Tag: Tory Blaylock

What did new OC Ben Arbuckle say about the Oklahoma Sooners 2025 recruiting class?

What did new offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle have to say about the Oklahoma Sooners 2025 recruiting class?

The Oklahoma Sooners finalized their [autotag]2025 recruiting class[/autotag] on the first day of the [autotag]early signing period[/autotag], adding 18 players for next season from the high school ranks.

It’s the Sooners smallest recruiting class in the Brent Venables era. With a new roster limit of 105 on the horizon, the Sooners and the rest of college football will be feeling a roster crunch.

Though the Sooners added talent on both sides of the football, the players on offense weren’t recruited by Arbuckle, save for quarterback [autotag]Jett Niu[/autotag], who flipped to the Sooners on Wednesday after being committed to Oklahoma State since September. Niu was offered by Washington State earlier in the year.

So what did Arbuckle have to say about Oklahoma’s class of signees?

“These coaches did an unbelievable job. Everybody in the personnel department, everybody in scouting did an unbelievable job of finding the right talent, acquiring them and bringing them here to OU,” Arbuckle said via The Oklahoman. “I see playmakers all over the field.”

At wide receiver, the Sooners added big-time talents [autotag]Elijah Thomas[/autotag] from Checotah, Oklahoma, and [autotag]Emmanuel Choice[/autotag] out of Lancaster, Texas. The Sooners also brought in a dynamic running back, [autotag]Tory Blaylock[/autotag]. At tight end, the Sooners added Trynae Washington, who can play both offense and defense.

But where the Sooners really made strides on the recruiting trail was in their offensive line additions. Oklahoma added a pair of top-10 offensive tackles: [autotag]Michael Fasusi[/autotag] and [autotag]Ryan Fodje[/autotag]. The Sooners also added a trio of physical interior offensive line prospects: Darius Afalava, Owen Hollenbeck and preferred walk-on Sean Hutton.

With these additions, Arbuckle has an intriguing group of players to work with on offense. The program has to get the veterans healthy and continue to develop the offensive line. But there’s a great deal of potential if the Sooners can have better injury luck than in 2024.

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4-star running back Tory Blaylock signs with the Oklahoma Sooners

The Oklahoma Sooners earned a signature from talented four-star running back Tory Blaylock.

The Oklahoma Sooners have added a playmaking running back in the [autotag]2025 recruiting class[/autotag]. [autotag]Tory Blaylock[/autotag] is a four-star running back out of Humble, Texas, who will join OU in 2025 after signing with the Sooners during the [autotag]early signing period[/autotag].

Blaylock is an electric player, showing a great blend of speed, agility, physicality, and balance. In addition to his running back prowess, he was a part of Atascocita’s record-breaking 4×100 relay team as a junior in the spring of 2024. In the 100-meter dash, Blaylock posted a wind-legal of 10.62 seconds.

Though speed may be his calling card, Blaylock has the ability to be a do-it-all runner for the Oklahoma Sooners. Tory’s father, Derrick, played five seasons in the NFL with the Kansas City Chiefs and the New York Jets.

Tory committed to the Sooners over the Ohio State Buckeyes, Texas Longhorns, Oregon Ducks, Alabama Crimson Tide, and Tennessee Volunteers, who were in his top six back in March.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DDKI-gdxLcy/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Film

Hudl

Rating

Stars Overall Position State
ESPN 4 201 12 32
Rivals 4 — 9 53
247Sports 4 — 21 45
247 Composite 4 295 20 42
On3 Recruiting 3 — 38 71
On3 Industry 4 326 21 46

Vitals

Hometown Humble, Texas
Projected Position Running Back
Height 5-10
Weight 195 pounds

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Watch Oklahoma running back commit race for long touchdown

Oklahoma Sooners running back commit Tory Blaylock had a huge night on Friday breaking off a pair of long touchdown runs in Texas High School Football.

The Oklahoma Sooners have one of the best recruiting classes pledged to join them in 2025. One of the best players at his position, [autotag]Tory Blaylock[/autotag] is having a fantastic season in his senior year at Atascocita.

