Tag: Kaleb Spencer

Recent USC decommitments further validate Oklahoma’s recruiting strategy

Brent Venables and Lincoln Riley build their programs very differently. One seems to be having more success than the other at keeping recruits.

Former Oklahoma Sooners football head coach and the current head coach of the USC Trojans, [autotag]Lincoln Riley[/autotag], has lost two major commitments on the defensive side of the ball this week.

First, it was five-star EDGE [autotag]Isaiah Gibson[/autotag], who recommitted from Southern Cal on Tuesday. Gibson was ranked as the number one edge-rusher in the [autotag]2025 recruiting class[/autotag], according to On3. The Georgia native had been committed to Riley and defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn since March.

Wednesday wasn’t better for Riley, as Gibson spoke about his decommittment, saying “I’m looking for a real deal football program that fits me.” Not exactly what a program wants to hear after a player decommits.

The hits kept coming for the Trojans, as five-star defensive lineman Justus Terry would decommit on Wednesday. The number two defensive lineman in the ’25 class per On3, Terry had also been committed to Riley and Lynn since March.

“…I can’t imagine that there could be a setting that we could build a better roster than we can here,” Riley said just months after leaving Norman for L.A.

Two days, two losses for USC. This is also coming on the heels of the cancellation of their future home-and-home series with Ole Miss. A few weeks ago, a report from Saturday Down South revealed Riley and the Trojans tried for months to get their series with the LSU Tigers canceled. That certainly didn’t quiet the “Lincoln Riley is afraid of the SEC” narrative.

What this week’s developments do for Oklahoma fans is highlight the successes of [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag]’ recruiting strategy. Venables is focused on and committed to building up the entire program, not just the offense. His predecessor was, and still is, among the best in the business at recruiting quarterbacks and wide receivers. But Riley has never been able to see his teams consistently play complimentary football for long stretches of the season.

Oklahoma was a [autotag]College Football Playoff[/autotag] team three straight times when Riley was the head coach, losing in the semifinals each year. Only in the 2018 Rose Bowl was Oklahoma truly competitive. The following two seasons ended with blowout losses in the semis. The Sooners had the offense to get the job done, but lacked the defense and overall physicality to tangle with the SEC. The next two seasons, OU missed the playoff entirely. They failed to make the conference title game in Riley’s last season.

When Riley left in late 2021, Venables was hired to change that. The Sooners had gotten away from what their DNA had always been. Venables has in no way completed the journey, but is building the team in a much more holistic way.

Offensive talent acquisition hasn’t suffered in any way without Riley in town. [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag], [autotag]Nic Anderson,[/autotag] [autotag]Jayden Gibson[/autotag], [autotag]Gavin Sawchuk[/autotag] and [autotag]Jovantae Barnes[/autotag] are all recruits that never played a snap under the previous regime. They signed to play for Venables and the current regime. [autotag]Andrel Anthony[/autotag] and [autotag]Deion Burks[/autotag] are transfers that were added by this staff as well. Oklahoma is deep at the skill positions on offense, Riley’s specialty.

Defense, however, is where Venables has a clear mismatch over Riley. Oklahoma’s defense wasn’t up to Venables’ standards last season, but it was still the best overall defense the Sooners have had since [autotag]Bob Stoops[/autotag] was leading the charge.

Venables has had his misses. Oklahoma couldn’t land [autotag]David Hicks[/autotag] or [autotag]Williams Nwaneri[/autotag]. But getting [autotag]Damonic Williams[/autotag] in the boat via the [autotag]transfer portal[/autotag] and signing [autotag]David Stone[/autotag] and [autotag]Jayden Jackson[/autotag] among others in the [autotag]2024 recruiting class[/autotag] have been some big hits in recent months for this staff. Those are two moves Riley couldn’t dream of making.

Venables’ unique policy when it comes to a commitment is also paying dividends. He requires players to shut down their recruitment upon commitment, a policy that has faced significant criticism. It was met with raised eyebrows when Venables brought it over with him from his days under Dabo Swinney, but it’s working at OU.

Oklahoma has had a total of seven decommitments in the last three seasons if you remove players that decommitted when Riley jumped ship. According to 247Sports, [autotag]Jaden Nickens[/autotag] is the only current decommit from the 2025 class. [autotag]Dozie Ezukanma[/autotag] and JUCO transfer Danny Saili were the only decommitments from the 2024 cycle. The 2023 class gets a bit murkier, but [autotag]Kaleb Spencer[/autotag], [autotag]Colton Vasek[/autotag], [autotag]Ashton Cozart[/autotag], and [autotag]Anthony Evans[/autotag] all had unique reasons for choosing to play elsewhere.

