Tag: Jackson Arnold

Oklahoma Sooners land commitment from 2023 4-star RB Kalib Hicks

The Oklahoma Sooners picked up another 2023 commitment, this time from four-star running back Kalib Hicks out of Denton Ryan.

The ball is rolling for the Oklahoma Sooners with the 2023 recruiting class. They’ve recently picked up commitments from Keyon Brown and Kade McIntyre and have added another with four-star running back, Kalib Hicks.

Coming out of Denton Ryan, Hicks is currently the only running back committed to the 2023 class. He joins three-star center Joshua Bates, five-star quarterback Jackson Arnold, and four-star wide receiver Keyon Brown on the offensive side of the ball as Jeff Lebby looks to put his stamp on the recruiting class.

In 2021, Hicks rushed for 1,448 yards and 18 touchdowns, averaging 6.7 yards per carry for state champion Denton Ryan. In 2020, he carried the ball 119 times for 851 yards and seven touchdowns for an average of 7.15 yards per carry.

According to the 247Sports Composite rating, Hicks is the No. 24 running back in the country and the No. 63 player in the state of Texas. On3 has him as the No. 69 player in Texas and the No. 29 running back.

His recruitment with the Sooners was a quick one. The Sooners offered a scholarship back in May and Hicks took an official visit on June 11. Just a few days later, he was committed to the Sooners.

[listicle id=35808]

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

Sooners continue search for QB for 2024 class and extend offer to four-star Michael Van Buren

The Sooners extended an offer to 2024 QB Michael Van Buren from Baltimore, Maryland.

The Oklahoma Sooners made it known when Brent Venables was hired things were going to be different.

In many facets, that has undoubtedly been the case. When Venables hired Jeff Lebby as his offensive coordinator, Lebby made it known certain things will be done differently offensively as well. On the recruiting front, the Sooners would be recruiting a QB for every class which is a stark contrast from Lincoln Riley’s one QB every other year strategy.

With that said, coupled with the fact that five-star QB prospect Jackson Arnold is committed for the 2023 class, the Sooners are already on the hunt for their next signal caller as the 2024 class begins to come into focus. While hosting their OU camp, the Sooners brought in the likes of Michael Van Buren from Baltimore, Maryland. Van Buren is a four-star QB in the 2024 class and is a 247Sports Composite top 140 recruit.

The last Sooners QB from the DMV area currently plays for the USC Trojans, but Van Buren is a talented individual in his own right.

He can throw into tight windows, throw off platform and throw on the run as well. Although he was a part-time starter in 2021, Van Buren’s talent speaks for itself and he’s beginning to see his recruitment take off in a major way.

He’s a great prospect for Lebby’s offense and could be a major help on the recruiting trail for the Sooners along the East Coast as quarterbacks tend to have recruits gravitate towards them once committed.

Van Buren also boasts a connection to the current Sooner Jalil Farooq as Farooq graduated from St. France’s which is where Van Buren currently attends.

Michael Van Buren’s Recruiting Profile

Crystal Ball

No Crystal Ball Predictions at this time

Film

Hudl

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

Film

via HUDL

Oklahoma Sooners gain commitment from 2023 4-star WR Keyon Brown

The Oklahoma Sooners added another commitment to their 2023 recruiting class in 4-star wide receiver Keyon Brown.

The Oklahoma Sooners kicked June off with a bang, hosting [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag]’ first camp for high school athletes as the Sooners’ head coach. They’re hosting players from across the country for the ChampU Family BBQ this weekend and their efforts are already paying dividends.

The Sooners received a commitment from four-star wide receiver Keyon Brown out of Tallahassee, Fla.

According to Bob Przybylo of SoonerScoop.com, Brown was one of the players in attendance for Venables’ camp and stood out as one of the top performers.

Safe to say Brown impressed the coaching staff with his work in Norman this week. An offer and a commitment just days later and the Sooners have a wide receiver to add to their 2023 recruiting class.

The four-star wide receiver is the fifth commitment for the Oklahoma Sooners in the 2023 recruiting cycle. He joins [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag], [autotag]Joshua Bates[/autotag], [autotag]Erik McCarty[/autotag], and [autotag]Kaleb Spencer[/autotag].

Brown’s commitment comes just a couple of weeks after [autotag]Ashton Cozart[/autotag] flipped his pledge to the Oregon Ducks. The Sooners replaced one towering wide receiver in Cozart with another one in Brown.

The Florida product stands 6-3 and weighs in at 188 pounds according to 247Sports. Brown’s size and ability help give him the opportunity to be a standout on the outside for the Sooners.

Keyon Brown’s Recruiting Profile

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.

ESPN Scouts top 2023 QB prospects, what did they say about Sooners commit Jackson Arnold?

