Tag: Maliek Hawkins

All in the Family: Sooners land commitment from 4-star DB Maliek Hawkins

Oklahoma Sooners earn commitment from four-star cornerback Maliek Hawkins.

The Oklahoma Sooners like to keep it in the family. Last year, the Sooners added the Dasan and Daeh McCullough. This year, the roster will feature Peyton and Eli Bowen. Next year, joining the Bowens, the Sooners will have the Hawkins brothers after Maliek Hawkins committed to the Sooners 2025 recruiting class.

The four-star cornerback, according to Rivals and On3’s Industry Rankings committed to Oklahoma on Wednesday.

Hawkins’ is the younger brother of Sooners freshman quarterback [autotag]Michael Hawkins[/autotag].

The younger Hawkins is a talented athlete who will earn his keep on defense. There, he can showcase his elite athleticism and versatility to play multiple spots in the secondary. He’s got great size for the position at 6-foot-1 and displays great change of direction ability, necessary when covering wide receivers in the open field. But he isn’t simply an athlete, Maliek Hawkins is aggressive at the point of attack, bringing a physicality on the outside.

 

From the moment the Sooners were interested in Michael, they became similarly interested in Maliek. From there, the rest took care of itself. It helps that their father, Mike, also played for the Sooners under Brent Venables and Bob Stoops.

In a nutshell, this recruitment was likely to end only one way.  Predictions had been flowing in for Oklahoma to land Maliek Hawkins since last March, which isn’t a coincidence. That’s when Michael committed to Oklahoma. Oklahoma earned Maliek’s commitment over the Texas Longhorns, Arkansas Razorbacks, and the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

With Hawkins in the class, Oklahoma has its second commitment in the secondary, joining three-star safety [autotag]Marcus Wimberly[/autotag].  Hawkins gives Oklahoma its 12th commit of the 2025 class, currently ranked 6th in the country per 247Sports.

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Oklahoma Sooners trending well for 4-star, top-125 2025 cornerback

The Sooners are hoping to keep their momentum for a 4-star cornerback from Texas

The Oklahoma Sooners and cornerback coach [autotag]Jay Valai[/autotag] have been putting in the work trying to build depth at the cornerback position with the [autotag]2025 recruiting class[/autotag]. The Sooners are expected to land four-star [autotag]Maliek Hawkins[/autotag] later on Wednesday but they are also right in the thick of it for another 4-Star cornerback.

[autotag]Cobey Sellers[/autotag] is from Pearland, TX, and is a top-125 recruit and a top-15 cornerback. The Sooners will have to fight off the Texas Longhorns and the Texas A&M Aggies to earn his commitment.

They seem to be well on their way to doing that, landing a crystal ball prediction from 247Sports National Recruiting Analyst, Mike Roach.

The Sooners currently hold a lead over both the Longhorns and Aggies, according to On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine.

Sellers doesn’t have a commitment date set just yet but the Sooners have been all of the momentum.

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Oklahoma Sooners land prediction for 2025 4-star cornerback Maliek Hawkins

The Sooners will soon find out their fate for a talented cornerback in the 2025 class.

This week could be a huge week for the Oklahoma Sooners and their 2025 recruiting efforts. Just a few days ago, the Sooners earned a commitment from Marcus Wimberly. Now Oklahoma’s hoping to land the commitment of two other highly-touted players on Wednesday.

Four-star cornerback [autotag]Maliek Hawkins[/autotag] is set to announce his commitment on Wednesday. Hawkins is the brother of current Oklahoma quarterback [autotag]Michael Hawkins[/autotag].

But just one day before announcing his commitment, the Sooners received a prediction in their favor for Hawkins from 247Sports National Analyst Mike Roach.

The Sooners hold a commanding lead for his services, according to On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine. They have a 99.1% chance of landing Hawkins, according to On3, with the Texas Longhorns in second place with a less than 1% chance.

Landing Hawkins would be huge for [autotag]Jay Valai[/autotag] and the staff. He has really good size at 6-foot-1 and 175 pounds already. He also competes in track and field. He recorded a 23.96 200-meter dash and a hit 21-3.5 in the long jump earlier this year as a junior. He also had a long jump of 20-2.25 as a sophomore.

Hawkins has legit speed and athleticism to be a difference maker at the collegiate level at corner and he knows what it takes to be successful as well. His dad, Mike Hawkins, also played at Oklahoma and then had a five-year NFL career as a cornerback.

