Tag: Oklahoma Sooners recruiting

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian can use what TCU exploited against Oklahoma

Texas could have an enjoyable offensive install to attack Oklahoma this week.

The Texas Longhorns will face a tough test this Saturday.

The Red River game is unlike any atmosphere in sports. Momentum swings are magnified by the half and half crowd, as one side cheers and the other is silent after a big play.

The Longhorns could be helped by a tactical advantage from Oklahoma’s last two defensive performances. Though Kansas State and TCU differ from Texas in scheme, they afforded Steve Sarkisian with plenty of concepts to exploit Oklahoma’s weaknesses.

Oklahoma’s secondary was suspect at best on Saturday. The flaws started to show even against Nebraska on their opening defensive series.

Against TCU, Oklahoma had shockingly glaring coverage busts, perhaps worse than at any time in the Alex Grinch era.

The Longhorns’ offensive style varies from Sonny Dykes’ offense and Quinn Ewers does not bring the same scrambling skillset as Max Duggan. Even so, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian’s simplest tactic might be copying and pasting the ten best plays from TCU’s plan of attack.

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David Hicks Jr chooses Texas A&M over Oklahoma, Texas and others

Sooners fans are not taking the David Hicks news well.

Oklahoma suffered a significant loss in recruiting on Wednesday. The Sooners fell victim to a last minute Texas A&M flip on five-star defensive lineman David Hicks’ commitment day.

Heading into the day, those around the Oklahoma football program were confident Hicks was bound for Norman. Apparently, the Aggies got into their bag of tricks again, wresting the elite defensive tackle from the Sooners’ grasp.

Oklahoma has a history of recruiting well over the last two decades. Though they haven’t been elite on the recruiting trail they have been consistently around the Top 10 or Top 15 classes each year. Hicks had the opportunity to take the Sooners to another level until the Aggies cut into their potential.

As you might expect, Oklahoma fans didn’t respond well to the news. Here’s a look at Twitter’s reaction.

In a twist, 5-star DL David Hicks picks Texas A&M over the Oklahoma Sooners

In a shocking turn of events, 2023 five-star defensive lineman David Hicks spurns the Oklahoma Sooners in favor of the Texas A&M Aggies.

Heading into decision day, the Oklahoma Sooners looked to be the clear favorite for 2023 five-star defensive lineman David Hicks. Instead, Hicks chose the Texas A&M Aggies over the Oklahoma Sooners in a decision day shocker.

The battle always came down to Oklahoma and Texas A&M, but with crystal ball predictions from Steve Wiltfong and other recruiting experts sticking up until the moment Hicks committed, it seemed like the Sooners had their cornerstone piece for the defensive line.

Instead, the Sooners miss out on a five-star defensive line commitment yet again. It’s a new day in Norman with [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag], and they’ll win some of these battles. But to get so close to landing a foundational piece for a defense that will be making its debut in the SEC in 2024 or 2025 (Hicks’ sophomore or junior years) feels like the one that got away.

The Sooners still have a talented trio of defensive line prospects committed for the 2023 class. Five-star defensive end [autotag]Adepoju Adebawore[/autotag] and four-star prospects [autotag]Colton Vasek[/autotag] and [autotag]Derrick LeBlanc[/autotag] give Oklahoma a talented blue-chip trio to build upon moving forward.

It’s an unfortunate loss for Oklahoma, but all is not lost. Oklahoma currently has the No. 6 recruiting class for 2023, according to 247Sports. With more than four months until national signing day, there’s still time for the Sooners to make things happen on the recruiting trail.

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Texas continues to trend for four-star WR DeAndre Moore Jr.

Moore is the No. 81 overall player and No. 14 WR in the On3 consensus.

The Alabama Crimson Tide dealt Texas a tough loss on the recruiting trail this week. Nick Saban won out for talented Longview wide receiver Jalen Hale.

It appears it only took the Longhorns a couple of days to get over the loss.

Steve Sarkisian and company are trending for a big time wide receiver in the 2023 class. Current Louisville commit DeAndre Moore Jr. appears to be keeping his options open, and Texas is squarely in the mix.

Gerry Hamilton of Inside Texas entered a prediction in favor of the Longhorns on Thursday.

