Makari Vickers – Page 2 – Syndication Server

Oklahoma Sooners: Ranking their top 10 recruits in the 2023 class

Here are the Sooners’ top-10 ranked recruits in the 2023 cycle.

Alabama, Georgia and Texas have all gotten a ton of acclaim for their recruiting work during the last year, as they earned the top three spots in the 2023 recruiting rankings, respectively.

The No. 4 ranked school has flown under the radar, with that distinction going to Oklahoma, who got commitments from 26 players total, including a five-star quarterback prospect and Gatorade Player of the Year, plus four of the top 75 nationally ranked players in the class.

Here are the Sooners’ top-10 recruits in the 2023 cycle.

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5 things we’re watching for at Oklahoma’s spring game

Oklahoma has its spring game this weekend, and we’ve got five things we’ll be looking at for Oklahoma’s spring debut of team 129.

Team 129 in Oklahoma’s illustrious football history takes the field publically for the first time on Saturday afternoon. It’s a game and weekend that means a lot to the team, staff, fanbase, and recruits.

Oklahoma comes into this spring off the heels of its worst season in over 20 years. The Sooners were a rough watch at times. Despite that, they still found themselves in a bowl game against a talented Florida State team.

Oklahoma lost the likes of [autotag]Brayden Willis[/autotag], [autotag]Eric Gray[/autotag], [autotag]Anton Harrison[/autotag], [autotag]Wanya Morris[/autotag], [autotag]Marvin Mims[/autotag], [autotag]Jalen Redmond[/autotag], and [autotag]DaShaun White[/autotag] to the NFL Draft process.

The Sooners saw players transfer out but also welcomed in a number of players from their top-five recruiting class. The Sooners attacked the portal with some serious intensity bringing in impact transfers on both sides of the ball.

It’s now time for the world to at least get a glimpse of some of these new Sooners while getting a chance to see how the returning players improved from last year.

Here are our top five storylines heading into the spring game.

Oklahoma cornerback Jaden Davis enters the transfer portal

Oklahoma Sooners cornerback Jaden Davis enters the transfer portal.

The second transfer window is underway, and Oklahoma has lost another player to the portal. Senior cornerback [autotag]Jaden Davis[/autotag] announced via social media that he’s entering the transfer portal.

In his announcement, Davis said, “Thank you Sooner Nation for everything. I’ll be entering the transfer portal as a graduate transfer with one year of eligibility remaining.”

Davis started 21 games in his Oklahoma career, according to Pro Football Focus, including nine games in 2022. He fell out of favor late in the season with the emergence of [autotag]C.J. Coldon[/autotag].

The Oklahoma Sooners have added a lot of cornerback talent in an attempt to rebuild their secondary in [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag]’ second year in Norman. With the additions of [autotag]Jayden Rowe[/autotag] and [autotag]Gentry Williams[/autotag] in 2022 and [autotag]Makari Vickers[/autotag], [autotag]Kendel Dolby[/autotag] and Jasiah Wagoner in 2023, the Sooners brought in a number of players that were signed by this coaching staff.

This transfer portal season has been one of attrition to the Grinch defense. A number of players have departed that weren’t really factoring into the defensive rotation.

Though Davis had become a veteran member of the secondary, practice reports were high on Wagoner, Dolby and Vickers in their first offseason with the Sooners.

🫶🏾 pic.twitter.com/Xp2JVZYFqQ

— Jaden Davis (@Jayd4_) April 17, 2023

Oklahoma offers four-star interior defensive lineman D’Antre Robinson out of Florida

Oklahoma continues to plant its feet firmly in the Florida recruiting landscape as they offer four-star defensive tackle, D’Antre Robinson.

Florida was very lucrative to the Oklahoma Sooners in the class of 2023. With the staff’s comfort recruiting in the Sunshine State, it makes sense they would be right back there for the class of 2024.

The Class of 2023 gave the Sooners CB Makari Vickers (early enrollee), DL Derrick LeBlanc (early enrollee), LB Lewis Carter, WR Keyon Brown, and defensive lineman Markus Strong. All are from Florida. With that success, why would Oklahoma not go back to the well?

The Sooners believe they can replicate that success in 2024 and reached out to offer four-star defensive tackle D’Antre Robinson out of Orlando, Florida.

Robinson is a true space eater in the interior. He has decent lateral quickness and is disruptive at the point of attack. Robinson’s natural strength allows him to stonewall opposing offensive linemen and effectively eliminate them from moving him off his spot. That frees up his teammates to go and make plays and attack the ball carrier.

He played AAU basketball. The athleticism required to play basketball at that level is on full display. With his frame, it is reasonable to believe he could still add anywhere from 10-15 pounds if necessary. The extra pounds would help significantly if he plays along the interior for an SEC team.

