Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Texas could be on its way to receiving two more Top 150 recruits in the next few days.
The Texas Longhorns are generating some buzz on the recruiting trail. Recruiting experts are taking notice. Continue reading “Texas receives projections to land DeAndre Moore and Jelani McDonald”
Venables doesn’t push all the right buttons quite like Lincoln Riley did.
As 2022 comes to a close, one highlight comes to mind. This season, Steve Sarkisian and company produced the blowout nobody saw coming. Continue reading “Texas Football: Reliving the Red River Shutout”
247Sports Director of Football Recruiting Steve Wiltfong flipped his Peyton Bowen prediction from Notre Dame to the Oklahoma Sooners.
If the writing wasn’t already on the wall for the Oklahoma Sooners to flip five-star safety Peyton Bowen from Notre Dame, now you can print it in 40-inch headlines.
247Sports Director of Football Recruiting Steve Wiltfong flipped his crystal ball for Peyton Bowen.
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It’s the second prediction in favor of the Sooners from 247Sports in as many days. Now, Peyton Bowen to Oklahoma has been predicted by multiple analysts across each of the three major recruiting services. Rivals was first with their flip predictions a few weeks ago, and then On3 came through on Thursday. Brandon Drumm of OUInsider at 247Sports provided a crystal ball on Friday, and Wiltfong backed that up with a crystal ball of his own.
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Wiltfong’s prediction is one of the weightiest in the recruiting world. It even has a moniker. When a school lands a prediction from the recruiting expert, they’ve been “Fong’d.”
If Bowen does indeed flip and the Sooners do eventually sign Jackson Arnold and Adepoju Adebawore, it would mark the first time that the Sooners would have landed two five-star defensive prospects and only the second time in 247Sports database that they landed three five-star players in a recruiting class. The only other time came in 2019 with Spencer Rattler, Jadon Haselwood, and Theo Wease.
Ultimately, the Sooners still have to close and get Bowen’s national letter of intent, but things are looking very positive for Oklahoma as they look to close the 2023 recruiting class strong.
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The Oklahoma Sooners earned several more predictions to land 2023 four-star EDGE Tausili Akana.
The opening of the early signing period is on Wednesday, and the Oklahoma Sooners No. 8 recruiting class has a chance to earn a significant bump come Christmas if recent predictions hold true.
Amidst receiving several predictions over the last couple of days to flip 2023 five-star safety Peyton Bowen, the Oklahoma Sooners have become the favorite for 2023 four-star EDGE Tausili Akana.
The No. 1 player in the state of Utah and the No. 16 overall player in the 247Sports composite, Akana has been heavily recruited by Sooners’ head coach Brent Venables.
Earlier this week, the Oklahoma Sooners received favorable predictions from 247Sports’ Steve Wiltfong, Brandon Drumm, and Parker Thune. Rivals recruiting analysts Josh McCuistion and Tyler Bannerman also issued predictions to the Sooners.
Now, the Sooners picked up three more crystal ball predictions from 247Sports. Brandon Huffman, Greg Biggins, and Blair Angulo joined the folks predicting Akana to Oklahoma.
That’s six predictions from 247Sports, a pair of predictions from Rivals, and On3 has the Sooners with an 89.1% chance to land the talented Akana.
At 6-foot-4, 225 pounds, Akana could play linebacker for the Sooners, or he could become another talented pass rusher for Miguel Chavis to work with in 2023.
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Anthony Hill vaults Texas four spots higher in the On3 consensus recruiting rankings.
When the Texas A&M Aggies originally earned five-star linebacker Anthony Hill’s commitment, I wrote A&M landed a haymaker on Texas. In flipping Hill from the Aggies, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian landed a knockout punch.
The win on the recruiting trail skyrocketed the Longhorns up the recruiting rankings and gave Texas yet another impact player for the 2023 class.
The Longhorns now have the No. 3 recruiting class in the On3 consensus. The consensus combines the rankings from all four major recruiting websites.