Since that time, Saili is on his third team since decommitting from the Sooners. Ezukanma got caught up in a numbers game at OU, who signed four receivers in the 2024 class. Cozart, who signed the Oregon Ducks out of high school is now with the SMU Mustangs. Spencer spent one season with Miami. He’s since relocated to Virginia Tech.

Ezukanma, Evans, and Vasek are the only players who have stuck with the school they flipped to from Oklahoma.

At USC, the number of decommitments balloons to 14 players in the last three seasons. Eight of those players were from the defensive side of the ball. This is not a problem specific to USC either, as Riley was known to lose some big commitments at OU, especially in his later days in Norman.

Venables’ policy may not be liked by all, but it does seem to be working better than what Oklahoma’s previous coach was and is doing. It’s impressive, considering Riley is trying to convince players to come to Los Angeles, California, and Venables is trying to convince players to come to Norman, Oklahoma.

We’ve seen what it looks like when a one-dimensional offensive team makes the CFP semifinals. Riley is still trying to overcome the narrative that he can’t field a defense. Though it will continue to take time, Venables is hyper-focused on improving every part of the roster, every year. Oklahoma has averaged more than 39 points per game on offense each of Venables’ first two seasons in Norman. The defense, which lost five starters to the NFL and one as a grad transfer from the 2021 team improved nearly a touchdown a game from 2022 to 2023.

Patience will be important with Venables, but so will results. The staff believes that the program is now trending in the right direction heading into the SEC, after they had to strip it down to the studs in 2022.

It may take longer, but building the roster the right way, focusing on every single position on offense, defense and special teams, will be a better course of action in the long run. Complimentary and holistic offensive and defensive football will be the only way Oklahoma will truly be able to compete for national championships again. Physicality, toughness, and discipline are returning to Owen Field.

Oklahoma had hit a ceiling with the Lincoln Riley method of doing things. He was focused on offense, QBs and putting up 35 points a game. While no one expected Riley’s departure, the Sooners are clearly in a far better position now than they were in the final two years of Riley’s tenure.

As Venables continues to have success on the recruiting trail, college football’s coming to the realization that Oklahoma is better off.

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Sooners lose WR commit Anthony Evans III, flips to Georgia

Oklahoma took a loss this week as the Sooners lose 2023 WR commit Anthony Evans. Evans flipped to Georgia on Friday. From @thatmanbryant

In one week, the Oklahoma Sooners experienced the full emotions of the recruiting spectrum. They racked up four defensive commits giving them extra reasons to be thankful on Thanksgiving.

Today they’re experiencing the opposite end of the recruiting spectrum. Black Friday was just that for Oklahoma who lost four-star wide receiver Anthony Evans flipped his commitment from the Oklahoma Sooners to the Georgia Bulldogs.

The flip comes as no surprise to those who follow Oklahoma recruiting closely as Evans has taken multiple visits to UGA despite his commitment to Oklahoma on August 26th.

The connection with Georgia was very real,  considering he was down to either Oklahoma or Georgia for his initial commitment in the first place. His mother is a big Georgia fan and even in the graphic where he commits to UGA it included, “My mama’s dream come true.”

The 5-foot-11, 167-pound Evans has explosive athleticism, and he’s a 10.27 guy in the 100m dash and 24-foot plus long jumper. That would have been a treat to have as a slot receiver for Oklahoma to pair with the rest of the offensive pieces they are assembling.

With Evans now exiting the class, the Sooners only have two receivers committed: Jaquaize Pettaway and Keyon Brown.

Evans is the fourth prospect to commit to Brent Venables and then later decommit in the ’23 class, joining names like Ashton Cozart (Oregon), edge rusher Colton Vasek (Texas) and linebacker Kaleb Spencer (Miami).

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Updated Oklahoma Sooners 2023 commitment tracker

Which players have committed to the Oklahoma Sooners for the 2023 recruiting cycle?

The 2023 class is about a month away from early signing day and less than three months away from national signing day.

Since Brent Venables’ arrival in Norman, the Sooners have been one of the top recruiting schools in the country over the last two cycles. After finishing eighth in 247Sports team recruiting rankings for 2022, the Sooners sit at No. 7 and have a great chance to move into the top five by national signing day.

