Report: Five-star LB Anthony Hill Jr to commit on Dec. 21

Texas is all in on five-star linebacker Anthony Hill.

Five-star linebacker Anthony Hill is one of the most sought-after prospects in the 2023 recruiting class. Continue reading “Report: Five-star LB Anthony Hill Jr to commit on Dec. 21”

After hot start to cycle, where does LSU stand in the 2024 recruiting rankings?

As the Tigers wrap things up in 2023, let’s turn our attention toward their 2024 class, which is shaping up to be even better.

We’re nearing the end of the 2023 recruiting cycle. Early signing day is just three weeks away, and that’s when the bulk of high school prospects make things official these days.

Though coaches won’t be putting the finishing touches on their 2023 classes until February, they will soon begin to shift their focuses largely toward the 2024 cycle.

When it comes to the 2024 class, there are very few teams off to as fast a start as the Tigers are. While many top programs only have one or two players committed (if that) LSU currently boasts an eight-man class that features six blue-chip recruits. As things stand entering December, it is among the best classes in the country.

Here’s how things stand in the (albeit very early) 2024 recruiting rankings from the 247Sports Composite.

LSU has a top 5 recruiting class in 2023 as November comes to a close

Here’s how the recruiting rankings look less than a month away from early signing day.

As the calendar prepares to turn to December, we’re just three weeks away from the beginning of the early signing period on Dec. 21.

With 23 commitments already, it makes sense that things have slowed down on the trail a bit for the Tigers since a busy couple of months during the summer. LSU did add two commits in November, four-star offensive tackle [autotag]DJ Chester[/autotag] and three-star edge rusher [autotag]Dylan Carpenter[/autotag].

However, the Tigers do have a few more spots available down the stretch than we initially expected as LSU lost commitments from four-star defensive linemen [autotag]Darron Reed[/autotag] — who flipped to Auburn — and [autotag]Joshua Mickens[/autotag] in the last week.

Still, LSU has one of the best classes in the country with the chance to get even better if it could land a player like five-star cornerback [autotag]Desmond Ricks[/autotag]. Here are the rankings at the end of November, per the 247Sports Composite.

Where LSU stands in the 247Sports 2023 recruiting rankings at the end of October

The Tigers’ 23-man class currently sits in the national top 10 entering the month of November.

As early signing day approaches in December, it’s been a bit of a quiet stretch on the recruiting trail recently for the Tigers after they exploded in July and August.

LSU only landed one commitment for the 2023 class this month in linebacker [autotag]Christian Brathwaite[/autotag], who flipped from Baylor last week.

Still, some slowdown was to be expected. LSU’s class sits at 23 players and squarely in the national top 10. The Tigers can afford to be a bit picky now, and they’re focusing their attention on a couple of elite prospects as the cycle winds down, including five-star cornerback [autotag]Desmond Ricks[/autotag], who recently set an official visit.

Here’s how the full top 25 breaks down per the 247Sports Composite Rankings as we enter the month of November.

Oklahoma hosting several prospects this weekend for Kent State

After their first win of the season, Oklahoma will take on UTEP with some essential visitors in attendance.

After Oklahoma’s blazing summer on the recruiting trail, they kept that momentum rolling with a win to kick off the Brent Venables era in Norman. Recruiting is ever-changing and constantly shifting, so teams must remain in the process of recruiting players despite their verbal commitments.

Commits like Heath Ozaeta and Cayden Green will be in attendance Saturday evening, and the Sooners are still trying to land four-star defensive lineman Jordan Renaud.

Renaud is a player that has been trending to the Sooners for several months now.

Oklahoma carried a top-five recruiting class into the start of the season, per 247Sports. They currently sit fifth in 247’s overall and composite rankings. With the season in full swing, future prospects will visit during game weeks to understand what it means to be an Oklahoma Sooner on gameday.

We’ve taken the liberty of rounding up confirmations from multiple recruits and commits who plan to be in the Palace on Saturday night as the Sooners take on Kent State.

We’ll continue to update the list as we learn more.

Where LSU stands in the 247Sports Composite recruiting rankings after Zalance Heard’s commitment

After landing yet another top-100 prospect, the Tigers are on the rise.

The month of August may not have been as explosive on the recruiting trail for the Tigers as July was, but they were able to maintain a lot of their momentum.

Coach [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] added three blue-chip commits to his 2023 class: five-star wideout [autotag]Shelton Sampson Jr.[/autotag], four-star quarterback [autotag]Rickie Collins[/autotag] and four-star athlete [autotag]Khai Prean[/autotag] — all Louisiana prospects.

