Oklahoma Football Recruiting Class of 2017 Breakdown

At the end of National Signing Day 2017 , Oklahoma football  recruiting finds itself  with a top- ten class that may turn out to be one of Bob Stoops’ best ever.

Obviously, there’s no way to no how a recruit will ultimately turn out, much less an entire class. But this 2017 class just feels special.

For every Gerald McCoy and Adrian Peterson, there are the Trey Metoyers and Jermie Calhouns, highly touted recruits that for one reason or another just don’t pan out. That’s what makes recruiting more art than science: There’s just no way to tell what the future holds.

The Sooners’ 27-player haul, ranked seventh in the country by Rivals.com, is Bob Stoops’ best class in seven years, literally an eternity in the college football world. It should surprise no one that Sooner Nation is quite excited about today’s developments. So let’s take a look at the future Sooners who signed on the dotted line today and what it means for Oklahoma football’s future.

The Tale of The Tape 

The first thing that stands out about the Sooners’ 2017 recruiting haul is its balance: The class addresses just about every need, featuring fourteen offensive players and twelve defensive players (along with one special teams addition, kicker Reeves Munschau from New Braunfels, Texas).

Of those players, a whopping 18 are rated four stars by the Rivals.com recruiting service; eight are three star players, and one (kicker Mundschau) is a two star. Indeed, this class features the largest number of four-star players in Bob Stoops’ 18-year tenure.

The class could have been even better if the Sooner coaching staff could have reeled in a couple of five-star prospects. But it was not to be, as  behemoth Houston, Texas, defensive tackle Marvin Wilson, who had Oklahoma on his short list, opted to sign with Florida State.

And diehard Sooner fans are probably familiar with the saga of five-star linebacker Jacob Phillips, who was steadfastly in the Sooner column until he took a visit to LSU and ultimately signed with the Tigers.

At the end of the day, National Signing Day for the Sooners was pretty much lacking in drama, as most players who committed to the Crimson and Cream stayed committed. Charleston Rambo, a 6-foot, 2-inch wide receiver from Cedar Hill, Texas, contemplated signing with the Florida Gators but ultimately stuck to his Oklahoma commitment.

Geographically, the Sooner class has a heavy contingent of regional players: nine hail from Texas and six from Oklahoma. But as Stoops and company have done so well throughout the years, Oklahoma took its brand appeal nationwide, bringing in players from California (three), North Carolina and Louisiana (two from each state), and from Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Missouri and Pennsylvania (one from each state).

An interesting aside is the fact that Oklahoma’s was the only Big 12 class that cracked the top ten in the Rivals.com rankings. Texas came in second in the conference, but only 29th nationally. The SEC, on the other hand, had a stunning five classes in the top ten nationally, and two (Alabama and Georgia) were first and third.

Reloading The Offense 

Any offensive player is bound to be intrigued and excited to play for offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley, a stellar offensive coordinator who is widely expected to land a head-coaching gig sooner rather than later. In spite of his offensive acumen, however, there’s little doubt that Riley has a tall task for the offense in 2017, namely replacing the geyser of offensive production provided by Samaje Perine, Joe Mixon and Dede Westbrook. But if the incoming 2017 offensive prospects live up to their potential, Riley’s tall task gets quite a bit easier.

Quarterback and Offensive Line

The Oklahoma 2017 class brings just one

quarterback, but he’s a gamer. Chris Robison is an early enrollee who is already on campus and joins an already crowded quarterback group comprised of Baker Mayfield, Austin Kendall and Kyler Murray.

Suddenly, Lincoln Riley has plenty of weapons at his disposal at the quarterback position, and while Heisman candidate Mayfield is the undisputed starter, a player’s health throughout a long season is never a certainty. So, depth is a good thing.

Robison is a four star prospect form Mesquite, Texas, and is rated the No. 5 five pro-style quarterback in the nation by Rivals.com. Robison turned heads at the Five-Star Challenge, winning praise for his accuracy and poise. He steps into a good situation at Oklahoma, where he will have the time to hone his skills and prepare himself to compete for a starting job in 2018.

Quarterbacks need protection, and thankfully Oklahoma brings back its entire offensive line in 2017, providing some much needed continuity to a position group that has been in a state of flux the past couple of years. Still, that didn’t stop Bob Stoops and offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh from recruiting a very solid group of O-linemen.