On Friday night, Atascocita had a big-time matchup against Houston Summer Creek. Summer Creek came into the game without allowing a point in 2024.

On his first carry of the game, Blaylock took the ball 80 yards for a touchdown to open the scoring. On the play, the Sooners’ four-star commit broke several tackles before using his elite speed to break away from the Summer Creek defense for the long touchdown run.

But Blaylock wasn’t done. On his second carry of the game, he took the handoff 72 yards for his second score of the night. By halftime, Atascocita was up 35-7. A second-half flurry from Summer Creek put them in the lead with 3:04 remaining in the game.

Blaylock came through again, scoring the go-ahead touchdown to give the Eagles the 42-39 win. Blaylock finished the night with 187 rushing yards, according to High School on SI.

Tory Blaylock is considered the No. 19 running back in the nation according to 247Sports and the No. 11 player at his position by Rivals.

Also a track star for Atascocita, Blaylock has the game-breaking speed to be a difference-maker at the collegiate level. In the win over Summer Creek, he showed the physicality needed to thrive at the position.

Tory Blaylock has the ability to contribute early in his Sooners career.

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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 in 2024. In fact, [autotag]Kevin Sperry[/autotag] committed to the 2025 class (March 13, 2023) before OU had received its first commitment for the 2024 class: [autotag]Jeremiah Newcombe[/autotag] (March 25, 2023).

The Sooners have put together another phenomenal class but the centerpiece came when five-star offensive tackle Michael Fasusi committed to the Sooners on Wednesday. That gave Oklahoma their third straight recruiting class with at least one five-star prospect and their fifth in the last three years.

Additionally, it provided another elite piece for the Sooners to work with in the trenches after adding [autotag]Adepoju Adebawore[/autotag] in 2023 and [autotag]David Stone[/autotag] in 2024 on the defensive side of the ball. Now, Bill Bedenbaugh has his cornerstone of the future on the offensive side of the ball. The Sooners have been working overtime to strengthen their talent along the line of scrimmage.

Now with Fasusi committed, the Sooners turn their attention to [autotag]Andrew Babalola[/autotag], [autotag]Christian Jones[/autotag], and [autotag]Jonah Williams[/autotag], their final big-time targets in the 2025 cycle. Babalola is said to be down to Michigan, Stanford, and Oklahoma. Jones is leaning toward Nebraska but likely won’t commit until the fall. Williams was once a heavy Oklahoma lean, but his recruitment has broadened over the last six months to include LSU, Texas, Texas A&M, and Oregon. There could also be a surprise addition or flip over the next few months ahead of the early signing period.

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

Updated: August 21, 2024

Sooners No. 7 in ESPN’s recruiting class rankings for 2025

The Oklahoma Sooners have several high-profile recruitments still underway, but they’re in a great spot already in the 2025 recruiting cycle.

Recruiting is certainly a strong point for the Oklahoma Sooners under [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag]. On both sides of the ball, OU has landed blue chip prospects, including five-star players [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] (2023), [autotag]Adepoju Adebawore[/autotag] (2023), [autotag]Peyton Bowen[/autotag] (2023), and [autotag]David Stone[/autotag] (2024).

It’s set the stage for the Sooners to contend when they make their move into the SEC. In the [autotag]2025 recruiting class[/autotag], the Sooners are already off to a great start with the summer recruiting season approaching. With 15 commitments, the Sooners sit No. 3 in the nation and No. 1 in the SEC in 247Sports team recruiting rankings.

And the Sooners are well within the top 10 of ESPN’s top 25 recruiting classes (ESPN+) for the 2025 cycle.

The Sooners’ first official class as a member of the SEC already has a strong foundation. It’s anchored by offensive firepower, including a pair of ESPN 300 wide receivers in [autotag]Elijah Thomas[/autotag] and [autotag]Gracen Harris[/autotag]. Harris is quick and has good hands. Thomas, an in-state commit, is a precise route-runner and offers a wide catch radius. Running back [autotag]Tory Blaylock[/autotag] can be an electric playmaker with excellent speed — he has registered a max speed north of 21 mph in games.

