Tag: Kalib Hicks

5 true freshmen who could have a big impact for the Sooners in 2023

With winter workouts ongoing ahead of the start of spring ball, which true freshmen have a chance to make an impact in year one for the Oklahoma Sooners?

Earning playing time as a true freshman can be difficult. Veterans on the depth chart with knowledge of the defense and experience against the higher level of competition often get favored because of the security the coaches feel with those players.

In 2022, players like [autotag]Jaren Kanak[/autotag], [autotag]R Mason Thomas[/autotag], and [autotag]Jovantae Barnes[/autotag] made an impact for the Sooners. Guys like Kanak and Thomas flashed throughout the season, even if they didn’t get a full complement of snaps as a backup.

Barnes, on the other hand, was huge for Oklahoma as Eric Gray’s primary backup. Thrust into playing time due to the injuries of Marcus Major, Barnes held onto the job and gave Oklahoma a different element running the football. He’s expected now to be the Sooners’ lead back with [autotag]Eric Gray[/autotag] off to the NFL.

After the turnover that Oklahoma experienced each of the last two offseasons, there’s an opportunity for several 2023 true freshmen to come in and be day-one impact players.

For the purposes of this exercise, we’re going to assume [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] stays healthy for the duration of 2023, which would limit [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] to backup duty. Arnold gives [autotag]Jeff Lebby[/autotag] and the offense a much better option at quarterback if the Sooners were to need someone to fill in for Gabriel in a pinch.

9 Oklahoma Sooners ranked inside the updated On300

Led by P.J. Adebawore, 9 Oklahoma Sooners ranked inside the updated On300.

The Oklahoma Sooners had a tremendous year on the recruiting trail closing with the No. 5 class in the 247Sports team recruiting rankings after the early signing period. With national signing day approaching for the 2023 class, recruiting services are updating their final rankings for the cycle.

Oklahoma’s well-represented with nine players in the On3 On300, including two in the top 10 and three in the top 15. The Alabama Crimson Tide are the only other program with multiple top 10 prospects signed in 2023 with three.

Armed with 16 blue-chip prospects and 10 on the defensive side of the ball, this collection of players has a chance to be a transformational group for Oklahoma.

Here’s a look at the players that landed in the On300.

Oklahoma welcomes 14 mid-year enrollees to campus as the spring semester starts

14 members of Oklahoma’s 2023 recruiting class set to join the Oklahoma Sooners as early enrollees.

Oklahoma has seen a number of players leave this offseason via the transfer portal, graduation or to pursue professional careers in the NFL. In response, Brent Venables and his coaching staff signed the program’s highest-rated class in quite some time. While we will not see any live action from Team 129 until the spring game, it will be encouraging to know that more than half of the 2023 recruiting class will enroll early to acclimate to the collegiate athlete lifestyle.

With classes starting Jan. 17, Oklahoma’s 2023 signees will move in this weekend. Which members of the Class of 2023 can we look out for in winter workouts and spring practices? Take a look below.

QB Jackson Arnold

Edge PJ Adebawore

S Peyton Bowen

C Joshua Bates

OL Cayden Green

RB Kalib Hicks

DL Derrick LeBlanc

ATH Erik McCarty 

LB Phil Picciotti

RB Daylan Smothers

WR Keyon Brown

DB Makari Vickers

DB Jasiah Wagoner

DL Ashton Sanders

Fourteen of the 25 members of the class of 2023 will join the Sooners football program for the offseason program. For multiple freshmen, this early leg up can be invaluable.

For example, five-star quarterback Jackson Arnold can begin to learn the playbook, have actual live reps and build chemistry with the receivers. For players in the trenches such as Cayden Green, PJ Adebawore, Derrick LeBlanc, Ashton Sanders and Joshua Bates, the early time with Jerry Schmidt getting stronger can help their pursuit of early playing opportunities.

Brent Venables and his staff will be thrilled to welcome their newest players to the program for good as they prepare Team 129 for the 2023 season.

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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, and comment on this story below. Join the conversation today. You can also follow John on Twitter @john9williams.

Oklahoma Sooners inside top 8 for 2024 4-star RB Stacy Gage

2024 4-star running back Stacy Gage included the Oklahoma Sooners in his top 8.

The Oklahoma Sooners finished the 2023 recruiting cycle with a lot of momentum, signing a top-five class in the early signing period. Despite the down year, the Sooners have a lot of momentum on the recruiting trail.

That momentum looks to be carrying over into the 2024 recruiting cycle. The Sooners were included in the top eight for 2024 four-star running back Stacy Gage. The Sooners joined Colorado, Alabama, Florida, Penn State, USC, Ohio State, and Miami in the top eight release.

Out of Tampa, Fla., Gage is a top 20 running back in the 2024 cycle. Playing for IMG Academy in Bradenton, the

[autotag]DeMarco Murray[/autotag] has done a really nice job over the last two recruiting cycles to add running back talent to the program. In the 2022 cycle, Murray brought in [autotag]Jovantae Barnes[/autotag] and [autotag]Gavin Sawchuk[/autotag], and in 2023, [autotag]Daylan Smothers[/autotag] and [autotag]Kalib Hicks[/autotag].

If Oklahoma were able to get a commitment and signature from Gage, the Sooners running back room would have really nice depth to it.

Here’s what Gage told Hayes Fawcett of On3 about Oklahoma, “Always home for me, and I feel like I will be a quick impact to the team.”

