Tag: Oklahoma football recruiting

Sooners favored to flip commitment of four-star linebacker out of Texas

Oklahoma Sooners expected to flip 2025 four-star linebacker Kaleb Burns.

The [autotag]2025 recruiting class[/autotag] is just over two months from the early signing period. While the Sooners are in the midst of their first season in the SEC, they hope to parlay that into more success on the recruiting trail.

On Tuesday, Oklahoma offered four-star prospect Kaleb Burns, who is committed to Dave Aranda and the Baylor Bears. With the Bears in the middle of a 2-3 season in which they’re 0-3 in Big 12 play and allowing 31.67 points per game in conference play, Aranda’s hot seat has grown hotter.

Burns is considered a four-star prospect by On3. He is the No. 146 player in the nation, the No. 30 linebacker in the country and a top 50 player in the state of Texas. He committed to Baylor at the end of July but appears open to making a visit, according to SoonerScoop’s Josh McCuistion (Subscription required). McCuistion issued an On3 prediction favoring the Sooners to flip the four-star prospect.

The Sooners have 21 players pledged to the 2025 class, but don’t have a linebacker committed. After going light at the position in the 2024 cycle, the Sooners need to lock up some linebacker commitments for the future. Mason James projects to play defense and probably cheetah for the Sooners, but Oklahoma needs some inside linebacker prospects to rebuild their depth.

Brent Venables and Zac Alley have put together a strong defensive effort through the first five games of the 2024 season. With big-time matchups on the horizon, the Sooners will get an opportunity to showcase the growth of the program.

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Watch: Four-star Nigel Smith picks Oklahoma using a slick video

Nigel Smith makes his college commitment with a splashy video.

Oklahoma added a big and impressive recruit on Friday night, landing a commitment from Nigel Smith. Almost as impressive as the recruit, was the way Smith committed to the Sooners.

A hype video played in the stadium revealed the Texas prospect was heading to Oklahoma.

The verbal from Smith gives Oklahoma yet another top verbal in this 2024 recruiting class. He is a consensus four-star recruit and the No. 82 player in the nation according to Rivals.

A 6-foot-4, 265-pound defensive end, Smith is a senior at Melissa High School (Melissa, Texas). His strong play last year was a major reason why the Cardinals went 11-3.

And as is the case in Texas, they do everything bigger…which of course goes for college commitments in addition to about everything else. Check out this commitment from Smith, which feels more like a SportsCenter feature than a college verbal:

 

He had a number of top offers that included the likes of Ohio State, Penn State and Texas A&M among others.

 

America’s truth dealer discusses Texas, Oklahoma before media days

One media member discusses the wide gap between Texas and Oklahoma in 2023.

America’s truth dealer is at it again. Fox Sports host Colin Cowherd believes Oklahoma has a coaching problem.

The veteran host has drawn the ire of Oklahoma faithful for a long while with his takes on the historic program. In a recent monologue following the Big 12 media standings prediction, Cowherd continued the feud with the Sooners.

The back and forth between the Fox Sports analyst and the Sooners’ Twitter army goes back to criticisms Cowherd laid out on former Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield. The host of “The Herd” opined that Mayfield was unfit to lead an NFL franchise. While that statement checks out so far, the fanbase still has animosity toward the host that denigrated Norman’s favorite son.

Since doubting Mayfield, Cowherd has ruffled feathers for effusive praise of former Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley following his departure to Norman.

The equal opportunity truth dealer threw backhanded shade at Texas, but only mildly. Cowherd mocked the Sooners for being viewed as decidedly below the Longhorns who haven’t excelled on the football field in recent seasons.

Here’s a look at some of the more entertaining quotes from Cowherd’s monologue on the Big 12 media’s standings prediction.

Appalachian State transfer OL Troy Everett Commits to Oklahoma Sooners

Appalachian State transfer OL Troy Everett commits to the Oklahoma Sooners.

Troy Everett commits to Oklahoma out of the transfer portal after transferring away from Appalachian State. He was an offensive lineman for the Mountaineers and was just a redshirt freshman last season, so he has four years of eligibility left.

He started the first six games of the season at center for the Mountaineers and saw time in 10 of the 12 games in 2022. His first two starts came against North Carolina and Texas A&M. Appalachian State rushed for 288 yards against North Carolina then the Mountaineers ran the ball down Texas A&M’s throat in the fourth quarter to ice the game against the Aggies.

Everett totaled 478 offensive snaps and only allowed one sack in 262 pass-blocking snaps. Quality offensive line play is hard to come by, especially on the interiors. At 6-foot-3, 290 pounds he had a lot of interest.

Virginia Tech, Louisville, Maryland, Missouri, and Illinois were just a handful of the schools that Oklahoma beat out for his services.

This fit is great because of Bill Bedenbaugh’s past pedigree as an offensive line coach. He might be the best developers of offensive line talent in all of college football. That was on full display when he sent two offensive linemen to the NFL in last week’s draft.

Everett was a much-needed piece that helps fortify the line, especially with depth. With injuries along the offensive line, the Sooners needed more depth. The spring game didn’t create confidence in the depth along the offensive line, and now the Sooners have an experienced piece to add to the mix.

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Oklahoma offers 2026 defensive lineman Daverin Geralds

The Oklahoma Sooners extended an offer to 2026 DL prospect Daverin Geralds.

Oklahoma has offered one the best defensive lineman in the class of 2026, Daverin “Deuce” Geralds. It’s a big projection because his signing day is still three years out, but by all accounts, Geralds’ hype is warranted. He was a MaxPreps and Under Armour All-American as a freshman in high school.

