Final thoughts on Lincoln Riley leaving Oklahoma for USC and what’s next for OU

As the Oklahoma Sooners head coaching search rages on, here are some final thoughts on Lincoln Riley’s departure and what’s next for OU.

It’s been a long six days since the news broke that Lincoln Riley was leaving the Oklahoma Sooners for the USC Trojans. Oklahoma leadership is entrenched with its coaching search while the new-look coaching staff has worked to retain players on the current roster and recruits.

Riley left the Sooners in a difficult position, but when Bob Stoops took the helm in the interim, the situation began to seem not so bad.

Led by Joseph Harroz, Joe Castiglione and Bob Stoops, Oklahoma is looking to the future of the program. As the coaching search appears to be reaching its conclusion, here are some final thoughts on Lincoln Riley’s departure and what’s next for the Oklahoma Sooners.

Chronicling the Sooner recruits who have reaffirmed their commitments

Despite the uncertainty in the program, multiple Oklahoma recruits have stood by their commitments as they wait for a new head coach.

While we have spent plenty of time discussing the guys that are decommitting from Oklahoma, not enough attention has been paid to the guys who have stood in the face of a major storm and let the world be known they are still on board with the Crimson and Cream.

Bob Stoops, Joe Castiglione, and Oklahoma’s school president Joseph Harroz Jr. all met with the football team in an attempt to soothe concerns and acknowledge that, despite the recent upheaval in the program, they would do whatever is possible to ensure the show goes on and that the future of this program was in great hands. The message seemed to resonate with current players where some took to social media to voice their support and belief in the program.

While they did this, recruits across the country became consumed with massive decisions to make. Some have already decided to open up their recruitments and look elsewhere. We have chronicled that for the 2022 class here and a list of guys for the 2023 guys here.

With those names out there looking to leave, the Sooners still have verbal commits in both classes. A few have stood out and announced that even without a head coach they plan to stick by the school and their commitment and proceed forward. Some remain mum. The outspoken ones are:

 

 

Oklahoma ’22 commit Jacob Sexton: ‘There’s something special amongst this group’

While some players are opting to de-commit to see what’s going to happen with the Sooners, Jacob Sexton says there’s “something special” about the 2022 class.

The Oklahoma Sooners started taking hits to their 2022 and 2023 recruiting classes not long after it was confirmed that Lincoln Riley was heading to USC to coach the Trojans. In response to the fallout, 2023 commit DeAndre Moore reaffirmed his commitment via social media and other recruits are following suit.

Last night, it was 2022 offensive lineman Jacob Sexton leading the way. In a social media post on Twitter Sexton provided encouraging words to his fellow 2022 commits saying, “there’s something special amongst this group and I believe it’s time us recruits get active on Twitter!”

If the departure of Lincoln Riley lit the next two recruiting classes on fire, posts like this will help extinguish some of the pandemonia. Oklahoma’s 2022 class, which was once seventh in the country per 247Sports Team Recruiting rankings, has fallen outside of the top 10. The No. 1 2023 recruiting class has fallen to No. 3 after Malachi Nelson’s de-commitment.

Taking the wheel amid the storm, Bob Stoops got back out on the recruiting trail to right the ship, meeting with Robert Spears-Jennings in Broken Arrow.

As the Oklahoma Sooners continue their head coaching search, affirmations of commitment will help to stabilize a program that took some hits over the last couple of days.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions.

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Official and Unofficial visitors coming to Norman for Oklahoma’s Big 12 Opener vs. WVU

Oklahoma is set to host several players for official and unofficial visits for this weekends prime-time matchup with West Virginia

Opening their conference slate on what should be a nice evening could not work out any better for the Oklahoma Sooners. They will have a lot of the nation watching, another sellout atmosphere, and some very high-profile recruits in town that they should be ecstatic to host. Let’s take a look at some of the players slated to take official and unofficial visits to Norman this weekend.

Official visits:

 

Unofficial visits:

As it stands at the time of this post, this group of visitors is loaded. There’s a nice blend of commits and uncommitted guys. Those who have already committed can work on the uncommitted athletes and convince them to come to Oklahoma. It’s a perfect situation for Oklahoma.

NOTES:

In-state star Chris McLellan out of Owasso, Oklahoma, is a priority for Oklahoma. They’ll be trying to restock their defensive line cupboard with the likely departure of multiple guys to the NFL or graduation this winter. Currently, Oklahoma is competing with Florida, Ohio State, and Alabama the most for his services.