Then, the Tigers kicked off September in a big way by landing offensive tackle [autotag]Zalance Heard[/autotag], another in-state prospect who is listed as a four-star by 247Sports but is a five-star according to other recruiting services.

With these pickups, here’s where Kelly’s class stands among the rest of the country per the 247Sports Composite.

Oklahoma Sooners land commitment from lightning fast WR Anthony Evans

Oklahoma continues its insane recruiting summer as it lands yet another talented four-star player, wide receiver Anthony Evans.

Speed kills. It’s something that simply can’t be taught and some guys are simply difference makers with it no matter their size.

That’s the perfect way to introduce Oklahoma’s newest offensive commit, 2023 wide receiver Anthony Evans.

Evans sent a ripple across the college football recruiting landscape when he picked Oklahoma over the Georgia Bulldogs on Friday evening.

Evans had been widely presumed to be leaning heavily toward Georgia for at least the past month. But mere hours before his commitment predictions from Joey Helmer of 247Sports and the king of college football recruiting news, Steve Wiltfong, raised eyebrows. Helmer put in a prediction for Oklahoma while Wiltfong, who had initially predicted Georgia flipped his pick to Oklahoma.

 

Evans is a small player but he’s plenty explosive. He stands under six feet and is 167 pounds. The four-star prospect from Converse, Texas, is ranked as the No. 45 wide receiver in the country and the 350th-best player overall by the 247Sports composite.

Evans was offered by Oklahoma on April 15. He visited OU on June 3 and made his official visit to Athens the following weekend before sitting and weighing his options. With his commitment, the Sooners add some electricity to their receiving corps next year. The speedy Evans will pair with another fast wideout, Jaquaize Pettaway.

Offensively, this may be it for Oklahoma barring a commitment from 2023 TE/WR Malachi Coleman or a surprise commit not currently on OU’s radar.

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Sooners 2023 QB commit Jackson Arnold earns five-star rating in 247Sports Composite rankings

He’s been rising up the recruiting rankings all spring and now the Oklahoma Sooners 2023 quarterback commit Jackson Arnold has earned his fifth star.

When the coaching turnover of last winter led to the gutting of Oklahoma’s 2023 recruiting class, the Sooners landed a big-time commitment from Denton Guyer quarterback [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag]. Arnold, who had just started his first year on varsity, helped Guyer reach the state championship game.

Arnold was one of the first offers made by [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] and [autotag]Jeff Lebby[/autotag] for the 2023 class and he represents the first 2023 commitment under Oklahoma’s new regime.

Jackson Arnold joined Locked On Sooners this week to discuss what his recruitment was like. It was Arnold that reached out after [autotag]Lincoln Riley[/autotag] left and Malachi Nelson decommited. Arnold’s recruiting coordinator at Denton Guyer connected with [autotag]Cale Gundy[/autotag] to express the then-junior quarterback’s interest in Oklahoma and once Brent Venables and Jeff Lebby came on board, they made an offer. Just over a month later, the Oklahoma Sooners had the centerpiece of their 2023 recruiting class in Jackson Arnold.

That Jackson Arnold was a pivotal commitment is a massive understatement. And the talent that has had Jeff Lebby excited about Arnold since the two first started talking more than a year ago is getting noticed more and more. Today, it was revealed that Jackson Arnold earned a fifth star in the 247Sports Composite rankings. While not a consensus five-star yet, he’s risen up recruiting rankings across each of the major services we track here on Sooners Wire.

In the 247Sports rankings, Arnold rose from the No. 47 overall player to No. 35. In the 247Sports Composite, Arnold saw a massive 41 spot jump from No. 72 to No. 31 overall. Over at On3, he went from No. 140 to No. 56 and saw a 58 spot jump in On3’s Consensus Rankings. Rivals moved him up 132 spots to No. 38 overall. ESPN has been in on Arnold all along, ranking him at No. 39, which is just a three-spot jump since our last update.

Though he hasn’t received a five-star rating from the other recruiting services, with the way he’s climbed the rankings, it’s entirely possible that he’s a five-star quarterback by the time the 2022 season ends.

Jackson Arnold’s Recruiting Profile

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via HUDL

Multiple Sooners targets figure into 247Sports’ latest five-star update

Several Oklahoma Sooners targets saw some movement or earned their fifth star as 247Sports integrated On3’s recruiting rankings.

