Tag: demarco murray

Sooners receive another prediction for 2024 5-Star RB Taylor Tatum

Just a few days after receiving his fifth star from 247Sports composite rankings, Oklahoma received another prediction for Taylor Tatum.

Just a few days after Taylor Tatum received his fifth star in the 247Sports composite, Oklahoma received another prediction for the running back.

Still, there’s no date for a commitment, but this has long felt like the Sooners are going up against the USC Trojans.

At one point, it felt like a commitment could pop at any moment, with a number of predictions rolling in from each of the three major recruiting services. But the Sooners continue to wait for Tatum to announce a date or make his pledge known.

On Sunday, the Sooners received another prediction in their favor from On3 national host Josh Newberg. That brings the Sooners’ probability of landing Tatum to 66.4%, according to On3. Oklahoma is also the heavy favorite according to Rivals and 247Sports.

Tatum is a player they don’t mind waiting for. He’s too talented to move on from at any point.

Waiting is the hardest part. However, this is the new world order for  Oklahoma recruiting. Brent Venables encourages players to take all of their visits before committing, so it’s going to make the process play out a little longer. Especially for some of the top players in the recruiting class. They are players teams just don’t give up on easily. The top teams in pursuit will not slow their recruitment until the paperwork is faxed in.

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what your recruiting class is in July. What matters is how it finishes come signing day.

One thing is for certain, DeMarco Murray and the baseball staff led by Skip Johnson have done an incredible job recruiting the talented two-sport athlete.

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Sooners land commitment from talented tight end Davon Mitchell

Oklahoma picks up a commitment from talented tight end Davon Mitchell. Mitchell is reclassifying to join the 2024 class.

A massive recruiting domino has fallen for the Oklahoma Sooners. Five-star tight end Davon Mitchell committed to the Oklahoma Sooners at a ceremony at Los Alamitos High School on Saturday afternoon.

Mitchell chose Oklahoma over Alabama and Miami after a competitive recruitment, with the Sooners and Hurricanes being the primary combatants in the late stages.

Mitchell’s recruitment with Oklahoma started last summer when Joe Jon Finley offered the talented prospect while he was still at Allen High School. Mitchell transferred out like his former quarterback, future teammate and close friend Michael Hawkins. The idea of playing with Hawkins in college has always been a motivating factor for both. While Mitchell was a class behind Hawkins, the premiere tight end prospect now gets to realize his dream of playing with his close friend. Mitchell announced he’s reclassifying to graduate this year, which would make him part of the Sooners’ 2024 recruiting class.

Hawkins committed in April and has been doing his part to entice the dynamic tight end to hop on board. Mitchell visited Oklahoma for the [autotag]ChampU BBQ[/autotag], where [autotag]DeMarco Murray[/autotag] introduced Mitchell to future hall of famer Jason Witten.

Miami and Alabama pushed hard and did their best to make it a three-team race. However, the relationships with the OU staff and other prospects made it too hard to pass up on the Crimson and Cream.

Mitchell offers Oklahoma a tight-end talent that could be as dynamic as Jermaine Gresham was for Oklahoma. He can run, has a great frame and length, and can work with his hand in the ground as a blocker. He can line up as an in-line tight end or split out wide to take advantage of smaller defenders. Mitchell is tough to bring down with the ball in his hands and uses his size to run through would-be tacklers.

As it stands, Mitchell was the No. 16 player in 247Sports’ composite rankings for 2025. He’s a five-star player and was the No. 1 player in California for 2025. He also is the second-ranked tight end nationally. He’ll likely land in the high four-star range with a chance at five-star status after he slots into OU’s 2024 class

This recruiting win is easily the biggest of Joe Jon Finley’s career. The job isn’t finished, though, as developing Mitchell and helping him realize his high ceiling is next.

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Sooners receive another prediction for No. 1 running back

Though the buzz has died down, the predictions favoring the Oklahoma Sooners for the nation’s No. 1 running back have not.

While the noise that the nation’s No. 1 running back recruit in the 2024 class could commit any day has died down, the predictions favoring Oklahoma have not.