Marvin Jones Jr will be on his official visit. He plays at American Heritage which is the same school as Sooners 2023 commit Brandon Inniss. The Sooners have an excellent little connection with this school currently will look to stand out with a great official and hope Brandon can keep the pressure on him at school.

The biggest fish that will be in town is that of Lebbeus Overton. Overton is the number two player in the country in 247Sports composite rankings and the number one recruit by 247Sports. He’s a Sooner legacy as his father (Milton Overton) played offensive line at Oklahoma from 1991-1994. Oklahoma was rumored to be out of the race for Overton. However, a trip to the Champ U BBQ and an unofficial visit this weekend indicates communication between the two sides has picked back up. Oklahoma could really make some noise here. Ultimately, they need to have him back for an official.

With only one offensive lineman committed for the 2023 class, Oklahoma will likely start building on both sides of the line for that class. Guys like Harris Sewell have an offer from the Sooners and are very much on Oklahoma’s radar.

Stay tuned throughout the week as we update the list with more information on who is and is not visiting this Saturday against West Virginia.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions.


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Oklahoma Sooners recruiting wave pushes them back into the top 10

The surging Oklahoma Sooners see their recruiting ranking climb back into the top 10 after productive recruiting weekend.

The Oklahoma Sooners got off to a hot start when it came to their 2022 recruiting class. They did have a period of cooling after Lincoln Riley watched two of his top receivers back out of their pledge and opt for different landing spots. It started with Jordan Hudson, who decided to stay in his home state of Texas and play for the SMU Mustangs. With a 247Sports composite rating of 0.9513, he became their highest-rated recruit ever.

The decommitment of Hudson was followed up by Talyn Shettron’s flip to the Sooners’ in-state rivals, the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Shettron will join his brother in playing for OSU. With those two decomittments, the Sooners saw their class ranking drop all the way to No. 22.

However, since that time Oklahoma and Riley have added three four-star talents and a pair of three-star athletes.

Recruit Position Stars Rating
Gavin Sawchuck RB 4 0.9800
Derrick Moore DL 4 0.9690
Jacob Sexton OT 4 0.9120
Xavion Brice ATH 3 0.8466
Robert Spears-Jennings ATH 3 0.8366

Prior to Derrick Moore’s commitment the Sooners found themselves at No. 9 to get back into the top 10, he boosted them to No. 8. OU is now just a point behind their biggest rivals, the Texas Longhorns for the top spot in the Big 12 Conference.

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As it sits at this moment, the Ohio State Buckeyes have the best class in the nation by a very wide margin. Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Penn State Nittany Lions, Florida State Seminoles, and LSU Tigers round out the top five. It is a close race following LSU with Georgia, Texas, Oklahoma, and Oregon all right there together in the No. 6-9 spots.

The Sooners still have work to do, currently, they hold crystal ball predictions for several more top prospects in the 2022 recruiting class.

Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy is the highest-rated of the bunch with a five-star grade and the No. 6 player in the country. He is expected to visit Norman in September when the Sooners host Nebraska for the third game of the season. Gentry Williams is another hot target but the USC Trojans are gaining some momentum on that front. The other name to watch is Jake Taylor of Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas.

Four-star offensive tackle Jacob Sexton commits to Oklahoma over Texas, Texas A&M

Texas is now batting .500 in the offensive lineman category this weekend. Jacob Sexton announced his commitment to Oklahoma on Saturday.

Texas is now batting .500 in the offensive lineman category this weekend.

First, it was a whiff on Cameron Williams to Oregon. Then, Cole Hutson and Connor Robertson committed to the good guys, shoring up the interior offensive line. On Saturday, it was a loss to the bad guys across the Red River.

Four-star offensive tackle Jacob Sexton announced his commitment to the home state Oklahoma Sooners. Texas and Texas A&M were both vying for the Deer Creek native’s commitment. Alabama and Oklahoma State received official visits as well.

Even if recruitment commitment videos are not your thing, Sexton’s is worth viewing. Texas may not be the choice but the offensive tackle was creative throughout the minute and a half.

You can watch it below:

On the 247Sports composite, Sexton ranks as the No. 24 offensive tackle in the country. Oklahoma is going to produce more talent than usual during the 2022 cycle as Sexton is the No. 5 player from the state. On a national level, the four-star is the No. 236 overall prospect.

For Texas, all attention now shifts to Sunday’s announcement from five-star Kelvin Banks. Even if Sexton did end up working out for the Longhorns, Banks is the No. 1 offensive line priority on the board. Getting a win would be massive for Kyle Flood.