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Oklahoma Sooners get prediction for 2025 4-star safety from Arkansas

Sooners continue their hot start on the recruiting trail as they land a prediction for a talented 2025 safety.

The Oklahoma Sooners have another top-10 recruiting class according to 247Sports. The [autotag]2025 recruiting class[/autotag] is No. 2 in the SEC after the commitment of four-star running back Tory Blaylock.

They Sooners hope to add to that class next week with decisions being made by [autotag]Trent Wilson[/autotag] and [autotag]Maliek Hawkins[/autotag]. However, it remains early in the recruiting process and much work needs to be done.

The best place to start is getting predictions for the guys you are pursuing. That’s what the Sooners have been doing all week. They landed another one, this time from OUInsider’s Parker Thune, who issued a Rivals futurecast favoring the Sooners for [autotag]Marcus Wimberly[/autotag].

Wimberly is a four-star safety from Arkansas who ranks ninth at his position. According to On3, the Sooners have a slight advantage over Michigan to land Wimberly, according to the On3 recruiting prediction machine.

This pursuit will not be an easy one for Oklahoma to win. It has to fend off the defending champs as well as the home state Arkansas Razorbacks. That’s never an easy battle, depending on whether the kid wants to leave home.

They also have a numbers battle on their hands. I’m not saying the Sooners wouldn’t take him because they are pushing for his commitment. But [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] has already said this will not be a big class. He said this will be the smallest class he’s had so far. Oklahoma’s in a good spot to land the commitment of five-star safety [autotag]Jonah Williams[/autotag]. How many safeties will Oklahoma take in this cycle?

But Wimberly can play and the Sooners now have to close.

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Oklahoma Sooners land prediction for 2025 4-star defensive end from Oklahoma

The Sooners landed a prediction to keep a talent in-state defensive end home in 2025.

The Oklahoma Sooners are off to a much faster start on the trail for the [autotag]2025 recruiting class[/autotag] than they were the last two cycles. They already have 10 commits and are the favorites for a couple of blue chip prospects announcing decisions next week.

This week the Sooners have received several predictions for [autotag]Trent Wilson[/autotag] and [autotag]Maliek Hawkins[/autotag]. On Thursday evening, Parker Thune of OUInsider and Rivals issued a futurecast predicting four-star defensive end [autotag]C.J. Nickson[/autotag] to land with the Sooners. Out of Weatherford, Okla., Nickson is ranked as a top 50 player in the country, according to 247Sports. He’s also ranked as the No. 5 EDGE in the country.

There is no question that would be a huge get for the Sooners in the class. Plus, it’s always good to keep talented in-state products home. But for Nickson, he’s a guy many think could be a dual sport athlete. He’s also a talented basketball player. He earned all-state honors and starred on the AAU circuit. He helped lead Weatherford to a 29-2 season and averaged over 21 points per game as a sophomore.

 

So, this could be beneficial to not just the football team but also [autotag]Porter Moser[/autotag] and the basketball team as well if he chooses to play both sports.

The Sooners have to keep building that defensive line depth as they head into the [autotag]SEC[/autotag]. The SEC won’t let teams get away with it if they don’t have the talent up front.

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2025 Oklahoma Sooners commitment tracker

Oklahoma Sooners 2025 commitment tracker

The Oklahoma Sooners are off to a much faster start in the [autotag]2025 recruiting class[/autotag] than they were in 2024. In fact, Kevin Sperry, who committed in March of 2023, committed to the 2025 class before OU had received their first commitment for the 2024 class in [autotag]Jeremiah Newcombe[/autotag].

The class has an Oklahoma flair, with five of the nine prospects hailing from the Sooner State. And there could be more on the horizon. The Sooners are working on landing talented in-state tight-end star [autotag]Nate Roberts[/autotag].

The Sooners are in the mix for a number of the best prospects in the 2025 cycle, including five-star offensive tackles [autotag]Ty Haywood[/autotag] and [autotag]Michael Fasusi[/autotag] and five-star defender [autotag]Jonah Williams[/autotag].

Oklahoma’s done a fantastic job on the recruiting trail during the Brent Venables era, so there’s little doubt they’ll remain among the top 10 teams in the country.

Here are the players that have committed to the Oklahoma Sooners [autotag]2025 recruiting class[/autotag].