Scouting the 2023 quarterback class, ESPN believes Jackson Arnold has a chance to compete for a starting job as early as next year.

The Oklahoma Sooners [autotag]2023 recruiting class[/autotag] doesn’t have a ton of commitments as they head into the summer. That’ll change in the next couple of months. Even with Ashton Cozart’s flip to Oregon, the Sooners remain in great shape to have one of the best recruiting classes in the country. And that’s because they have one of the better quarterback prospects in the country, [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag].

Arnold is a four-star player out of Denton Guyer coming off of his first season as a starting quarterback at the varsity level. In that first season he led Guyer to the state championship game before falling short of the title. Looking to get back to the title game in 2022, Arnold has a chance to ascend recruiting rankings and earn a fifth star going into only his second season.

He was an important commitment for the 2023 class, which was left with just one player in the class after [autotag]Lincoln Riley[/autotag] moved on to USC. That didn’t thwart [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] or [autotag]Jeff Lebby[/autotag], who got to work to add talent to a recruiting class that was just Joshua Bates at the time.

Looking ahead to 2023, Arnold is currently the No. 6 quarterback according to the 247Sports Composite rankings and the On3 Consensus rankings. ESPN has him as the No. 2 dual-threat quarterback prospect in the 2023 class. ESPN’s Tom Luginbill recently took a look at each of the top quarterback prospects and provided their own scouting reports (ESPN+).

Going to be a really good player. Adequate size, well-built. Smooth stroke, ball jumps and finishes. Compact delivery. Deceptively good mobility. Has good feet and pocket mobility. Resourceful and can extend plays. Strong arm, can layer the ball. We like his feel for the game and instincts to create when things aren’t as planned. – Luginbill, ESPN

Luginbill also described Arnold as having “[autotag]Baker Mayfield[/autotag] traits — gutsy, tough and quick to pull the trigger.”

Luginbill believes Arnold is a perfect fit for Jeff Lebby’s offense, which requires the quarterback to process quickly and play mistake-free football. Though he won’t be on campus until next year, Luginbill and the ESPN staff believe that Arnold could compete to start right away in 2023.

Though the Sooners have [autotag]Nick Evers[/autotag] on the roster and transfer quarterback [autotag]Davis Beville[/autotag], there’s no clear hierarchy at the quarterback position beyond [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag]. Competing for a starting job as a freshman doesn’t seem completely out of the question.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbz7cqqgxy50qwt player_id=none image=https://soonerswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

[listicle id=35808]

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

Flipped commitment, no problem for the Oklahoma Sooners 2023 recruiting class

The Oklahoma Sooners are still in

Anymore de-commitments and commitment flips are as much a part of the fabric of college football recruiting as the actual commitments. They’ve become so commonplace that it barely moves the needle for fanbases. At least Oklahoma’s.

The Sooners lost a good player in Ashton Cozart. Of that, there’s no doubt. A four-star player and the only skill-position player they had committed to the 2023 class.

It’s never good to lose a four-star commitment, but it isn’t a cause for concern. The Sooners have a long way to go to get to get to the 2023 national signing day. We saw the type of recruiting class [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] and his staff were able to put together in just two months on the job after the [autotag]Lincoln Riley[/autotag] departure.

The 2022 recruiting class fell as low as No. 28 in 247Sports team recruiting rankings before Venables and his staff got to work. After national signing day, the Sooners had risen back into the top 10 to No. 8. Imagine what they’ll be able to do in the next nine months before 2023 national signing day.

The Sooners still have rising stars in [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag], [autotag]Joshua Bates[/autotag], [autotag]Erik McCarty[/autotag], and [autotag]Kaleb Spencer[/autotag] in their recruiting class and the commitments will start rolling in this summer.

They’re in a great spot with wide receivers [autotag]Anthony Evans[/autotag] and [autotag]Jaquaize Pettaway[/autotag] in the 2023 class according to On3 Recruiting. Throw in all of the projections for dual-threat running back Dylan Edwards and Oklahoma will have some nice weapons coming to Norman in 2023. Throw in Javian Hester and LV Bunkley-Shelton and the Sooners have a couple of guys that will help this season and have several more years of eligibility down the road.

It’s still incredibly early in the recruiting cycle and the Sooners will be on the positive end of their own flips as well. They did in the 2022 recruiting class with Gracen Halton, R Mason Thomas, and Kevonte Henry, who they flipped from Power Five schools on national signing day.

Though they’re No. 37 in 247Sports team recruiting rankings, they, and the Alabama Crimson Tide at No. 38, aren’t concerned about where they stand months before the early signing period and nine months from national signing day.

Recruiting is a marathon and not a sprint. A lot will change over the next nine months and the Oklahoma Sooners will be right where they want to be when they cross the finish line.