With the bulk of summer still ahead of us, tomorrow’s stars have plenty of time and leeway to improve and move up in the recruiting world’s rankings. In the case of the Oklahoma Sooners, multiple targets they have honed in on for their 2023 class saw some reshuffling as they became five stars for the first time or moved up and down amongst the other five stars around them.

247Sports took the opportunity to update their five stars in the new-and-improved 247Sports Composite rankings that now include rankings from On3 recruiting in addition to those from 247Sports, Rivals and ESPN.

David Hicks is the first notable Sooner target to pop up and he comes in at number five. The massive and insanely talented defensive lineman is a certified five-star across every major service and he is a high priority for Todd Bates and the Oklahoma staff. A&M looks like an early leader but Oklahoma is right on their heels and this fall’s results could very well be the leader.

Another Texas high school star, Anthony Hill also is a 247 Sports composite five-star in the latest update as well. The No. 16 ranked Hill just finished a weekend in Norman for his official visit. The Sooners are once again fighting the Aggies for another defender but are very much still in the race at this present time.

Behind Hill at No. 21 sits another highly-rated defender in Peter Woods out of Alabama. Todd Bates has been at the forefront of this recruitment since taking over at Oklahoma and is building on his relationship with Woods that he started while still working for the Clemson Tigers. Woods is already planning officials to Clemson and the Sooners would be wise to see if they can land one as well. Woods’ calling card is his versatility as he can play inside and out.

No.22 goes to running back Richard Young who the Sooners also hosted for an official visit this weekend. Young is the first Sooners offensive target to make this list and while his recruitment favors UGA and Alabama, an official visit plus his relationship with running backs coach DeMarco Murray still gives the Sooners a puncher’s chance.

The last major Sooners target of note is the last five-star in the new rankings. Samson Okunlola, a tackle out of Massachusetts comes in at No. 33. The massive six-foot-five, 305-pounder, with a seven-foot wingspan has the Sooners in his top 9. Bill Bedenbaugh’s reputation precedes him and while the Sooners offered a little late they have a shot to make up some ground and possibly sneak into the top five.

While it’s entirely possible the Sooners don’t end up with all of these prospects, there’s a real chance that at least one or two are very serious possibilities for Oklahoma. There’s a long time between now and signing day but it’s encouraging to see the Sooners still in the mix for quite a few five-star prospects considering the turnover that unfolded last winter. Oklahoma still being in the mix is a testament to the new coaching staff and their recruiting prowess.

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How does Oklahoma stack up against the Big 12 in 247Sports team recruiting rankings as of June 1?

As the calendar flipped to June, how does Oklahoma stack up against the Big 12 in 247Sports updated team recruiting rankings for 2023?

This summer is bound to be an active one for the Oklahoma Sooners on the recruiting trail. With the ChampU BBQ coming to Norman this weekend, the Sooners look to make significant strides with their targets from the 2023 recruiting cycle.

Oklahoma’s class took a temporary hit with the flip of [autotag]Ashton Cozart[/autotag] to the Oregon Ducks, but with the additions of [autotag]Javian Hester[/autotag] and [autotag]L.V. Bunkley-Shelton[/autotag], they’ve got some wiggle room at wide receiver for the next couple of seasons. On the bright side, the flip allowed the Sooners to focus their attention on in-state prospect and four-star wide receiver Cole Adams.

With just four commitments in their 2023 recruiting cycle, the Sooners currently sit No. 39 overall and No. eight in the Big 12. [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag], [autotag]Joshua Bates[/autotag], [autotag]Erik McCarty[/autotag], and [autotag]Kaleb Spencer[/autotag] may not have five stars next to their name, but they were priority targets for the Oklahoma Sooners coaching staff. There’s a chance that each of these guys adds another star to their recruiting profile with strong senior seasons.

The Texas Tech Red Raiders currently lead the Big 12 in team recruiting rankings and are the No. 2 team in the country. While they’ve had a nice start to the 2023 cycle under new head coach Joey McGuire, they’ve also got 20 commitments in the class, so of course, they’re leading the Big 12. Baylor, the No. 2 team in the conference has just 10 players committed to the 2023 class.

Recruiting is a marathon and not a sprint. While teams may have jumped out to early leads for tops in the conference, the Oklahoma Sooners have a big summer ahead of themselves. But as of June 1, let’s take a look at where the Big 12 stands in 247Sports composite team recruiting rankings.