Texas has eight Top 100 players committed according to On3. Among the Longhorns’ Top 100 players are the No. 1 quarterback, No. 1 running back, No. 1 linebacker, two elite wide receivers, the No. 5 cornerback, the No. 3 safety and an elite pass rusher.
Here’s a look at the top 10 recruiting classes in the country for the 2023 cycle.
It looks like one talented Denton player will pick a new team soon.
All eyes are on Denton, Texas after Rivals recruiting expert Nick Harris tweeted about a potential flip. Continue reading “Flip Season: Rivals’ Nick Harris hints at a potential recruiting flip”
With buzz swirling on Peyton Bowen’s recruitment, On3 national recruiting analysts predict the five-star safety will flip to Oklahoma.
Less than a week from the opening of the 2022 early signing period, the Oklahoma Sooners appear to be gaining serious traction in the recruitment of five-star safety Peyton Bowen.
Bowen, who’s been committed to Notre Dame since January 1, 2022 has remained a high priority target for Brent Venables and the Oklahoma Sooners. The athletic safety has been coveted by top schools across the country, and would make a tremendous addition to the Sooners secondary.
After Rivals led the way with a pair of flip predictions a couple of weeks ago, a couple more recruiting analysts have joined them on Thursday. On3’s senior national recruiting director Gerry Hamilton and national recruiting analyst Sam Spiegelman are predicting Peyton Bowen to flip to the Oklahoma Sooners.
Bowen is the No. 2 safety in the 247Sports composite rankings and is the No. 14 player in the nation. If he indeed flips, he’d come in just behind Jackson Arnold as the Sooners second-highest rated commit for 2023.
Five-star quarterback Jackson Arnold has been relentless in his desire to continue playing with his high school teammate. And it’s looking more and more likely every day.
Flipping Bowen from Notre Dame would be a huge coup for Brent Venables and his staff. The Sooners are trying to create a defense that can compete with those of the SEC and flipping a five-star safety with coverage skills would provide another fantastic building block.
Nothing’s final until pen is put to paper, but this is very encouraging for the Oklahoma Sooners 2023 recruiting class.
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Oklahoma Sooners made the top five for the No. 1 JUCO interior offensive lineman Keyshawn Blackstock out of Coffeyville Community College. From @john9williams
The Oklahoma Sooners will have questions at three of their starting offensive line spots heading into 2023. The departures of [autotag]Anton Harrison[/autotag], [autotag]Wanya Morris[/autotag], and [autotag]Chris Murray[/autotag] have left opportunities for new starters that will be determined in spring and fall camps.
Though the Oklahoma Sooners have internal options, it would serve them well to attack the transfer portal and junior college ranks to create more competition.
And that’s where they stand with JUCO interior offensive line target [autotag]Keyshawn Blackstock[/autotag]. Blackstock, who played for Coffeyville Community College in 2022, released his top five Wednesday evening and included the Oklahoma Sooners.
Oklahoma is joined by premier programs from across the country, like Oregon, Michigan State, Tennessee, and USC.
Top 5 thank you God!! @CoachOatesOL @coachDJLynn pic.twitter.com/a6mYk75Why
— keyshawn blackstock (@keyshawnblacks5) December 15, 2022
Blackstone is considered a four-star prospect in the 2023 JUCO recruiting class and the No. 1 JUCO interior offensive line target in the cycle, according to 247Sports. Blackstock is 6-foot-5 and weighs 315 pounds. He was a part of an offense that averaged 27 points per game and 137.1 rushing yards per game and went 8-3 in 2022.
Oklahoma has done a good job in recent years of adding offensive line talent in a variety of ways. Three starters on the 2022 offensive line came via the transfer portal Morris, Murray, and McKade Mettauer. Could the Oklahoma Sooners go the junior college route to find a starter at guard for their 2023 squad?