The Sooners received another prediction for Taylor Tatum. This one comes from Texas Longhorns insider for Rivals, Brandon Holland.

The Sooners hold a strong lead over the USC Trojans. They have a 100% crystal ball rating with 247Sports, a 60.4% advantage on On3 Sports and a 100% futurecast prediction on Rivals.

It once felt like an announcement could be made any day, but the Sooners continue to wait. Obviously, the longer this goes on, the more opportunities USC has to get back in this race.

 

Some reports said Tatum wanted a lot of the noise to quiet before an announcement. But for now, Oklahoma just has to wait and see when Tatum feels the time is right.

There’s no doubt about it. The work Demarco Murray and the Oklahoma baseball staff have done has put them in a great spot to land the talented running back.

But as we’ve seen with any talented player, the longer these things go on, the crazier things can get. USC is definitely not out of it yet, but Oklahoma does sit in a good place.

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Sooners trending for 2024’s No. 1 running back Taylor Tatum

The Oklahoma Sooners picked up a host of predictions in their favor to land the top running back in the 2024 recruiting class, Taylor Tatum.

The battle for the top running back in the country rages on, but it looks like the Oklahoma Sooners have put themselves in a favorable position for 2024 four-star running back Taylor Tatum.

Just a few days after hosting Tatum for the ChampU BBQ, predictions from On3 and Rivals appear to put the Oklahoma Sooners in the lead over USC and Michigan.

On Wednesday, Parker Thune, Brandon Drumm, Cole Patterson, Clint Cosgrove, and Landyn Rosow of Rivals issued predictions in favor of Oklahoma just days after it appeared USC had taken the lead in the recruitment. Additionally, On3’s Sam Spiegelman, Josh McCuistion, and E.J. Holland predicted Tatum to land with Oklahoma.

Tatum, a two-sport star who is looking to play baseball at the collegiate level as well, is the top player at running back and is a top 50 player overall in the 247Sports composite and the On3 Industry rankings.

During Tatum’s official visit, he spent time with coaching staffs from both the football and baseball programs.

The Sooners haven’t been shy about their desire to add multiple running back prospects this offseason. Oklahoma has been pursuing Caden Durham and Xavier Robinson in addition to Tatum. The Sooners appear to be the favorite for all three talented runners, looking to build an incredibly talented group of runners for DeMarco Murray and Jeff Lebby to deploy.

There’s no commitment date for Tatum at this point, but it’s looking really good for the Oklahoma Sooners at this point.

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Oklahoma Sooners running backs are the team’s strength heading into 2023

This might be an overreaction to the bowl game, but the Sooners’ run game could be even better this year.

While the offense for the Sooners was inconsistent in 2022, the run game was really good. Led by a breakout season from Eric Gray, the Sooners finished 10th in the nation with 219.4 rushing yards per game.

Gray ran for 1,366 yards and finished 18th in the nation in rushing yards, while averaging 6.4 yards per carry on 214 attempts. Gray is no longer with the Sooners. He was taken in the fifth round of the NFL draft by the New York Giants.

This might be an overreaction to the bowl game, but the Sooners’ run game could be even better this year.

The Sooners return Jovantae Barnes, who ran for 519 yards and five touchdowns as a true freshman. They also return Gavin Sawchuk, who had 15 carries for 100 yards in their bowl game against a very good Florida State team.

Those two complement each other well. Barnes is more of a physical runner, whereas Sawchuk brings plenty of speed. They are similar to a Trey Sermon and Rodney Anderson backfield. The key for them is going to be the passing game.

After the flashes we saw from Barnes and the Cheez-It bowl performance from Sawchuk, the running back position could very well could be the strength of the team.

When Jeff Lebby’s offense is rolling, it runs on everyone. While Eric Gray had a great season last year, the running back depth wasn’t great after Marcus Major was injured. Barnes stepped up and performed well when thrust into a significant role in his first season at the collegiate level.

This year you have Major back, but the running back depth is much better: Barnes, Sawchuk, Tawee Walker, Oregon transfer Emeka Megwa and true freshmen Kalib Hicks and Daylan Smothers.