With the recent additions of Ashton Sanders and Taylor Wein, Oklahoma has 22 players committed to the 2023 class. Recent projections favor the Sooners to add more talent if the Rivals Futurecasts come to fruition. Oklahoma received a pair of projections from Rivals analysts to land five-star safety and Notre Dame commit Peyton Bowen after he spent time in Norman for Bedlam.

Brent Venables, his coaching staff, and the recruiting support staff have done an excellent job over the last year building out their 2023 recruiting class and they don’t appear close to being done.

The final tally will come on national signing day, but the Oklahoma Sooners look well-positioned to have one of the country’s best group of signees.

Let’s take a look at the updated commitment tracker.

Where’s Oklahoma in team recruiting rankings after Colton Vasek’s flip to Texas?

Where do the Oklahoma Sooners land in the team recruiting rankings after Colton Vasek’s flip to Texas?

Colton Vasek’s flip to Texas was surprising but perhaps not nearly as surprising as the commitment, to begin with. Vasek comes from a family of Longhorns and lives in Austin. So, the fact that Brent Venables, Miguel Chavis, and Todd Bates were able to pull the commitment in the first place was pretty impressive, even if it only last for a few months.

While Vasek was the ninth highest-rated commit for the Sooners before flipping to Texas, he’s a good player with a lot of potential. It’s a loss for Oklahoma. Vasek marks the second flip from Oklahoma in the last couple of weeks after three-star linebacker Kaleb Spencer turned his commitment from the Sooners to Miami.

It’s a bummer to lose commitments, but it’s not a sign that confidence is fading in the Sooners. There’s still work to be done to lock in the 2023 recruiting class, but Oklahoma is still trending toward a top 10 and maybe even a top five class in 2023.

With the decommitment of Colton Vasek, let’s take a look at where Oklahoma stands in the 247Sports and On3 team recruiting rankings for the 2023 cycle.

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REPORT: 3-star linebacker Kaleb Spencer flips commitment from Oklahoma to Miami

In a surprise, 2023 three-star linebacker Kaleb Spencer flipped his commitment from the Oklahoma Sooners to the Miami Hurricanes.

The ebb and flow of recruiting provides a roller coaster journey for college football programs through the early signing period to national signing day.

Oklahoma’s 2023 recruiting class took a hit on Friday night when three-star linebacker [autotag]Kaleb Spencer[/autotag] flipped his commitment from the Oklahoma Sooners to the Miami Hurricanes. Spencer had been committed to Brent Venables and Oklahoma since May and was one of the earliest commitments in the 2023 class.

Speaking with Hayes Fawcett of On3 Recruiting, Spencer cited his relationship with the coaching staff, in particular with Miami assistant Jahmile Addae.

According to the 247Sports composite, Spencer is the No. 692 player in the class and ranks as the No. 58 linebacker.

Even with the loss of Spencer, the Sooners still have three linebackers committed to the 2023 class. Linebacker [autotag]Samuel Omosigho[/autotag] is the No. 99 player and No. 8 linebacker in the 2023 class, while [autotag]Lewis Carter[/autotag] ranks No. 159 and is the No. 13 linebacker in the class. Then there’s [autotag]Phil Picciotti[/autotag], who is a top 50 linebacker in the class.

Spencer is an athletic player on the rise, but the competition for snaps would have been fierce in 2023 at the position. Oklahoma’s depth at linebacker has been tested this fall: [autotag]T.D. Roof[/autotag] and [autotag]Shane Whitter[/autotag] were lost for the year.

[autotag]David Ugwoegbu[/autotag], [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag], and [autotag]DaShaun White[/autotag] have been forced to play a lot. Waiting for their chance to shine are four-star linebackers in the 2022 class are [autotag]Jaren Kanak[/autotag], [autotag]Kobie McKinzie[/autotag] and [autotag]Kip Lewis[/autotag]. So while the linebacker depth appears a bit thin at the moment, over the next couple of years, the position will be filled with blue-chip talent up and down the depth chart.

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Oklahoma Sooners 2023 recruiting class commitment tracker

Oklahoma Sooners 2023 commitment tracker

The Oklahoma Sooners 2023 recruiting class is coming together quite nicely after a strong June, July, and start to August.

Since June 1, the Sooners have added 15 commitments. They added nine commitments in July, with eight rated as four-star players. Also, in July, quarterback Jackson Arnold saw his stock rise after winning the Elite 11 MVP award, earning five-star status.

Their 2023 recruiting class is currently ranked No. 6 in the nation according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings and No. 9 according to the On3 Consensus.