Updated: April 10, 2024

Sooners DB target Maliek Hawkins drops top 5, plans to commit early April

Sooners cornerback target and four-star prospect, Maliek Hawkins, announces commitment timeline, releases top 5..

Flowers are blooming, the sun is out, and the temperatures are starting to heat up across the country. Spring football is on the horizon for Oklahoma football, and the Sooners are getting more clarity about their recruiting targets off the field.

One of those targets,  2025 DB [autotag]Maliek Hawkins[/autotag], has narrowed down his recruitment and is planning to announce his decision in early April. Hawkins announced on his social media pages on Saturday afternoon.

Hawkins, the younger brother of Oklahoma freshman quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr., has narrowed his schools to Mississippi State, Arkansas, Texas State, Texas, and the Sooners.

Mississippi State is now led by Jeff Lebby, who has strong ties to the Hawkins family. via Lebby recruited Michael during his tenure as offensive coordinator at Oklahoma. It’s unlikely that the Bulldogs will be the choice. The same goes for Arkansas and Texas State. Leaving the Sooners and Longhorns set to duke it out again for another Texas-based recruit.

This feels like Oklahoma’s recruitment to lose. The ties to Oklahoma are strong. Maliek’s father Mike played for Brent Venables in the early 2000s and his older brother Michael joined the Sooners this spring.

The Sooners have also been pushing for the younger Hawkins brother for years. The Sooners have long been the favorite in his recruitment with predictions dating back to last March.

The Sooners have to close are the clear frontrunners, but have to continue to recruit the athletic and tenacious four-star cornerback.

As it stands, the Sooners are No. 5 in the country in team recruiting in the class of 2025. A Hawkins commitment would also give them their first secondary commitment of the cycle.

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Oklahoma trying to land a pair of brothers, offering Dominick and Darryus McKinley this spring

Dominick and Darryus McKinely both have offers from the Oklahoma Sooners. The eldest, Dominic, plans to take an official to Norman in June.

Oklahoma has the chance to have as many as four pairs of brothers on its roster in the coming years. It’s beginning to add a new meaning to the term “brotherhood” that head coach Brent Venables is working to create in Norman.

A true freshman and former five-star safety, Peyton Bowen, was one of the more high-profile signings for this roster in recent years. Peyton’s little brother plays cornerback at Denton Guyer High School. Eli Bowen holds an Oklahoma offer and could be a Sooner when his recruitment ends.

Current Sooner Dasan McCullough was a big get in the transfer portal for Brent Venables. He’ll likely start at cheetah for Oklahoma. They also added his little brother Daeh McCullough, a four-star safety in the 2023 cycle, providing a pair of athletic defenders that were essentially a package deal. They’ll both be on campus together for the first time this summer.

2024 commit Michael Hawkins’ younger brother Maliek plays defensive back and holds an offer from the Sooners. Maliek Hawkins, a 2025 prospect, is a talented, aggressive cornerback out of Frisco Emerson High School. Brent Venables’ ties to the Hawkins family run deep. He coached the brothers’ father, Mike, during his stint with the Sooners in 2002.

That brings us to the possibility another brother duo. 2024 five-star Dominick McKinley holds an offer from Oklahoma and plans to take an official visit to Norman in June. His younger brother Darryus is a 2026 defensive line prospect who also holds an offer from Oklahoma. While neither recruitment is anywhere near over, the possibility of the Sooners having another duo of brothers is incredible.

For the McKinleys, only time will tell.

Dominick is a five-star prospect on the 247Sports composite, and he hails from Louisiana. Pulling an elite defensive line prospect away from the grasp of the LSU Tigers may prove futile, but the Sooners’ defensive coaches aren’t backing down from that challenge. The eldest McKinley holds offers from Ohio State, Alabama, LSU, Texas, Texas A&M, among others.

McKinley will be in College Station to visit the Aggies the weekend of June 9 through 11. Visits are set for Ohio State on June 2, Oklahoma on June 16, and Texas on June 23.

It will be a busy summer for the five-star prospect, who’s the No. 1 player in the state of Louisiana. Oklahoma will make a strong push as they work to put together a defensive line class that can lead set them up for success with their move to the SEC on the horizon.

The possibilities of the defensive line class the Sooners could land are endless. There’s no turning back now. And if the Sooners were to land the eldest McKinley brother, it would all but put them in a very strong position to land the youngest for the class of 2026.