On average, the incoming group of offensive linemen average just under 300 pounds and are all 6-foot, 4-inches or taller. Noteworthy in this group is Gonzales, La., product Adrian Ealy, a 6-foot, 7-inch, 282-pound behemoth who should become a mainstay on the line for the next few years.

Running Backs

If Oklahoma’s incoming backfield prospects live up to their promise, the running back corps will be in good shape. Newcomers Trey Sermon, Kennedy Brooks and Marcelias Sutton are highly rated prospects who will definitely shore up an already solid running-back corps.

Sermon looks like an especially exciting prospect; the 10th-rated running back (by Rivals.com) is a 6-foot, 1-inch, 221-pound bruiser from Marietta, Ga, who is also skilled as a receiver.

Sutton is an intriguing prospect: the JUCO transfer from Lackawanna Community College in Scranton, Pa., is an athlete who will most likely feature heavily in the receiving and return game. Mansfield, Texas, prospect Brooks is a productive high school player who should compete for playing time.

Wide Receivers

On the wide receiver front, what stands out the most about the 2017 group is the size: Save for 5-foot, 11-inch California product Marquise Brown, the rest of the incoming wide-outs are all over six feet tall. But what Brown lacks in height he makes up for in speed and football IQ.

Charleston Rambo and Cedarian Lamb, 6-foot, 2 inches and 6-foot, 3 inches, respectively, will add height to the Sooner wide-receiver corps and should push for starting time in the rotation. At 6-foot, 2 inches and 201 pounds, Charlotte, N.C., product Ryan Jones is expected to transition to safety, buttressing an already strong group of defensive backs.

Rounding out the wide receiver corps are Grant Calcaterra, a Rancho Margarita, Calif., who will play at tight end, and Jeremiah Hall, a Charlotte, N.C., product who will primarily be a blocking tight end in Riley’s Air Raid offense.

Defense Loads Up

There is little doubt that one area where the Sooners need all the help they can get is the defense. Sooner defenses of late – especially the 2016 edition – have simply not lived up to Oklahoma standards.

So there was little doubt that the defense was going to get a lot of attention in the recruiting trail. In spite of missing out on a couple of key prospects, the Oklahoma coaching staff brought in a stellar group of players that should have Mike Stoops and the rest of the defensive staff excited for the future.

Defensive Backs

The incoming Oklahoma 2017 defensive class really shines in the secondary, where the Sooners bring in three four-star (Tre Brown, Justin Broiles, and Robert Barnes) and one three-star (Tre Norwood) defensive backs. Add in four-star receiver Ryan Jones, who is expected to switch to safety, and this is a truly outstanding group of athletes who should compete for playing time right away.

The secondary is one area where the Sooner defense has lagged at times, so it was imperative to restock the cupboard with young talent. If the coaching staff can develop this promising group, the Oklahoma secondary will become a team strength. And that bodes well for coping with the spread offenses in the pass-happy Big 12.

The Linebackers

Even though Oklahoma missed out on five star linebacker Jacob Phillips, the incoming group of linebackers is outstanding. Levi Draper, Addison Gumbs and Kenneth Murray are all four-star prospects who should push for playing time in a talented rotation that includes 2016 five-star and rising star Caleb Kelly.

Draper gets particular praise from recruiting gurus for his outstanding football IQ. Overall, Mike Stoops and Tim Kish did a great job of shoring up the Sooner linebacking corps with young talent and adding depth to the unit. Now it’s their job to develop that talent.

Defensive Line

There is a bit of a drop-off (at least as far as recruiting rankings are concerned) when considering the incoming group of Sooner defensive linemen. The lone four-star prospect in this incoming group is Tulsa defensive end Isaiah Thomas, who at 6-foot, 5-inch and 230 pounds may need to bulk up a bit to play on the line at the college level.

K’Jakyre Daley, a 6-foot, 4-inch, 215-pound prospect from Florida comes in as a defensive end but due to his smaller size may end up playing linebacker for Mike Stoops’ defense.

Zacchaeus McKinney and Tyreece Lott are two three-star defensive tackle prospects who may need time to develop before they can crack a defensive line rotation with a lot of veteran talent returning in 2017. Still, the infusion of talent should provide plenty of depth and allow Mike Stoops and the defensive staff rotational flexibility in game situations.