While Eric Gray had a great season that he turned into a job with the Giants, Barnes and Sawchuk have higher ceilings. Gray had a hard time breaking away from the defense. That doesn’t seem to be the case with Oklahoma’s lead runners heading into 2023.

With question marks in the wide receiver room and competition still taking place along the offensive line, this running back room has to be the best part of the team, especially early in the season.

In Year 2 in Jeff Lebby’s system for Barnes and Sawchuk, there’s a chance the Sooners’ running game could be even better.

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ChampU BBQ a huge opportunity for the Oklahoma Sooners

This BBQ will see a number of highly valued recruits including two five-star defensive linemen and the nation’s top running back.

We’ve finally made it. The annual ChampU BBQ is upon us as “28 monsters” make their way to Norman.

This is typically when recruiting starts to take off for the Sooners. It’s one of the biggest, if not the biggest, recruiting weekends of the year. As Sooners Wire’s Bryant Crews notes, the annual event netted Oklahoma seven commitments last year. Quarterback Jackson Arnold, who had committed months earlier, also attended.

This year’s BBQ will see a number of highly valued recruits, including two five-star defensive linemen and the nation’s top running back.

They are five-star defensive lineman David Stone and four-star running back Taylor Tatum. Both really like Oklahoma, and this weekend is huge for the Sooners to make progress in earning their commitment.

Director of recruiting for 247Sports Steve Wiltfong broke down both prospects ahead of this weekend.

Stone seems like a guy who, when he commits, will open the floodgates for the Sooners on the recruiting trail. He has that personality people want to follow. I’ve seen him compared to former OU defensive tackle Gerald McCoy.

“David Stone he’s obviously from Oklahoma,” Steve Wiltfong shared. “The crystal ball favors the Sooners right now in this recruitment. He loves coach Todd Bates, loves coach Brent Venables, and the culture that they’re instilling in Oklahoma. He says that they’re quickly going to be a contender again under this new staff, but there are other contenders in the recruitment for David Stone.

“He was recently at Miami again; he’s visited them several times. Oregon is a contender Texas A&M is in the mix, the Florida Gators. He’s had a few great visits to Florida this calendar year. So Oklahoma looking to continue to re-solidify themselves as one of the teams to beat with David Stone this weekend.”

The Sooners sit in a really good place in his recruitment. Whenever he commits, it will be a gravity-shifting pledge that could pull other top prospects along with him.

Another guy who could commit this weekend but is unlikely is Tatum. Tatum was thought to be an OU lean until a trip to USC.

“And then Taylor Tatum. A lot of momentum around USC right now, a lot of momentum around the Trojans on the trail,” Wiltfong said. “Taylor Tatum, one of the guys that they’re trending for, but Oklahoma is their main competition, in my opinion. [autotag]DeMarco Murray[/autotag] has done a fantastic job recruiting him and his family. He likes coach Jeff Lebby, in the offense in Norman, and he’s talked about Jackson Arnold being one of the best quarterbacks in college football for years to come. So a lot of enticing things about Oklahoma for Taylor Tatum coming into the weekend.”

All signs indicate he wants to play baseball as well, and USC’s baseball program might help the Trojans get the edge win out in this recruitment.

But it’s no secret he has a good relationship with DeMarco Murray, and it just feels like Murray is due for a big-time win.

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Oklahoma leading for 2024 three-star ATH Andy Bass

After earning an offer from the Oklahoma Sooners, 2024 ATH Andy Bass was projected to land with the Oklahoma Sooners.

After a stellar camp, the Oklahoma Sooners offered Heritage Hall athlete Andy Bass. Now, there’s buzz Bass will be a Sooner.

Bass is a 2024 three-star quarterback/athlete. His primary recruiter is DeMarco Murray, according to 247Sports, which makes it appear the Sooners are looking at Bass as a running back. A day after receiving his offer from the Sooners, On3’s Josh McCuistion issued a prediction in favor of OU.

Oklahoma was Bass’ 15th scholarship offer. He has nine scholarship offers from Football Bowl Subdivision program; the other six are offers to play in the Ivy League.