D’Antre Robinson’s Recruiting Profile

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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.

Pair of defensive backs considered big recruiting wins by 247Sports for 2023

In 247Sports Big 12 recap of the 2023 recruiting cycle, a couple of Oklahoma signees were considered big wins for the Sooners.

The 2023 cycle went about as well as it could have for the Oklahoma Sooners. They had a top 10 class heading into the early signing period and then flipped Peyton Bowen from Oregon at the buzzer.

Getting Bowen was a huge win for the Oklahoma Sooners. Anytime your favorite football program is able to get a signature from a player that was heavily pursued by Notre Dame and Oregon, it’s massive. In the 247Sports’ Big 12 roundup from national signing day, Gabe Brooks agreed.

A longtime Notre Dame pledge who announced Dec. 21 for Oregon but flipped and signed the next day with Oklahoma, Bowen (No. 57 overall) gives Oklahoma a potential early impact player in the secondary, as well as a surefire special teams option, whether covering kicks or returning them. He’s one of the nation’s top safety prospects thanks to what he’s shown on the field and the layered athletic profile and combine testing data we’ve seen over the past couple of years. – Brooks, 247Sports.

[autotag]Peyton Bowen[/autotag] will be an impact player for the Oklahoma Sooners in year one. Even if it’s only as a rotational or matchup safety, Bowen’s athleticism and playing range will help Oklahoma on the back end of the defense, similarly to how [autotag]Billy Bowman[/autotag] did for Oklahoma in 2021.

In addition to Peyton Bowen being a huge win, Brooks called the addition of [autotag]Makari Vickers[/autotag] a “huge win” as well. What’s become evident in Brent Venables first full year on the recruiting trail, is that the Oklahoma Sooners are going to recruit blue chip defensive players at a much higher rate than before.

Another Sooner signee who should be considered a huge win is Makari Vickers (No. 101), who in our opinion represents a seismic victory for OU to pull the versatile, athletic defensive back out of Tallahassee (Fla.) Munroe and away from all the programs nationwide who frequent the Sunshine State. Vickers impressive in his man coverage ability during All-American Bowl week and, like Bowen, could become a personnel chameleon in Norman. Piling up defensive prospects such as Bowen, Vickers, big-bodied in-state corner Jacobe Johnson (No. 115),and Florida linebacker Lewis Carter (No. 123) gives Brent Venables and his staff exceptional talent for their stop unit. – Brooks, 247Sports

The Oklahoma Sooners defense struggled to get stops in 2022. They struggled both through the air and against the ground game. It was crucial for the Sooners to hit some home runs on the recruiting trail in 2023 and Venables and his staff did just that.

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Led by Adepoju Adebawore and Jackson Arnold, 9 Sooners featured in final Top247 for 2023

Led by Adepoju Adebawore and Jackson Arnold, nine Oklahoma Sooners ranked inside the final Top247 rankings for the 2023 recruiting cycle.

The Oklahoma Sooners finished strong in the 2023 recruiting class, landing a top-five group in Brent Venables first full year on the job in Norman.

It’s an incredible feat considering the season the Sooners had on the football field in 2022. Despite all that didn’t go right, Venables and his staff showed that they can flat-out recruit.

The 2023 class featured nine players inside the 247Sports final Top247 for the 2023 class, and all nine were inside the top 125 and six inside the top 100.

Armed with a top-five group in 2023 and the No. 8 class in the 2022 cycle, the Sooners have laid the foundation for success as they prepare for a future in the SEC.

Where did Oklahoma signees from the 2023 recruiting class land in the final ESPN 300?

Which Oklahoma Sooners were ranked in the final ESPN 300 for the 2023 recruiting class?

The Oklahoma Sooners had a field day in the 2023 recruiting cycle, closing with a recruiting class that ranked in the top five according to 247Sports and ESPN and were seventh nationally according to On3 and Rivals.

With the early signing period, much of the 2023 cycle is finished, which has led several publications to release their final player rankings for the class. Over at ESPN, 13 of Oklahoma’s signees for the recruiting class were ranked inside their top 300. By comparison, Alabama had 23 players and Georgia had 21 of the top 300. The Sooners still have a ways to go to get the number of top recruits like the Crimson Tide and Bulldogs. Another team relevant to the Sooners, the USC Trojans, only earned signatures from five players in the ESPN 300.

Led by Jackson Arnold, Oklahoma had seven players in the top 100, including four on the defensive side of the football. And that’s the biggest difference in this recruiting class compared to those from the past. The Sooners added a ton of defensive talent, 10 blue-chip prospects on defense, according to 247Sports.

Here’s a look at where each player ranked in the ESPN 300 and where they ranked at their position.

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.

Edge PJ Adebawore

RB Kalib Hicks

ATH Erik McCarty

WR Keyon Brown

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.