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Oklahoma Sooners land commitment from four-star QB Michael Hawkins

Oklahoma lands commitment from 2024 quarterback Michael Hawkins!

After much anticipation, the Sooners have their quarterback for the 2024 recruiting class. Four-star quarterback Michael Hawkins committed to the Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday.

Hawkins, an OU legacy, whittled his recruitment down to TCU and Oklahoma. Before TCU was a finalist, it was Arkansas due to Hawkins’ relationship with Kendal Briles. Briles left his offensive coordinator post at Arkansas to take the same position with the Horned Frogs following the departure of Garrett Riley to Clemson.

Hawkins’s familiarity with Jeff Lebby won out. TCU was also recruiting another quarterback in three-star prospect Hauss Hejny, a TCU legacy.

Hejny committed to TCU earlier this week, which seemed to be the writing on the wall of Hawkins to Oklahoma.

With Hawkins in the fold, Oklahoma’s quarterback room looks like one of the best in the country over the next few years. Dillon Gabriel is the starter in 2023. Getting Jackson Arnold’s signature for the 2023 cycle followed by Hawkins in 2024 and Kevin Sperry in 2025, the Sooners look loaded for their move to the SEC.

In landing Hawkins, the Sooners get a dual-threat QB with remarkable accuracy. He put that accuracy on display at the UA Next showcase earlier this year, when he took home the accuracy award.

Hawkins was named a Texas District 5-6A first-team selection as a junior at Allen High School before transferring to Frisco Emerson for his senior year.

Hawkins’ commitment also has ripple effects for the class of 2025. This puts Oklahoma closer to landing his former teammate at Allen High School, five-star tight end Davon Mitchell. It also makes Maliek Hawkins, Michael’s younger brother, a genuine candidate to be a Sooner come 2025 signing day.

Hawkins joins four-star cornerback Jeremiah Newcombe in the 2024 recruiting class.

Hawkins and the rest of the Sooners staff can now turn their attention to securing offensive talent in the 2024 recruiting class. The Sooners are hoping to land wide receivers Bryant Wesco, Zion Kearney, and Isaiah McMorris as well as a trio of running backs like Caden Durham, Xavier Robinson, Tovani Mizell.

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Oklahoma QB target Michael Hawkins announces commitment date

Four-Star QB target Michael Hawkins announces new commitment date. Oklahoma Sooners set to battle it out with TCU.

Once thought a heavy Oklahoma lean, Sooners quarterback target Michael Hawkins backed off his original commitment date of January 31st. With the uncertainty created as Jeff Lebby was being approached for the Alabama offensive coordinator job, things became a little murky in the Sooners’ pursuit of the four-star field general out of Texas.

Things have stabilized regarding Lebby. He’s entrenched as the Sooners’ OC. Hawkins also has decided that he is ready to commit and will announce his decision on April 8th.

Hawkins said via his Twitter account, “‘Moment of clarity.’ I will be announcing my commitment April 8th…”

With his moment of clarity, Hawkins could set the table for Oklahoma as they look to break the ice on their 2024 class.

His decision also directly affects Big 12 rival TCU, who brought in Kendal Briles, the former offensive coordinator at Arkansas. Arkansas and Oklahoma led for months in the recruitment of Hawkins until Briles replaced Garrett Riley after Riley left for Clemson.

TCU is in the hunt for Hawkins because of Briles’ move and shouldn’t be counted out. As it stands, Oklahoma and TCU look set to duke it out on the recruiting trail for Hawkins and will likely do battle for four-star wide receiver [autotag]Bryant Wesco[/autotag]. Oklahoma appears the favorite for Wesco.

Hawkins’s recruitment also has a domino effect that could favor the Oklahoma Sooners if they were fortunate to land the quarterback prospect.  Davon Mitchell, a five-star tight end in the class of 2025, is a close friend and favorite target of Michael Hawkins when they played together at Allen High School. He seems highly invested in the final destination of his old QB. There are rumblings that Mitchell plans to reclassify for the 2024 class.

The desire to play together in college has been noted before. The Sooners would love to reunite Hawkins and Mitchell in Norman.

Additionally, Oklahoma could even get the jump on another Hawkins, as younger brother Maliek is a 2025 cornerback prospect who just received an OU offer this week. Landing Michael would position the Sooners to land the Maliek.

With months to spare before signing day, a commitment from Michael Hawkins could impact the present and future of Oklahoma football.

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