Time will tell, but they’re in a favorable position with Keyshawn Blackstock. Bill Bedenbaugh has quite the track record of helping offensive linemen get into the NFL and find success.
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Oklahoma has surged into the lead for four-star LB/edge Tausili Akana. From @thatmanbryant
We are eight days away from the opening of the early signing period for the 2023 football recruits across the country. Teams are making last-minute pushes to secure commitments those early signatures next week.
Along with the transfer portal, December is a crazy month. Especially if you factor in bowl prep for the teams fortunate enough to play in one.
Recruiting never stops, however. As Oklahoma looks to finish strongly, it is trending in a positive direction for another top-flight defensive prospect.
One of their remaining targets, four-star edge Tausili Akana is trending in favor of the Oklahoma Sooners.
Akana plays his high school ball in Utah but is a native of Hawaii. He’s been on the Sooners’ radar for months, and Brent Venables took the lead in his recruitment. It seems the head coach’s efforts have been rewarded. Three predictions in favor of Oklahoma hit the internet Tuesday afternoon
Not only are there three predictions, but one of them came from national recruiting director for 247Sports Steve Wiltfong. Wiltfong’s ears are everywhere, and if he’s confident enough to drop a crystal ball, that’s great news for the Sooners.
In addition to Wiltfong’s prediction, Brandon Drumm of OUInsider at 247Sports, Josh McCuistion of Sooner Scoop and Rivals and Tyler Bannerman also of Rivals issued predictions in favor of the Sooners.
Oklahoma on Monday secured the services of four-star safety Daeh McCullough as it continues to round out its 2023 class. It two big fish (Peyton Bowen and David Hicks) remain committed to other schools, but Oklahoma will fight to the end.
A commitment by Akana would help push Oklahoma closer to a top five finish in the team recruiting rankings.
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The Sooners earned a commitment from 2023 four-star safety Daeh McCullough. From @john9williams
The Oklahoma Sooners 2023 recruiting class received a boost on Monday night with the commitment of four-star safety [autotag]Daeh McCullough[/autotag].
McCullough flips from the Cincinnati Bearcats, with whom he’d been committed since August. With Luke Fickell leaving Cincinnati for Wisconsin, the opportunity arose for the Sooners to add an impact safety to the 2023 class.
McCullough ranks as a top 35 safety in the On3 consensus and 247Sports composite and a top five player in the state of Indiana. McCullough joins his brother Dasan McCullough in Norman. The older McCullough committed to the Sooners out of the transfer portal.
The McCullough brothers are the sons of Deland McCullough, who currently coaches running backs at Notre Dame. Prior to landing his gig with the Fighting Irish, Deland was the running backs coach with Indiana. No longer there, the McCulloughs sought opportunities elsewhere, and Oklahoma was able to add two talented defenders.
Boomer. #COMMITTED #OUDNA🧬 pic.twitter.com/lAcLuEFY9W
— 5 (@daeh2023) December 13, 2022
Here’s what “Locked On Hoosiers” Jacob Rude and Sports Illustrated’s John Garcia had to say about the younger McCullough following his decommitment from Indiana this summer. There are some thoughts on the older McCullough from the two as well.
Just last week, the Sooners were projected to flip Daeh McCullough from the Bearcats. Now those projections have become a reality. Here’s what I had to say about what he brings to Brent Venables’ defense when the projections first hit.
On Daeh, the four-star safety brings good size at 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds. McCullough plays fast, coming downhill in a hurry in run support from single-high safety looks. Playing both ways for St. Joseph’s High School, Daeh shows off good ball skills, attacking the ball in the air and knows what to do with it when he has it in his hands. He times his blitzes well as both a pass rusher and run defender. He’s sticky in man coverage and able to carry players across the formation.
With the early signing period less than two weeks away, Oklahoma looks to close the 2023 recruiting class in a big way. Peyton Bowen and David Hicks are the big names the Sooners remain in contention for, but there will likely be a few surprises as well.
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