Tag: Kaleb Spencer

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.

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.

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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.

Latest recruiting projection favors OU in battle for 2023 Pennsylvania LB Phil Picciotti

The Oklahoma Sooners received their third projection to land 2023 LB Phil Picciotti, this time from Rivals Josh McCuistion.

Brent Venables and Ted Roof’s efforts on the recruiting trail are beginning to pay off. Earlier this week, they landed a commitment from versatile defender Kaleb Spencer.

If that wasn’t encouraging enough, they then landed on the top 4 list of a talented inside linebacker prospect in Pennsylvania’s Phil Picciotti, who listed the Oklahoma Sooners in his top four amongst Michigan, Nebraska, and Auburn.

Picciotti was offered during the Riley regime but Venables and his linebackers coach and defensive coordinator have continued the rest of the recruitment since they’ve come on board. Picciotti’s size stands out as he’s 6-foot-3 and well over 215 pounds as a rising high school senior. Physically, he has the frame to be a collegiate middle linebacker.

Almost immediately after dropping his top 4 list, he received a crystal ball projection from OUInsider’s Parker Thune and an On3 prediction from Ryan Snider in favor of Oklahoma. He received another projection in Oklahoma’s favor as SoonerScoop recruiting editor Josh McQuistion placed his prediction.

 

If you’re keeping score at home, that’s now three projections in favor of the Sooners getting a commitment from Picciotti since narrowing his school list to four. That should be enough to raise your eyebrows.

Roof and Venables and the rest of the Sooners’ staff have one last hurdle to clear and that’s making their ChampU BBQ official visit with Picciotti hit home. While it looks like the Sooners are the team to beat at the moment, hitting their official visit with Picciotti will seal the deal.

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Oklahoma earns On3 prediction for 2023 3-star wide receiver Anthony Evans

Oklahoma Sooners received an On3 prediction from National Recruiting Analyst Sam Spiegelman for 2023 3-star wide receiver Anthony Evans III.

The 2023 recruiting class is beginning to come together with the latest commitment from safety [autotag]Kaleb Spencer[/autotag] coming earlier this week to give the Oklahoma Sooners five commits in the cycle. As spring turns to summer, more and more commitments will begin to roll in with athletes wanting to get their decisions in before the start of their senior seasons.

While a lot of the focus is on four and five-star players, Oklahoma Sooners head coach Brent Venables hasn’t been shy about seeking out the diamonds in the rough with three-star offers to rising prospects. They’ve landed Erik McCarthy and Spencer, players that will be factors on their defense and look to be in the driver’s seat for another three-star player, wide receiver Anthony Evans III out of Converse, Texas.

National Recruiting Analyst for On3 Sam Spiegelman issued an On3 prediction in favor of the Oklahoma Sooners. The On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine currently gives the Sooners a 90.9% chance of landing Anthony Evans III with Georgia in second place at 4.4%. He’s expected to make an official visit to Georgia on June 10.

Evans has made two unofficial visits to Norman according to 247Sports, first on April 15, and then again a week later for Oklahoma’s spring game. He’s expected to go to Norman again for an official visit on June 3.

“It’s family down there. The spring game had 75,000 fans.” Evans told On3’s Sam Spiegelman. “[autotag]Baker Mayfield[/autotag], [autotag]Kyler Murray[/autotag], [autotag]Marquise Brown[/autotag], and [autotag]CeeDee Lamb[/autotag] were all there and they showed love and it was amazing up there. The staff is great, especially Coach (Brent) Venables, and they’re in touch every day.”

Evans is a good route runner with excellent hands. Displays a strong ability to catch the ball away from his body with a good catch radius. Wins in contested situations down the field and on back-shoulder fades. He has a good feel for where to find space against zone coverage and makes himself a good target for the quarterback. He’s really good after the catch, with the speed to break away from defenders and the toughness to fight through tackles. He doesn’t go down on first contact and fights for extra yards. Played both in the slot and on the outside as a junior and does a good job manipulating defenders in his route concept. Converse used him often on jet sweep and reverse concepts and he showed good speed to win the edge and get upfield. Evans is a really good returner that can make plays in both the punt and kick return game.

Anthony Evans’ Recruiting Profile

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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.

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Oklahoma Sooners land commitment from 2023 3-star safety Kaleb Spencer

The Oklahoma Sooners added the fifth member to their 2023 recruiting class with a commitment from three-star safety Kaleb Spencer.

The wait is finally over, and after weeks of speculation following the spring game, the Sooners land their latest commitment for the 2023 class in three-star safety/linebacker hybrid Kaleb Spencer. Spencer last visited the Sooner state for the jam-packed spring game, and the environment and atmosphere helped seal the deal.