The elite receiver hails from St. John Bosco, a California private school you have probably heard if you follow recruiting closely. A win would be huge for Sarkisian as he tries to build a pipeline from California to Texas in recruiting.

Here is what On3 Sports had to say about Moore.

Has strong long speed, running a wind-legal 10.90 in the 100 meters as a junior. … Uses his burst to quickly get upfield after the catch. Shows good contact balance with the ability to bounce out of and break tackles at the second level.

Moore is the No. 81 overall player and No. 14 wide receiver in the On3 consensus.

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Texas football looks to get selective with 2023 recruiting class

With around seven spots left in the 2023 recruiting class, Texas can and should swing for the fence.

The Texas Longhorns head into the 2022 season with a strong foundation for their upcoming recruiting class. Presently, they sit at No. 5 in the On3 consensus class rankings with 21 commits.

With an already impressive class, Steve Sarkisian’s staff will look to add the most impactful players available.

Three Texas targets have decision dates set over the next four weeks. Cedric Baxter Jr will announce his commitment August 10, while Jordan Matthews will decide on August 15.

Texas also awaits the commitment of Jalen Hale, as they battle Alabama and Texas A&M for the elite wide receiver.

Outside of those three, there are recruitments with less certainty for Texas.

Elite corner Javien Toviano and game-changing edges Tausili Akana and Damon Wilson are a couple long-shots that could decide in Sarkisian’s favor.

Let’s look at a few players to which Texas will allocate time.

The biggest challenge facing each Big 12 football team in 2022

Baylor has its sights set on their first college football playoff after winning the Big 12 championship.

Preparation for the 2022 season is underway and the every Big 12 team is looking to improve from last season’s performance. Continue reading “The biggest challenge facing each Big 12 football team in 2022”

Texas target Colton Vasek receives crystal ball predictions to Oklahoma

The Sooners are trending for Colton Vasek.

No question about it, Oklahoma recruiting is surging. After a slow start, it has made an impressive turnaround. Now it is trending for elite edge prospect Colton Vasek.

Vasek, a Texas legacy and Austin native, was long rumored to favor Oregon. Pac-12 instability might have changed those plans.

Recently, Texas seemed to be improving its chances to bring in the Austin Westlake edge rusher, but it appears the Sooners had a strong recruiting pitch this weekend.

Though their offensive recruiting is not as strong as in years past, Brent Venables appears to be building a defensive machine in Norman.

Nobody questions whether Venables can coach up a defensive line. He had some of the stronger fronts in college football at Clemson. Now it appears he will have the pieces to build around in Norman.

Should Vasek choose the Sooners, Texas will shift its focus to other big-time edge prospects. He would be the second significant loss of a 2023 class that has mostly gone Texas’ way.

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2024 4-star ATH Xavier Filsaime earns Oklahoma Sooners offer

After spending time with in Norman, four-star athlete Xavier Filsaime receives an offer from the Oklahoma Sooners.

Hosting a big recruiting week in Norman, the Oklahoma Sooners have extended several offers to players across the 2024 and 2025 recruiting classes. After extending an offer to Allen quarterback Michael Hawkins, the Sooners keep a North Texas focus with another 2024 offer, this time to four-star athlete Xavier Filsaime.

Filsaime is a top-200 player across the board for the 2024 recruiting class and ranks inside the top 30 at his position. He is listed as a cornerback with On3 Recruiting and a wide receiver with 247Sports. With two years left in his high school career, it may be premature to determine where he plays at the collegiate level.

He has strong hands and is able to make the contested catch in traffic. Filsaime can make plays after the catch. He works the short to intermediate part of the field well, but also has the route running savvy and speed to win deep. He displays a breakaway ability to run away from second-level defenders. Filsaime is a physical player who is able to break tackles and is a strong blocker. His blocking reveals a nastiness that not only wants to win but wants to finish his opponent.

On defense, he lined up as both a safety and cornerback, displaying good awareness and footwork. Filsaime displays good pursuit angles in run support and a willingness to come downhill and make a tackle.

Wherever his future college team decides to line him up, Xavier Filsaime will be a good player. He’s a natural athlete with the play strength to be a force on either side of the football

Xavier Filsaime’s Recruiting Profile

Projections

  • On3’s recruiting prediction machine gives the early edge to Oklahoma.

