With Lincoln Riley heading to USC, the 2022 OU’s recruiting class has taken a hit with the early signing period right around the corner.
By now, it’s probably painfully obvious what has happened. The Sooners no longer have Lincoln Riley as their head coach as he decided Sunday to bolt for the head coaching position at the University of Southern California. It was a move that has shaken the core of the Sooners program and its community of fans with massive implications for the landscape of college football.
On the surface, the Sooners need a head coach sooner rather than later. Early signing period opens on December 15th. When news of Riley’s departure hit the internet, it was only a matter of time before Oklahoma commits would begin to jump ship and reassess their options. While the 2023 class was ranked number one in the country for its class, we’ll focus on the more pressing and immediate future of the 2022 class, who with two weeks away from making the biggest decisions of their lives are left without the head coach they committed to play for.
Derrick Moore, DE
Maryland native Derrick Moore announced his de-commitment Monday morning.
The 6-foot-4, 240-pound Moore committed to the Sooners on July 4 after visiting for the signature ChampU BBQ. He came on his official visit to Oklahoma in late September for the game against West Virginia.
Moore was recruited heavily by Jamar Cain, who remains on staff as of right now. At the time, the Sooners beat out Penn State, Ohio State, and Alabama for his services. Moore was a consensus four-star recruit across all major recruiting services and was in line for some early opportunities considering what Oklahoma will lose likely on their defensive line. It’s a massive loss as it stands right now.
Demetrius Hunter, IOL
Demetrius Hunter marks another tough blow for the Sooners 2022 recruiting efforts. Hunter had been committed since March of this year but has now backed out of his commitment. With Bill Bedenbaugh likely headed to USC with Riley, the lack of a head coach makes Oklahoma a difficult sell for Hunter.
While Hunter wasn’t ranked highly, just 353rd nationally on 247Sports’ composite rankings, Bedenbaugh saw something in him to take a chance, and with his track record of developing less-heralded guys, the Sooners may miss out on a gem. The product of West Orange-Stark High School now opens up his recruitment with signing day just around the corner.
Kobie McKinzie, LB
The first commit of the Sooners 2022 class has announced he will also be de-commiting from Oklahoma. Kobie McKinzie sent shockwaves through the recruiting world when he committed to Oklahoma as a sophomore after being recruited by Brian Odom. Odom is currently still employed by Oklahoma but his first major recruit while on staff is no more.
McKinzie hails from Lubbock, Texas which is notable considering that’s where Texas Tech is. Texas Tech has had their eye on him since he started high school football and with the new hire of Joey McGuire will likely set their sights on him again.
McKinzie is a consensus four-star linebacker recruit that the Sooners were ecstatic about having. In a lot of ways, he was a clone of former Sooner turned first-rounder Kenneth Murray.
It’s an unfortunate turn of events for a team that started the 2021 season as national title contenders. As the 2022 recruiting class begins taking hits, stay tuned here at the Sooners Wire for further updates as the situation unfolds.
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