruits in Nevada for the 2025 class.

Four-star linebacker Landon McComber announced via social media that he received an offer from Texas on Friday. Continue reading “Texas offers 2025 four-star LB Landon McComber”

Four-star RB Rickey Stewart commits to Texas

Texas recruiting is starting to pick up as another elite running back chooses the Longhorns.

The Texas Longhorns’ 2025 recruiting class is starting to pick up steam. The Longhorns added yet another elite running back after leading the way in recruiting at the position the last couple of seasons.

Running backs coach Tashard Choice earned a commitment from Chapel Hill (TX) running back Rickey Stewart on Saturday. He ranks as the No. 20 overall running back and No. 247 overall player in the 247Sports composite, but those rankings might too heavily weigh the smaller school competition Stewart played against.

Stewart saw offers from Alabama, Michigan, Oregon, Tennessee and Ole Miss among others after an impressive early start to his career. In his sophomore and junior seasons combined, Stewart ran for 5,117 yards, 68 touchdowns and around 10 yards per carry.

He would add another elite recruit to Texas running back coach Tashard Choice’s resume. Choice has brought his fair share of blue chippers to Austin including five-star back CJ Baxter and elite recruits in Jerrick Gibson and Christian Clark.

Texas will look to build momentum off the strong recruiting start.

Updated look at college football’s 2025 recruiting class rankings

Texas only holds four commits for the 2025 cycle at this time.

It’s still fairly early for the 2025 recruiting cycle, but it appears Texas is taking the quality over quantity approach for the time being. Continue reading “Updated look at college football’s 2025 recruiting class rankings”

Pair of Sooners 2025 recruiting targets earn big jumps in ESPN 300

Pair of Oklahoma Sooners targets earn a bump in latest update of the ESPN 300 for the 2025 recruiting class.

The Oklahoma Sooners [autotag]2025 recruiting class[/autotag] is off to a great start. They’re well within the top 10 in team recruiting rankings and are  No. 2 in the SEC, according to 247Sports.

Among their 10 commitments, the Sooners have six blue-chip prospects. They have the potential to add several more big names over the course of the recruiting cycle. Two players the Sooners are in a great position with are five-star prospects, Jonah Williams and Ty Haywood.

Both made significant movement in the latest update of the ESPN 300.

Jonah Williams, S – No. 8, Prev. No. 23

[autotag]Jonah Williams[/autotag] picked up his fifth star in the ESPN 300 and moved into the top 10. One of the best prospects in the 2025 recruiting cycle has the ability to play safety or linebacker and could be a factor at cheetah if the Sooners earn his commitment.

Oklahoma is the favorite, receiving predictions from Rivals, 247Sports and On3. With a prospect of Williams’ caliber, Brandon Hall, Jay Valai and Brent Venables have to keep their feet on the gas.

Williams was his district’s defensive player of the year and excels at baseball. His March camp performance in Houston only accentuated his on-field play and boosted him to a fifth star. A big body at 6-foot-3 and over 200 pounds, he backed up his top-end game speed with an impressive 4.53 laser-timed 40-yard dash. Williams is an explosive player who demonstrated better-than-expected change of direction along with strong ball skills. Williams is reminiscent of former Notre Dame standout Kyle Hamilton. – Craig Haubert and Tom Luginbill, ESPN

Ty Haywood, OT No. 17 (Prev. No. 101)

[autotag]Ty Haywood[/autotag] made a big jump in the latest update of the ESPN 300 after a strong showing on the camp circuit. Out of Denton Ryan (the same school that produced Billy Bowman and Kalib Hicks), Haywood is a legit offensive tackle prospect with great size and movement skills. He’s a physical player that shows great athleticism for the position.

He’s the third highest-ranked four-star prospect, according to ESPN and could see his stock rise during the remainder of the cycle.

Haywood hasn’t shied away from opportunities to compete over the last year. He demonstrates great lower body flexibility and excellent agility. With a wingspan over 80 inches, he possesses outstanding length and uses it well. Texas, Texas A&M, TCU, Oklahoma and Alabama are all working to get him on campus this spring. – Craig Haubert and Tom Luginbill, ESPN

As with Williams, the Sooners are considered the leaders in Haywood’s recruitment. And, as with Williams, they’ll have to continue recruiting him up to national signing day.