Stacy Gage’s Recruiting Profile

Projections

Film

Hudl

Breaking down the Oklahoma Sooners 2023 recruiting class by position

How does the Oklahoma Sooners 2023 recruiting class look broken down by position?

The Oklahoma Sooners have put together a really nice recruiting class through the early signing period of the 2023 cycle. We haven’t even made it to February’s national signing day, and Oklahoma’s sitting with the No. 5 class in 247Sports recruiting rankings.

The Sooners have added a four- or five-star player at every position save for tight end. Even there, the Sooners added one of the best players in the state to Joe Jon Finley’s room.

It’s an incredible collection of athletic, fast and versatile players that will, along with the 2021 and 2022 recruiting classes, be the foundation of Oklahoma’s journey into the SEC.

Let’s break it down by position group.

5 takeaways from the first two days of the early signing period for the Oklahoma Sooners

Peyton Bowen signs with the Sooners. Oklahoma has a top-five class. 5 takeaways from the first two days of the early signing period.

The early signing period for the Oklahoma Sooners has been, in one way, unremarkable and, in another way, utterly insane.

Oklahoma signed every single recruit they had committed prior to December 21. No one jumped ship even after a 6-6 season which was far and away the worst season Oklahoma has had in years. Everyone remained committed, and the Sooners even added guys along the way.

Outside of that, they waited on decisions from four-star [autotag]Tausili Akana[/autotag] and five-star safety [autotag]Peyton Bowen[/autotag]. Oklahoma missed on Akana, who committed to the Texas Longhorns, but landed Bowen after one of the more wild recruiting sagas in recent years.

They didn’t land Bowen at first, who flipped from Notre Dame to Oregon at the signing event in his hometown of Denton. We’ll unpack that later.

Nonetheless, barring another five-star surprise from [autotag]David Hicks[/autotag], Oklahoma may not anyone else until national signing day in February. Unless it’s via the transfer portal.

Here are five takeaways from the first two days of the early signing period.

Which players signed with the Oklahoma Sooners 2023 recruiting class?

Which players in the 2023 cycle have signed with the Oklahoma Sooners?

The Oklahoma Sooners had a great day on the opening of the early signing period. Unlike a few other schools, the Sooners signed everyone that was committed coming into Wednesday.

While they didn’t land a couple of their highly-regarded targets at the end, the Sooners have put together a really nice class in the 2023 cycle.

Led by five-star players Jackson Arnold and Adepoju Adebawore, Oklahoma signed 15 four or five-star players. They were particularly successful on the defensive side of the ball, adding nine blue-chip players.

The defensive backfield is the place where they had the most significant infusion of talent. In Jacobe Johnson, Jasiah Wagoner, Kendel Dolby, Makari Vickers, Daeh McCullough, and Erik McCarty, the Sooners added five four-star talents and a player in McCarty who will be a big-time contributor for Oklahoma’s secondary in the years to come.

In his early signing period press conference, Brent Venables indicated that the Sooners weren’t done adding talent. That could be through the transfer portal or on the high school recruiting trail. That would take an already great recruiting class to another level.

Here are the players who have signed with the Oklahoma Sooners for the 2023 cycle.

Running back Kalib Hicks signs with the Oklahoma Sooners

Making his commitment official running back Kalib Hicks signs with the Oklahoma Sooners.

The early signing period is underway, and the Oklahoma Sooners are beginning to put pen to paper with their [autotag]2023 recruiting class[/autotag].

The Sooners kept the ball rolling to finish the cycle strong as [autotag]Kalib Hicks[/autotag] signed his national letter of intent with the Oklahoma Sooners. Hicks committed to the Sooners back on June 15 as a part of Oklahoma’s massive summer on the recruiting trail.

Hicks, a three-star prospect, hails from Denton, Texas where he played for Ryan High School. Over the course of three seasons on varsity, Hicks amassed 3,228 rushing yards and 33 touchdowns. He averaged 7 yards per carry on 455 rushing attempts in high school.

Out of the backfield, he added 28 receptions for 292 yards and three touchdowns, averaging 10.4 yards per reception.

He was a dynamic player in high school, and DeMarco Murray is banking on that big-play ability finding its way to Norman. Hicks runs with ease and displays good vision. He’s a patient runner, allowing for the blocking in front of him to get going before hitting the hole.

With Eric Gray heading to the NFL Jovantae Barnes and Marcus Major are the only guys on the running back depth chart with significant experience. Gavin Sawchuck is expected to make a splash in 2023, but it’s not outside the realm of possibility to see Kalib Hicks make an impact.

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, and comment on this story below. Join the conversation today. You can also follow John on Twitter @john9williams.

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.

Oklahoma 2023 commits shine under the Friday Night Lights

Friday night is for high school football, and several Oklahoma 2023 commits stood out under the lights!

The Oklahoma Sooners No. 5 ranked 2023 recruiting class has provided a glimpse of what’s coming to Norman next year. In the early going, they’ve provided some fantastic moments for their squads and helped feed the excitement surrounding the Sooners class.

[autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] has been must-see television whenever you can find him as he’s had a productive start to the season to help Denton Guyer get off to a 4-0 start. But he’s not the only one having a fantastic senior season thus far. OUDNA is showing up and showing out across the country, and on Friday night, several prospects turned in highlight-reel performances.

Kalib Hicks turned in a fantastic outing for Denton Ryan, and Samuel Omosigho showed off his athleticism.