[listicle id=35808]

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

Oklahoma Sooners summer recruiting primer for the 2023 recruiting cycle

With the summer on the horizon, we took a look at the names to know as the Sooners look to make a push on the recruiting front for 2023.

Brent Venables and Co. are weeks removed from their first spring as a staff together. It was a successful one with no notable injuries and some standout performances across the board. All told, things went as well as they could’ve hoped considering the positive reviews from the media and recruits in attendance.

The spring game served as an eye-opener for recruits and gave the Oklahoma Sooners some significant momentum to ride as they head into the most crucial time of the year for recruiting. With spring ball done and the team going home to recharge before fall camp, the staff will be all in on recruiting. With that in mind, it’s time to map out the targets to watch as the 2023 class begins to materialize this summer.

2023 Recruiting Class key for Brent Venables and the Oklahoma Sooners move to the SEC

Building for the future, the 2023 recruiting class will provide the foundation for the Oklahoma Sooners’ move to the SEC.

Brent Venables is just getting started in his pursuit of evolving the Oklahoma Sooners from, in his words, “good to great.” As a defensive coordinator, Venables was arguably the most successful coordinator of the last decade, helping Clemson win two national championships and building a defense that accumulated the most tackles for loss and sacks in the country during his time at Clemson.

Safe to say, Venables knows how to build a defense. Now in charge of the whole program, Venables first recruiting class was a home run. A group that was ranked No. 28 in the country according to 247Sports team recruiting rankings in the aftermath of the Lincoln Riley departure was built back up into the No. 8 class after national signing day.

In two months, Venables and the Sooners coaching staff rebuilt the recruiting class into a top 10 group.

That immediate rebuild set the tone for 2023, his first full recruiting cycle at the University of Oklahoma. With five commitments, the Sooners are No. 20 in the country according to 247Sports and No. 18 in On3’s rankings. Their current class consists of [autotag]Joshua Bates[/autotag], [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag], [autotag]Ashton Cozart[/autotag], [autotag]Kaleb Spencer[/autotag], and [autotag]Erik McCarty[/autotag]. It’s an intriguing group, with several players that could add a star in their senior seasons in high school.

Brent Venables is working to reshape the culture at the University of Oklahoma. Despite the star rating assigned to their current commits, Venables knows what he’s looking for in players and some of that stuff can’t be quantified.

As he shared at the latest Coaches Caravan in Amarillo, he’s starting from scratch. In  this piece from this piece from Ryan Chapman at Sooners SI, Venables talked a bit about the reshaping of the mentality and culture that’s taking place at Oklahoma. “We’re starting over,” Venables said. “We’re stripping this bad boy down to the studs.”

While the focus might be on the players present for the 2022 season, what Venables is working to create isn’t just for 2022. He’s laying a foundation that will impact and influence the future of Oklahoma Football.

This recruiting class will be juniors heading into 2025, the year Oklahoma’s currently expected to move to the SEC. There’s talk that they could buy their way out earlier, but in their current media rights contract, 2025 is the first opportunity they’ll get to make a move.

While there will be some seniors from the 2022 recruiting class still with the program, the 2023 class will be the corps of the team as Oklahoma plays their first season in the SEC in 2025.

Brent Venables has to hit back-to-back home runs in his recruiting classes to set Oklahoma up for success when they arrive in the SEC. There’s little evidence to suggest he and his coaching staff won’t because of what he was able to do in the short time after he arrived in the 2022 cycle.

Oklahoma’s trending in the right direction with several top prospects like [autotag]David Hicks[/autotag], [autotag]Cayden Green[/autotag], and [autotag]Bai Jobe[/autotag] that will help give them a boost in recruiting rankings. Adding those guys and other four and five-star talents to the current crop of commitments will be key for the Oklahoma Sooners when they take the field for the first time as an SEC team.

[listicle id=35808]

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

Oklahoma Sooners 6th in ESPN’s future offense power rankings

The Oklahoma Sooners land at No. 6 in ESPN’s future offense power rankings.

As spring practice rages on for the Oklahoma Sooners, they’re in the midst of a turnover in the offensive system. Coming from Ole Miss, Jeff Lebby’s installing his up-tempo offense that has typically been in the top five in plays ran during his tenures with the Rebels and UCF.

Even with the turnover that Oklahoma experienced, they remain in great shape in 2022 and in the future on the offensive side of the football.

Adam Rittenberg of ESPN released his future offense power rankings for 2022. In 2021, the Oklahoma Sooners were first in the country, buoyed by former top quarterbacks Spencer Rattler and Caleb Williams and a host of talented players. A third-place finish in the Big 12, a coaching change, and a transfer portal cycle later, the Oklahoma Sooners are now sixth in the updated rankings for 2022, just one spot behind the USC Trojans.

Let’s explore what Rittenberg had to say about the Oklahoma Sooners offense and its future.