Oklahoma is still awaiting decisions from five-star defensive lineman [autotag]David Hicks[/autotag], four-star cornerback [autotag]Makari Vickers[/autotag], four-star athlete [autotag]Malachi Coleman[/autotag], and four-star wide receiver [autotag]Anthony Evans[/autotag]. With those dominoes still to fall, the Sooners could see their class push into the top three by national signing day.

While we await the next commitment to the 2023 recruiting class, here’s a look at who’s locked in and where they rank in the 247Sports composite and the On3 consensus rankings.

Brent Venables recruiting philosophy is paying off for Oklahoma Sooners

In the midst of an incredible run on the recruiting trail in the 2023 cycle, it’s easy to see Brent Venables’ philosophy is paying off for the Okahoma Sooners.

If you haven’t seen it by now, the Oklahoma Sooners are red hot on the recruiting trail. It’s a far cry from the grave the national media and rival fans wanted to bury OU in during May.

Before June 1, the Sooners had four players committed to their 2023 recruiting class: [autotag]Joshua Bates[/autotag], [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag], [autotag]Erik McCarty[/autotag] and [autotag]Kaleb Spencer[/autotag]. On the surface, and according to some, the Sooners were struggling to recruit. Appearances can be deceiving.

The reality was that [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] and his coaching staff were playing the long game. Preaching patience to players who were interested in committing to Oklahoma and encouraging those prospects to finish their recruiting process before making a commitment.

The main message is, “know that you know that you know that you know.” Venables doesn’t want players making a commitment and then continuing to shop around. That’s what changed with [autotag]Ashton Cozart[/autotag] and that’s something [autotag]Lincoln Riley[/autotag] is dealing with now as [autotag]Malachi Nelson[/autotag], [autotag]Makai Lemon[/autotag] and [autotag]Zachariah Branch[/autotag] (their top three 2023 commits) are visiting [autotag]Texas A&M[/autotag] this weekend after being committed to the Trojans for some time. Nelson and Lemon have been committed since Riley left for USC in November.

If a player that’s committed to a school is going on visits to another, they’re not committed. Committed individuals don’t look elsewhere. In their career, in their marriage, in their relationships or in college football.

For years, the idea of a commitment has been softened in college football. By coaches and by players. Coaches will be committed to a player and a program one day and find a better opportunity the next. A player considered a “hard commit” by a recruiting service can flip at a moment’s notice. Throw in the new world order of name, image and likeness, and nothing seems certain until a player is signed.

That’s why Venables is so passionate about his philosophy. He wants players to take their visits. He wants them to explore all of their options before they commit. He wants the players that commit to the University of Oklahoma to understand the true meaning of the word. Because when a player commits, Oklahoma is committing in turn.

Venables, his coaching staff, and the program are throwing the full weight of the University of Oklahoma’s resources behind the prospect’s development both as a person and as a player. And all they’re asking for is the same commitment in return.

A player that commits to the University of Oklahoma has had a chance to go through their process, explore all of their options, and have time to consider them. They aren’t making an emotional decision based on their visit. They’re making an informed one — that will impact their college and professional careers.

And it’s a process that’s paying off for the Oklahoma Sooners. The 18 players (and counting) that have committed to the Sooners are all in. They’ve seen what’s out there, taken their visits and decided Oklahoma was the best place for them. It makes it more likely a player will stick and sign with the Sooners.

The process hasn’t hindered OU one bit. Their 18 commits (and counting) have Oklahoma up to No. 6 in the team recruiting rankings with a chance to climb even higher with several blue-chip prospects still to decide.

Oklahoma has added 14 players since June 1 and nine players since July 1, including eight four-stars since June 15.

In the last six days, the Sooners have received commitments from four-star prospects [autotag]Jasiah Wagoner[/autotag] and [autotag]Derrick LeBlanc[/autotag].

The Sooners’ patience on the recruiting trail is putting them in a position to have one of the best classes the school has seen in the modern era of recruiting.

And to echo the sentiment from several 2023 commits, they aren’t done yet.

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Lucky number 7: Sooners score seventh commitment in July as Lewis Carter pledges to Oklahoma

As the Sooners continue to stay scalding hot in July, landing yet another commitment. This time from four-star LB Lewis Carter.

Don’t let the lede deceive you. The Oklahoma Sooners are far from lucky this month. This type of recruiting success takes planning, hard work, and maybe just a little luck.

Nonetheless, the Sooners are as hot as an  mid-July summer day on the recruiting trail. They landed their seventh commitment in July, when 2023 linebacker Lewis Carter pledged to Oklahoma Saturday afternoon.