Film

Hudl

Oklahoma recruiting is on the right track and there’s more on the way

After many said Oklahoma was in trouble, the Sooners have shot up the recruiting rankings with lots of time left in the cycle

At the end of June, the Oklahoma Sooners were ranked 35th in 247Sports team recruiting rankings and many people thought the sky was falling. The Sooners were doomed. It was as if we had learned nothing from the Lincoln Riley departure and the following recruit-exodus: It’s not so easy to kill the Sooners.

On June 30, I even wrote an article telling everyone to relax. “Rankings mean absolutely nothing in June,” I said.

Just a week and a half later, Oklahoma’s on the verge of a top 10 recruiting class. The Sooners are now 11th in 247Sports’ recruiting rankings for the class of 2023 and are in the running for several more high-end recruits. The only Big 12 team the Sooners trail in recruiting for 2023 is the Longhorns.

What does this mean?

[autotag]Lincoln Riley[/autotag]’s departure hit the Sooners just as hard on the recruiting trail as it did on the field. Riley was a great recruiter, and USC will no doubt benefit from that.

Something that Riley excels at is his usage of social media in this modern age of college football. That seemed like something OU was going to miss. However, the new staff appears to have picked up where Riley left off on social media, and the commits themselves are helping out.

Here’s what Sooners QB commit [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] had to say when [autotag]Adepoju Adebawore[/autotag] committed:

 

Players who are undecided are absolutely swayed by what others in their class decide. Oklahoma has already gotten past the hard part: getting the first few recruits.

OU will continue to scoop up these young men. It will be interesting to see both where OU ends up falling in the final rankings and what Brent Venables’ staff ends up molding these recruits into.

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Sooners 2023 commit Jackson Arnold among top performers at Elite 11 Finals

Competing against the top quarterbacks from across the country, Jackson Arnold was among the top performers at the Elite 11 finals per On3.

When Brent Venables and Jeff Lebby arrived, they hit the ground running on the recruiting trail, shoring up the 2022 recruiting class and getting started on 2023. The big get for the 2023 class was Jackson Arnold, who was the first new commit in the class of the Brent Venables era.

Arnold joined Joshua Bates, who had committed under Lincoln Riley, with the Sooners as they looked to rebuild the 2023 recruiting class. Though they may not have made as much of a splash as Texas lately, the dominos are steadily falling with commitments from Keyon Brown and Kalib Hicks on the offensive side of the ball in recent weeks.

Jackson Arnold, who helped Denton Guyer reach the Texas state championship game in his first season as a starter, has seen his status among 2023 quarterbacks grow over the last several months, recently earning his fifth star in the 247Sports composite rankings. And that status is being backed up this week at the Elite 11 Finals in Los Angeles where Arnold was considered one of the top performers of day one according to On3’s Charles Power.

Arnold was ranked second behind Iowa State commit J.J. Kohl, but here’s what Power had to say about Jackson Arnold’s day.

[autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag]‘s quick release and zip on the football was certainly among the best we saw on Tuesday evening. The ball jumps out of the Oklahoma commit’s hand. Arnold was a standout at a station that required the quarterbacks to roll out of the pocket and throw out-breaking routes across their body on the goal line. He also excelled in driving the ball to the boundary on high-difficulty throws. – Power, On3 Sports

Power continued:

The Denton (Texas) Guyer standout has a strong base that he uses to generate force on his passes. His power and quick throwing motion allow for a second life on some of his passes, with the ball continuing to pick up speed as it approaches the receiver. – Power, On3 Sports

Arnold has the ability to make all the throws you want him to on the football field. He does a great job combining arm strength, a quick release, and great accuracy.

While at the event, Jackson Arnold spent some time with Steve Wiltfong of 247Sports and had this to say about Oklahoma Sooners head coach Brent Venables.

“I love Coach Venables. He’s a super high-energy coach. I think he’s a great fit for Oklahoma and for what Oklahoma needs,” Arnold told Wiltfong. “And I absolutely love the family-like environment he’s creating too. He wants us to be not only great players but great people as well.”

He may not have garnered the same attention that an Arch Manning or Malachi Nelson has, yet, but by the end of his final season at Denton Guyer, he’ll be considered in the same light as the top quarterbacks in the 2023 recruiting class.

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