He’s 6 feet, 2inches and weighs 250 pounds. He has a great deal of room to grow with several more years of high school ahead of him.

Geralds is coming out of Collins Hill High School in Suwanee, Georgia. Oklahoma is getting in on the ground floor with someone who will be one of the top prospects in the 2026 recruiting cycle.

He already has at least 19 offers, including 10 from Power Five teams. The most notable are Auburn, Florida, Michigan, Ohio State, Ole Miss and Tennessee.

There’s a long, long way to go in his recruitment, but Oklahoma has done a good job recruiting the defensive line position with Todd Bates and Miguel Chavis. With three years to build a relationship with Geralds and his family, Oklahoma will be well-positioned to make noise in the recruitment.

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Texas Football: The anticipated starting lineup after spring ball

Texas DL Byron Murphy and Alfred Collins make our starting lineup prediction.

The Texas Longhorns are getting set for what could be a special football season. From top to bottom, the squad is loaded with talented and developed depth. It makes for hotly contested position battles heading into a pivotal season for head coach Steve Sarkisian.

Last year saw a handful of players breakout, some of which we saw coming and others that were unforeseen. Linebacker Jaylan Ford was my biggest breakout prediction ahead of last season. For anyone who watched the linebacker position closely, it was evident Ford had a strong handle on pursuit and field awareness as he consistently found himself near the football.

This year, defensive tackles Byron Murphy and Alfred Collins are generating some of the most chatter. Murphy appears to be a bull in a china closet over the spring, while Collins is coming into his own.

Here’s a look at who we could see starting for the Longhorns in 2023.

Trio of On3 predictions favor Oklahoma in the recruitment of David Stone

Trio of On3 predictions favor David Stone committing to the Oklahoma Sooners. in 2024.

David Stone is a massive five-star defensive line recruit out of Del City who is playing at IMG Academy in Florida. He visited Oklahoma for the spring game, and, by all accounts, appears to be leaning toward the Sooners.

He’s exactly the type of defender that Oklahoma needs on the defensive line. He stands at 6 feet, 4 inches and weighs 280 pounds. He’s a freak athlete that has great play strength. He’s a disruptive force inside against the run and as a pass rusher.

On Monday, three On3 experts issued predictions for Stone to end up at Oklahoma after the spring game visit. On3’s Oklahoma reporter, Josh McCuiston, On3’s USC reporter, Marshall Levenson, and On3’s national recruiting analyst, Sam Spiegelman, have all placed predictions for Stone to commit to Oklahoma.

Stone is a highly coveted recruit in the [autotag]2024 recruiting cycle[/autotag]. He holds 35 offers, including 33 from Power Five schools. The most notable programs in on Stone’s recruitment are LSU, Miami, Michigan State, Oregon and Texas A&M.

Stone would be a massive get for an Oklahoma team that is desperate for an elite interior defensive line presence. Brent Venables has made defense a huge emphasis for the Sooners, and Stone would be a huge get for the Sooners.

Projections

Film

Via Hudl

Examining every Big 12 team’s record in one score games last season

Some Big 12 football programs are due for better luck in 2023.

Luck is an important factor in college football. Continue reading “Examining every Big 12 team’s record in one score games last season”

Predictions continue to favor Xavier Robinson to the Oklahoma Sooners

Another prediction comes in favoring the Oklahoma Sooners to land three-star running back Xavier Robinson.

[autotag]Xavier Robinson[/autotag] is a very talented three-star running back out of Oklahoma City. Rivals’ national recruiting analyst Nick Harris joined the fray predicting the Carl Albert product to land with the Oklahoma Sooners.

Robinson is scheduled to commit on May 10. He’s a homegrown Oklahoma kid, so it makes sense that the Sooners would’ve left a big impression.

DeMarco Murray is Robinson’s primary recruiter, with Venables playing a role too. With Murray, as involved with Robinson as he’s been, there’s little doubt that Robinson will play running back at the college level for the Sooners.

He’d be a massive running back at 6-foot-2 and 225 lbs., but his power would be on full display at that size. He’s a dynamic runner with big play ability due to his physicality and athleticism.

This would be a big get, and one Sooner fans should be very happy about when it happens.

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Oklahoma receives another 247Sports crystal ball for 2024 4-star WR Zion Kearney

247Sports national director of recruiting issued a crystal ball favoring the Sooners to land four-star wide receiver Zion Kearney.

Zion Keanery has been trending toward the Oklahoma Sooners for some time now and another crystal ball supports an imminent commitment. National director of recruiting from 247Sports, Steve Wiltfong issued a prediction in favor of the Sooners on Monday. His commitment could come as early as this week.

Wiltfong’s prediction further supports the way Kearney’s recruitment has been trending the last several weeks. Parker Thune and Brandon Drumm of OUInsider issued crystal ball predictions last week favoring the Sooners prior to the spring game.

Kearney is a big-bodied receiver that has a chance to really excel at the next level. He stands at 6-foot-3 and weighs 195 lbs. With his size, he’ll have a  chance to add muscle to his frame in a collegiate strength and conditioning program.

Emmett Jones has done strong work since coming over from Texas Tech. As the primary recruiter for Kearney, it looks like he has the four-star wide receiver sold on what he will be able to do in Jeff Lebby’s offense.

This would be a huge get for the Sooners and prove that Brent Venables and his staff are continuing to build something special in Norman. Given the success they’ve had on the offensive side of the ball on the recruiting trail, the Sooners are going to be stacked for some time at the wide receiver position if they land Kearney to go along with last week’s commitment K.J. Daniels.

The Sooners are doing battle with Arkansas, LSU, Nebraska, and Houston for Zion Kearney’s services.

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