Tag: Markus Strong

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.

Defensive lineman Markus Strong signs with the Oklahoma Sooners

Three-star defensive lineman Markus Strong signs with the Oklahoma Sooners.

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

The Oklahoma Sooners added another defensive tackle prospect to the 2023 cycle: Markus Strong signed his national letter of intent with the Sooners.

Strong is a three-star defensive lineman out of Lake Butler, Florida. The Sooners offered Strong on Oct. 30, and he was in Norman for an official visit on Dec. 16. Less than a week later, he signed with the Oklahoma Sooners.

Strong is an under-the-radar athlete on the rise. He didn’t receive many offers in his recruitment, but this fall added offers from the Sooners, West Virginia, Rutgers and UCF. He ranks as the No. 174 player in the state of Florida in the 247Sports composite.

He had a big senior season with 10.5 sacks and averaged five tackles per game.

While he may not have much of a profile, there’s something Brent Venables, Todd Bates and Miguel Chavis see that they believe can make him an effective defensive lineman at the collegiate level for the Oklahoma Sooners.

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Rutgers football is the latest Power Five offer for Markus Strong

Rutgers football offers Markus Strong on Saturday night.

Markus Strong, one of the top uncommitted players from Florida in the class of 2023 got an offer from Rutgers football on Saturday night.

A 6-foot-5, 265-pound defensive lineman, Strong was at Rutgers on Saturday for the game against No. 5 Michigan. Strong plays for Union County High School (Lake Butler, FL).

So far this season, Strong has 33 total tackles and seven sacks. Union County is 6-2 and beat Walton 31-15 on Friday. He also plays basketball.

Rutgers is now involved along with several other Power Five offers for Strong including Georgia Tech, Maryland, Oklahoma, and West Virginia.

Strong tweeted about the offer on Saturday night prior to Rutgers’ loss to Michigan:

 

It certainly has been an impressive if not a whirlwind couple of weeks for Strong in terms of his recruitment. Since Oct. 24, Strong has been offered by Georgia Tech, Oklahoma, West Virginia and Houston.

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