Oklahoma football: Sooners 2019 recruiting class among nation’s best
By Chip Rouse
The second installment of 2019 National Signing Day is fast approaching, and you can count next season’s Oklahoma football newcomers among the nation’s top five.
Whether or not the Sooners will add any more commitments on National Signing Day (Feb. 6), it appears now that they will close out the 2019 recruiting process with Lincoln Riley’s highest ranked class in his two seasons as the Oklahoma head coach.
OU’s 24-member 2019 class currently ranks No. 3 in the Rivals.com team rankings and No. 5, according to ESPN. The class includes four five-star recruits and 12 rated as four stars. There are 11 offensive players, 10 on defense and two athletes.
With so much talent returning on last season’s No. 1-rated offense, including the addition of former Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts through the transfer portal and new defensive coordinator Alex Grinch to rework one of college football’s most defenseless units, it is easy to understand why there is so much excitement in the Oklahoma football program and in the fan base around the 2019 recruiting class.
“There’s been a great unselfishness about this class. They’re coming here with the team in mind and the chance to win championships.” — Head coach Lincoln Riley
It appears the future for Sooner football continues to shine bright, conjuring up kindred memories of the glory days when it was frequently written about OU football and the other national powerhouses: They don’t rebuild, they simply reload.
The declaration by five-star wide-receiver Jadon Haselwood at the All-American Bowl in early January that he was coming to Oklahoma boosted the Sooners’ 2019 recruiting team rankings by three-to-five places, depending on which national recruiting service you follow.
Four of the top 25 recruits nationally, and five of the top 51, are headed to Norman, according to Rivals.com. Haselwood is the highest ranked Sooner recruit, at No. 4 in the Rivals 250. Fellow wide receiver Theo Wease is No. 11, Quarterback Spencer Rattler, considered the No. 1 dual-threat QB prospect in the country, is No. 14, and wide receiver Trejan Bridges is ranked 21st.
The Sooners have a total of 10 recruits ranked in the Rivals 250: cornerback Woodi Washington (51), offensive tackle Stacey Wilkins (78), defensive end Marcus Stripling (174), safety Jeremiah Criddell (200), offensive guard Marcus Alexander (218), and defensive end Marcus Hicks (245).
At his press conference announcing the 2019 OU recruiting class after the early signing period in December, Sooner head coach Lincoln Riley said:
"“There’s been a great unselfishness about this class. They’re great players who want to accomplish great things, but they’re coming here with the team in mind and having a chance to win championships.”"
As far as geographical breakdown goes, the largest 2019 recruiting haul for the Sooners, not surprisingly, hails from the neighboring state to the south, Texas. Oklahoma picked up 10 recruits from the Lone Star State. Only two of the 24 Sooner recruits are home grown out of Oklahoma.
Aside from Texas and Oklahoma, eight other states and the District of Columbia are represented: California (3), Kansas (2) and one each from Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, North Carolina and Washington, D.C.
If the current ranking holds, Lincoln Riley will enjoy his third consecutive top-10 recruiting class, and the 2019 class stacks up as his best yet.