More: Sooners climbing SEC recruiting rankings after recent commitment

More: 13 Sooners who could star in WWE

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Oklahoma Sooners get prediction for 2025 4-star safety from Arkansas

Sooners continue their hot start on the recruiting trail as they land a prediction for a talented 2025 safety.

The Oklahoma Sooners have another top-10 recruiting class according to 247Sports. The [autotag]2025 recruiting class[/autotag] is No. 2 in the SEC after the commitment of four-star running back Tory Blaylock.

They Sooners hope to add to that class next week with decisions being made by [autotag]Trent Wilson[/autotag] and [autotag]Maliek Hawkins[/autotag]. However, it remains early in the recruiting process and much work needs to be done.

The best place to start is getting predictions for the guys you are pursuing. That’s what the Sooners have been doing all week. They landed another one, this time from OUInsider’s Parker Thune, who issued a Rivals futurecast favoring the Sooners for [autotag]Marcus Wimberly[/autotag].

Wimberly is a four-star safety from Arkansas who ranks ninth at his position. According to On3, the Sooners have a slight advantage over Michigan to land Wimberly, according to the On3 recruiting prediction machine.

This pursuit will not be an easy one for Oklahoma to win. It has to fend off the defending champs as well as the home state Arkansas Razorbacks. That’s never an easy battle, depending on whether the kid wants to leave home.

They also have a numbers battle on their hands. I’m not saying the Sooners wouldn’t take him because they are pushing for his commitment. But [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] has already said this will not be a big class. He said this will be the smallest class he’s had so far. Oklahoma’s in a good spot to land the commitment of five-star safety [autotag]Jonah Williams[/autotag]. How many safeties will Oklahoma take in this cycle?

But Wimberly can play and the Sooners now have to close.

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Oklahoma Sooners land prediction for 2025 4-star defensive end from Oklahoma

The Sooners landed a prediction to keep a talent in-state defensive end home in 2025.

The Oklahoma Sooners are off to a much faster start on the trail for the [autotag]2025 recruiting class[/autotag] than they were the last two cycles. They already have 10 commits and are the favorites for a couple of blue chip prospects announcing decisions next week.

This week the Sooners have received several predictions for [autotag]Trent Wilson[/autotag] and [autotag]Maliek Hawkins[/autotag]. On Thursday evening, Parker Thune of OUInsider and Rivals issued a futurecast predicting four-star defensive end [autotag]C.J. Nickson[/autotag] to land with the Sooners. Out of Weatherford, Okla., Nickson is ranked as a top 50 player in the country, according to 247Sports. He’s also ranked as the No. 5 EDGE in the country.

There is no question that would be a huge get for the Sooners in the class. Plus, it’s always good to keep talented in-state products home. But for Nickson, he’s a guy many think could be a dual sport athlete. He’s also a talented basketball player. He earned all-state honors and starred on the AAU circuit. He helped lead Weatherford to a 29-2 season and averaged over 21 points per game as a sophomore.

 

So, this could be beneficial to not just the football team but also [autotag]Porter Moser[/autotag] and the basketball team as well if he chooses to play both sports.

The Sooners have to keep building that defensive line depth as they head into the [autotag]SEC[/autotag]. The SEC won’t let teams get away with it if they don’t have the talent up front.

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Rising 2025 defensive end picks up offer Nebraska

The Nebraska Cornhuskers have offered a fast rising prospect out of Alabama.

The Nebraska Cornhuskers have become the first Power Four program to offer Mobile, Alabama, defensive end Trent sellers.

The 6-foot-6, 230-pound defensive lineman has also earned offers over the last few days from Jacksonville State and UAB.

The Huskers hope that being the first Power Four program to enter his recruitment will pay off long term. According to Rivals national recruiting analyst John Garcia Jr, Sellers is also expected to visit the Huskers sometime this spring.

A former basketball standout, Sellers is a raw football prospect with just one year of playing experience under his belt.

“The 2023 season was Sellers’ first and it surely won’t be his last. Working at defensive end with short-area explosion and that immense length covering up some raw technical skill and pad level, Sellers was able to flash in the backfield on routine en route to 16 stops in the opposing backfield, including five sacks,” Garcia Jr wrote in a recent free article for Rivals’ national site.

There is no doubt that Seller will receive more Offers in the upcoming days and weeks. Two of those schools could end up being Georgia, which he’s expected to visit on Thursday, and LSU, which will host him later this month.

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