Bass is the epitome of an all-around athlete. When you watch his tape, that’s the first thing you notice. He has great arm strength and very good accuracy at this stage of his career. His athleticism is also very good, and he can elude tacklers and keep his eyes downfield. He also has great speed that helps Bass rip off highlight plays as a runner.

Andy Bass’ Recruiting Profile

Projections

  • On3 recruiting prediction machine projection

Film

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Oklahoma offers 2025 four-star running back Michael Turner Jr.

Oklahoma offers 2025 four-star running back Michael Turner Jr. He’s got the vision and the speed to be a dynamic player at the next level.

2025 running back Michael Turner Jr has been picking up steam with his recruitment. Oklahoma and DeMarco Murray recently offered him a scholarship to play running back for them in the 2025 recruiting class.

Turner is a 6-foot running back that weighs 190 pounds. He’s from North Richland Hills, Texas and attends Richland High School.

He currently has nine scholarship offers, with seven coming from Power Five schools. Early in the cycle, expect that number to grow.

In 2022, Turner ran for 849 yards and 12 touchdowns, averaging 8.49 yards per carry as a sophomore.

When you watch his tape, Turner’s speed and vision jump off the screen. He displays good patience working through the hole. Speed, vision, and patience are traits that translate to the collegiate level, which could make Turner an impact player down the road.

Michael Turner Jr.’s Recruiting Profile

Projections

  • On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine projection has Oklahoma in the lead at 75.9%. However, there’s nothing official and with his recruitment on the rise, anything can happen.

Film

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Sooners make final five for elite 4-star running back 

The Oklahoma Sooners are in the top five for four-star running back Stacey Gage ahead of commitment date.

We are days away from the start of one of the biggest recruiting weekends of the year.

This weekend could also bring a commitment from Stacy Gage, a four-star running back from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Gage released his top five on Wednesday, and it consisted of the Sooners, UCF, Penn State, Florida and Colorado.

He also announced he’ll be committing this Saturday, June 10.

It seems like an uphill battle for running back coach DeMarco Murray and Co.; 247Sports and On3 have UCF as the prohibitive favorite. Rivals has the Sooners as a slight favorite.

247Sports director of scouting Andrew Ivins broke down Gage’s game by saying:

A thicker, tempo-based runner with adequate burst and plenty of power. Quickly processes what’s in front of him and has a knack for finding yardage even when the blocking isn’t there. Short-stepping run style allows him to shake would-be tacklers while a well-timed spin move makes a threat to score anytime he reaches the second level. Tends to always fall forward, which seems to be a byproduct of his natural forward lean and impressive leg drive. – Ivins, 247Sports director of scouting

No doubt the Sooners would love to add Gage to their running back room. With previous recruiting news involving Bryant Wesco and Sammy Brown, Sooner fans would love nothing more than to get some kind of positive recruiting news.

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Sooners offer 2026 wide receiver Dameon Crowe out of Texas

Dameon Crowe is the latest offer from the Sooners. He’s a 5-foot-6 wide receiver from Richardson, Texas.

The offers continue to pour in for the Oklahoma Sooners following their team camp, this time for a 2026 wide receiver.

Dameon Crowe is the latest offer from the Sooners. He’s a 5-foot-6 wide receiver from Richardson, Texas.

If you turn on the tape, you immediately see his versatility. From the outset, his speed is apparent. Crowe was primarily used in the slot but was also a dynamic punt and kick returner.

In fact, he was named the Texas District 7-6A Offensive Newcomer of the Year as a freshman this past season.

It’s early in his recruitment, but so far, he holds offers from Texas State, North Texas, Arizona State, and the Sooners.

 

Crowe fits a similar billing as [autotag]Jaquaize Pettaway[/autotag], [autotag]Gracen Harris[/autotag], and [autotag]K.J. Daniels[/autotag]. They aren’t bigger-bodied wide receivers, but it doesn’t matter because their speed is elite.

It’ll be interesting to watch him progress these next three years and build upon a highly impressive freshman season. As he continues to progress, he’ll be even more dynamic on the outside throughout his high school career.

Check out his highlights here:

Hudl

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