The Sooners stayed in-state to land [autotag]Kevin Sperry[/autotag] at QB. He has a quick release and good accuracy and threw for over 2,500 yards and completed 68% of his passes as a junior. In-state defensive end [autotag]Alexander Shieldnight[/autotag] has first-step quickness and active hands and tallied 11 sacks as a junior. While much of their class hails from OU’s primary recruiting base, [autotag]Trent Wilson[/autotag] was a nice win out of Maryland. He’s a defensive lineman with good initial quickness as well as agility, and he can be an active presence in the trenches. – Craig Haubert, ESPN

It’s a class that’s equally impressive on defense as it is on offense. Sperry has the chance to be every bit as impactful as the quarterbacks that Oklahoma’s brought on board over the last few years under Venables. His low-key recruitment has been an asset for the Sooners. With their quarterback committed, and helping peer recruit, the Sooners have been able to focus their efforts on an offensive line class that is as elite as 2024’s defensive line class was.

Even though Oklahoma’s experienced coordinator changes on both sides of the ball, they’ve continued to recruit at an incredibly high level. And with high-profile recruitments still to be decided along the offensive line and with five-star safety [autotag]Jonah Williams[/autotag], the Sooners have a chance to add another impactful class to the depth chart in 2025.

There’s still a long way to go in the 2025 cycle, but the Sooners are in a great spot. Any concerns about Brent Venables and his staff’s ability to recruit at Oklahoma are long gone.

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WATCH: Oklahoma Sooners pledge trolls Longhorns during commitment ceremony

Oklahoma picked up another commitment on Friday and the Sooners latest pledge made it very entertaining.

The Oklahoma Sooners added their 10th player to the 2025 recruiting class with a pledge from four-star running back Tory Blaylock on Friday.

During a ceremony with family and friends at Atascocita High School in Texas, Blaylock had the hats for Alabama, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, and Texas on the table.

After sharing some words, Blaylock perused the hats, first picking up a Buckeyes lid. He set down the scarlet, putting it down in favor of the burnt orange Longhorns, which he donned for a moment before switching to the crimson and cream interlocking OU, saying, “Oklahoma baby, Oklahoma.”

It was a moment reminiscent of [autotag]DeMarco Murray[/autotag]’s All-American Bowl commitment ceremony, where he first picked up the USC Trojans lid before swapping it out for Oklahoma. Like Murray, Blaylock also spurned a team that was closer to his hometown for the Oklahoma Sooners.

Blaylock’s hometown of Humble, Texas is just outside of Houston and just under three hours from Austin. Murray’s hometown of Las Vegas is just under four hours from Los Angeles.

In Blaylock, the Sooners get a running back with great speed and contact balance. He’s a big play waiting to happen and adds another dynamic athlete to the Oklahoma Sooners 2025 recruiting class.

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Ohio State misses out on 2025 four-star Texas running back

The Buckeyes missed on the running back. #GoBucks

Ohio State football was on recruiting hot steak recently, but things have cooled off a bit, and Friday afternoon continued with that trend.

The Buckeyes were one of six schools that 2025 Texas Running Back, [autotag]Tory Blaylock[/autotag], selected from on Friday afternoon, and it was Oklahoma winning out for his commitment. He is a solid recruit, as he ranks as the nation’s No. 17 running back and 219th overall prospect according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings.

Although his ranking seems a bit low, Blaylock had offers from virtually every major school in the country. It did seem like Ohio State had a few others higher on its recruiting board though, so a small silver lining.

Running back recruiting is something to watch for the Buckeyes, as we all know that Tony Alford left for Michigan and no one occupies the position currently. Will it hurt recruiting? We will find out soon.

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Oklahoma Sooners earn commitment from 2025 four-star running back Tory Blaylock

Oklahoma adds another weapon to their 2025 recruiting class, earning a commitment from four-star running back Tory Blaylock.