It didn’t take long for the Sooners to make an impact in their recruitment for Spencer. [autotag]Kaleb Spencer[/autotag] was not recruited by Oklahoma until early February, when Oklahoma made the offer. The offer came, the visit was set and happened, and less than a month later, Spencer is now a Sooner.

Immediately following the spring game, projections from recruiting services began filing in for the versatile defensive prospect.

 

Kaleb Spencer‘s fit is an interesting one. He’s listed as a safety on 247Sports, but in a conversation with 247Sports, he’s being recruited by the Sooners’ defensive brain trust to man their “Cheetah” position. The “Cheetah” spot is effectively Venables’ version of a defensive Swiss army knife where they have a player who can line up in coverage, play in the box, and even blitz.

“They are going to move me around, like their ‘Cheetah’ position,” Spencer said when talking to 247Sports. “I will pretty much be playing everywhere; safety, linebacker, down on the line, blitzing.”

With Spencer’s commitment, the flood gates may open for a few more summer commitments for the Sooners. They have a few prospects that are also beginning to wind down their recruitments. Spencer’s commitment also continues Oklahoma’s foray into the southeast.

The Sooners now sit at No. 20 in the 247Sports team rankings for 2023 and are No. 16 in On3’s team ranking, with just five commits in the class thus far. Spencer’s commitment won’t be the last for the defensive backs either, as the Sooners have multiple targets in their sights for the remainder of the recruiting cycle.

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Sooners receive several predictions in favor of landing 3-star safety Kaleb Spencer

After a successful spring game, the Sooners received several projections that have Oklahoma landing 2023 three-star safety Kaleb Spencer.

Oklahoma’s record-setting spring game is already paying huge dividends for the Sooners on the recruiting trail. A number of recruits reacted positively to the turnout and the experience in Norman that including more than 200 former Sooners Football players in attendance to usher in the Brent Venables era.

One of the early returns has Oklahoma a significant leader for 2023 three-star safety Kaleb Spencer out of Virginia. Spencer is regarded as a top 20 player in the state of Virginia in the 247Sports Composite and On3 Consensus.

Oklahoma’s received several Crystal Ball projections from 247Sports Director of Recruiting Steve Wiltfong as well as OUInsider’s Parker Thune and Brandon Drumm. SoonerScoop.com’s Josh McCuistion has also issued a Rivals Forecast in favor of the Sooners. On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine gives the Sooners a 95.1% chance of landing a commitment from Kaleb Spencer.

His size and frame make him an intriguing prospect to add to the Sooners’ defense.

He displays good awareness and strong closing speed. He’s a physical player, unafraid to throw his body into tacklers or take on blocks. When playing in the box, he does a good job of setting the edge in the run game and timing his blitz as a pass rusher.

While a three-star at this point in the recruiting cycle, it wouldn’t be surprising if this diamond in the rough adds a fourth star by the end of the 2023 season. He has all the tools to be an impact defender at the collegiate level.

Kaleb Spencer’s Recruiting Profile

Crystal Ball

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Recruits react to weekend with Oklahoma on social media

What did recruits, coaches, and parents have to say via social media following Oklahoma’s latest recruiting weekend?

There are several themes coming out of Norman with every recruiting weekend and this past weekend was no different. Parents and recruits left from their visit with the Oklahoma Sooners with positive vibes and excited about what Brent Venables and his staff are building.

In the aftermath of Lincoln Riley’s abrupt departure for USC, the question became what would become of Oklahoma without the “chosen one.” As a recruiter, Brent Venables has answered the call and has the Oklahoma Sooners well positioned to build upon their 2022 recruiting class, which finished No. 8 in the nation, with a strong 2023 class as well.

Hosting one of two recruiting weekends in March aimed at the 2023 class, the Sooners welcomed players from across the country to show them everything the University of Oklahoma has to offer.

Will it lead to commitments? Only time will tell, but the Oklahoma Sooners continue to put themselves in a great spot on the recruiting trail. As recruits talk about the great time they had, it will open the door for OU’s coaches to get an opportunity with even more highly-rated recruits.

Here’s a look at some of the reactions from Oklahoma’s weekend visitors.

Catch up with a flurry of February offers for Oklahoma Sooners Football

Oklahoma has sent out plenty of offers over the past several weeks. Here’s a look at who the Sooners have targeted.

With national signing day officially in the rearview, Oklahoma has turned its focus to the 2023 and 2024 classes for the most part.

OU has four commits in the 2023 recruiting class, good for No. 15 nationally and third in the Big 12 conference according to 247Sports. That list includes quarterback Jackson Arnold, wide receiver Ashton Cozart, offensive lineman Joshua Bates and athlete Erik McCarty.

Here’s a look at who the Sooners have sent out offers to over the past several weeks.