Contact/Follow us @LonghornsWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas news, notes and opinions.

Oklahoma lands 2022 four-star offensive tackle Jacob Sexton

The Oklahoma Sooners land the No. 5 player in the state of Oklahoma in the 2022 class, Jacob Sexton.

The fireworks started early for the Oklahoma Sooners on this 4th of July weekend. The Sooners picked up a top in-state talent with the commitment of 2022 four-star offensive tackle Jacob Sexton. He becomes the second offensive lineman to commit to the class following Demetrius Hunter out of West Orange-Stark (Orange, Texas).

This gives offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh another talented offensive tackle to mold into an NFL talent. Much in the same way he has done over his time in Norman, Oklahoma. Sexton chose the Oklahoma Sooners over schools such as the Texas Longhorns, Texas A&M Aggies, and Alabama Crimson Tide.

Sexton is a No. 5 overall prospect in the state of Oklahoma and he becomes their No. 6 four-star recruit to commit to the 2022 class.

Jacob Sexton’s Recruiting Profile

Rating

Stars Overall State Position
247 4 5 24
Rivals 4 204 4 27
ESPN 4 246 4 26
247 Composite 4 236 5 24

Vitals

Hometown Edmond, Oklahoma
Projected Position Offensive Tackle
Height 6-5
Weight 285

Recruitment

  • Offered on Jan. 19, 2020
  • Visited on June 22, 2021

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes and opinions.

Oklahoma makes top five for four-star OT Jacob Sexton

Oklahoma has made the top five for in-state product and four-star offensive tackle Jacob Sexton.

Oklahoma has made it into the final five teams in the sweepstakes for in-state standout and four-star offensive tackle Jacob Sexton. The 6-foot-5, 285-pound tackle plays his high school football just down the road from the Sooners at Deer Creek High School in Edmond.

Sexton is the Class of 2022 No. 25 offensive tackle recruit in the country and the No. 187 overall prospect according to 247Sports composite recruiting rankings. He also comes in as the No. 3 prospect in the state of Oklahoma in the same rankings.

A team can never have enough offensive line depth, and with Bill Bedenbaugh showing him the ropes, Sexton could be an extremely useful piece for the Sooners in the years ahead. He has received offers from a medley of schools, but has narrowed his selection to just five schools out of the Big 12 and the SEC.

Rating

Stars Overall State Position
247 4 N/A 4 26
Rivals 4 166 3 22
ESPN 4 161 3 24
247 Composite 4 187 3 25

Vitals

Hometown Edmond, Oklahoma
Projected Position Offensive Tackle
Height 6-5
Weight 285

Recruitment

  • Offered on January 19, 2020
  • No Visits

Final Five

Crystal Ball

Film

Twitter

Oklahoma football recruiting tracker: Live updates on early signing period for 2021

Texas Football Recruiting: Four-star OT Jacob Sexton announces top five schools

Four-star offensive tackle Jacob Sexton released his top five schools on Monday afternoon.

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Four-star offensive tackle Jacob Sexton released his top five schools on Monday afternoon and Texas made the cut. Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are the two other Big 12 programs to join the Longhorns, while Alabama and Texas A&M from the SEC are also on the list.

As a prospect out of Edmond, Oklahoma, Sexton is the No. 3 overall player in the state. Quarterback Casey Thompson was the last player Texas poached out of Oklahoma and only the fourth since 2010.

Offensive line recruiting will be one of the main storylines for Texas throughout the 2022 class. Convincing Sexton to cross over the Red River to play in Austin would be a big win for Kyle Flood.

Rating

Stars Overall State Position
247 4 4 26
Rivals 4 166 3 22
ESPN 4 161 3 24
247 Composite 4 187 3 25

Vitals

Hometown Edmond, Oklahoma
Projected Position Offensive tackle
Height 6-5
Weight 285

Recruitment

  • Offered on May 7, 2020
  • No visit yet

Top Five

Crystal Ball

Film

Twitter

 

Texas offers 2021 offensive tackle from Oklahoma

Texas has offered 2021 offensive tackle, Jacob Sexton, out of Oklahoma. The four-star prospect has received five offers within the Big 12. 

Texas has offered 2021 offensive tackle, Jacob Sexton, out of Oklahoma. The four-star prospect has received five offers within the Big 12.

Continue reading “Texas offers 2021 offensive tackle from Oklahoma”