Carter, a four-star linebacker out of the Tampa area, chose Oklahoma over Auburn, UNC, Clemson, Florida, Miami, and UCF.

He’s smaller in build for a linebacker and maybe has long-term potential as a sub-package linebacker that plays in the box as a strong safety on other downs. He’s very athletic and that quality is the first thing that jumps out to you when watching his film.

After a fast and furious morning of predictions yesterday, Carter wasted no time locking in his future home.

With Carter’s commitment, Oklahoma is fine No. 10 nationally for recruiting in the 2023 class.

His pledge potentially closes up shop for linebacker recruiting for 2023 barring a very surprising commitment.

Carter’s recruitment was pretty swift as the Sooners only offered the Florida linebacker in May. He visited officially the weekend of June 10th, and about five weeks later he is now a member of the Sooners “CHO23N” class. Carter was offered by Venables when the first-year Sooners head coach was still the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Clemson, so the relationship was well established before the Sooners’ offer came in.

The Floridian joins four-star Samuel Omosigho, three-star Phil Picciotti, and three-star Kaleb Spencer as new linebackers to be coached by Ted Roof and Brent Venables. Carter’s commitment gives Oklahoma sixteen commitments in total.

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Oklahoma Sooners offer LSU commit DB Ryan Yaites from Denton Guyer

The Oklahoma Sooners offered defensive back and 2023 LSU commit Ryan Yaites out of Denton Guyer High School i Texas.

The Oklahoma Sooners missed out on safety Tyler Turner, who committed to Oregon this week, but that won’t slow down [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] and his defensive staff. Leaving nothing to chance, the Sooners have offered four-star defensive back [autotag]Ryan Yaites[/autotag] from Denton Guyer High School in Texas.

Yaites has been committed to LSU since the middle of April, but that won’t keep Venables and [autotag]Brandon Hall[/autotag] from pursuing the Texas product. Another thing to note is that Yaites is the high school teammate of Oklahoma’s five-star quarterback commit [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag].

ESPN, 247Sports Composite, and On3’s Consensus all consider Yaites a four-star defensive back prospect and he ranks as one of the top 100 players in the talent-rich state of Texas.

Yaites is a versatile defensive back prospect that lined up primarily as an outside cornerback for Guyer. He’s a bump-and-run corner that does a great job using his length and athleticism to challenge receivers at the catch point. Even when the WR has made the catch, Yaites shows a strong ability to rip the ball out to cause the incompletion. He’s a very good tackler who consistently wraps up and drives the ball carrier to the ground. In the run or screen game, he shows great discipline to set the edge and not let the ball carrier get to the boundary. Great eye discipline and ability to read the play allows him to go from cover player to run defender quickly, which helps him make plays in the run game.

If the Sooners were able to flip Ryan Yaites from LSU, it would be a huge win and another fantastic defensive prospect to add to [autotag]Kaleb Spencer[/autotag], [autotag]Erik McCarty[/autotag], and [autotag]Kade McIntyre[/autotag].

Ryan Yaites’ Recruiting Profile

Projections

Film

Hudl

Consensus Top 50 prospect Derek Williams names Sooners in his final 8

The Oklahoma Sooners land in the top 8 for talented and highly-regarded four-star safety prospect Derek Williams.

Oklahoma is doing some things right on the recruiting trail and it has them in the mix for some of the nation’s best defensive prospects. The Sooners find themselves still in the mix for one of the best safeties in the country. Top 50 prospect Derek Williams listed the Sooners along with seven others in his final eight schools over the weekend.

Williams, a safety from the state of Louisiana lists Texas, Miami, Texas A&M, Clemson, Alabama, and his home state school of LSU in his final schools as well. While his list features a plethora of some of the biggest brands in college football, there is no clear-cut favorite. However, it would be wise to assume LSU will factor heavily as this recruitment winds down.

 

Oklahoma currently has two safeties committed in the class of 2023 in [autotag]Erik McCarty[/autotag] and three-star [autotag]Kaleb Spencer[/autotag], but with Spencer likely to slide down and play linebacker quite a bit pursuing Williams seems like a smart thing.

Williams attended Junior Day in March and if the Sooners can stay involved and work themselves into a spot to get an official visit, who knows where this recruitment can go. Ultimately, with such a long way until national signing day, the Sooners will have to continue to stay in the race and hope that their on-field efforts will sway Williams to consider what the Crimson and Cream can offer.

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