The Oklahoma Sooners [autotag]2025 recruiting class[/autotag] is in a really good spot as the Sooners work through spring ball. It’s currently a top 10 group and just added another blue-chip prospect to the class, earning a commitment from four-star running back [autotag]Tory Blaylock[/autotag].

Blaylock is the first running back to commit to the Sooners in the 2025 cycle and brings OU’s total pledges back to 10.

He’s considered a four-star prospect by Rivals and ESPN and held offers from notable schools like Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida State, Georgia, Michigan State, Missouri, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Oregon, Penn State, SMU, South Carolina, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, UCF, and Wisconsin.

He chose the Sooners over the Buckeyes, Longhorns, Ducks, Crimson Tide, and Volunteers, who were in his top six back at the beginning of March.

Running backs coach DeMarco Murray and the Oklahoma Sooners have been pursuing Blaylock since their initial offer back in August of 2022.

Blaylock is an incredible athlete with great speed. And when we say great speed, not just football speed, but track speed. Blaylock and his Atascocita teammates just set the national 4×100 relay record at a track meet in Texas a week ago.

At that same meet, Blaylock ran a 10.62 100-meter dash.

On the football field, he displays that speed and twitchiness and combines it with good strength and great lateral agility. When he gets a lane, he’s hard to stop because of his burst.

Blaylock adds another big-time speed element to a Sooners offense that has been recruiting track speed over the last several years, earning commitments from guys like [autotag]Gavin Sawchuk[/autotag], [autotag]K.J. Daniels[/autotag], [autotag]Jaquaize Pettaway[/autotag], and [autotag]Zion Ragins[/autotag].

The commitment of Blaylock moves the Oklahoma Sooners from No. 8 back into the No. 5 spot in the 247Sports team recruiting rankings.

More: Oklahoma Sooners 2025 recruiting commitment tracker

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Oklahoma earns another projection for 4-star RB Tory Blaylock

Four-star running back Tory Blaylock crystal balled to Oklahoma for second time.

Oklahoma seems to be getting closer and closer to its first running back commitment for the [autotag]2025 recruiting class[/autotag]. Four-star running back [autotag]Tory Blaylock[/autotag] was predicted to land with the Sooners on Tuesday morning by 247Sports National Recruiting Analyst Mike Roach.

The crystal ball is the second for the Sooners to land the consensus four-star running back from Humble, TX. The first came from Sooners Illustrated’s Collin Kennedy in January.

Blaylock is a talented runner who can be an every-down back in college. He can hit the home run and run with power and balance between the tackles. He has shown soft hands when catching the ball out of the backfield.

Notably, he won the honor of running back MVP this past weekend at the UA Next showcase in Houston. Blaylock has an official visit set for June 21-23.

This latest crystal ball is the third prediction overall for Blaylock to land with Oklahoma. While there’s no guarantee he will commit before then, the Sooners and fans should feel reasonably good about their chances.

Outside of the Sooners,  Ohio State, Texas, Alabama, Oregon, and Tennessee make up his top schools.

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2025 Texas running back prospect includes Vols in top six

2025 Texas running back prospect includes Tennessee in top six.

2025 running back prospect Tory Blaylock announced his top six schools.

Tennessee, Ohio State, Alabama, Oregon, Texas and Oklahoma are Blaylock’s top six schools.

The 5-foot-11, 190-pound running back prospect is from Atascocita High School in Humble, Texas.

Tennessee offered a scholarship to Blaylock on June 12, 2022. Texas Tech was the first school to offer a scholarship to Blaylock on March 11, 2022, while Texas A&M was the first Southeastern Conference school to offer the 2025 prospect.

The Vols have six commitments in its 2025 recruiting class: Quarterback George MacIntyre, tight end Jack Van Dorseiaer, cornerback Dylan Lewis, running back Justin Baker, wide receiver Joakim Dodson and cornerback Tyler Redmond.