Oklahoma football recruiting: It’s not how you start, but how you finish that counts
By Chip Rouse
A number of college teams are already into double digits in verbal commitments for the 2021 recruiting class. That is not the case for 2021 Oklahoma football recruits, however, which currently numbers four commitments.
Five Big 12 teams currently rank above the five-time defending conference champion Sooners, who are presently listed 34th in the Rivals 2021 class rankings. Does this sound an alarm for a fan base that is used to seeing Oklahoma’s recruiting class ranked in the top-10 to top-15 teams in the country?
The answer to that question is no. For one thing, it is still very early in the process, with the early signing period for 2021 recruits still eight months off. For another, the entire process has practically ground to a halt with stay-in-place orders because of the coronavirus crisis placing major restrictions on recruiting activities all across the college football landscape.
It’s also important to remember that in college football recruiting, as in many other things in and out of sports, it’s not so much how you start, but how you finish that matters. And the Sooners, under both Bob Stoops and now Lincoln Riley, have a solid recent history of finishing strong in the recruiting game, which is a prime reason Oklahoma has been so successful and a perennial national title contender the better part of the past two decades.
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As of mid-April, the Sooners have four 2021 commitments: a defensive back, defensive lineman and offensive lineman, all three-star prospects, plus a four-star wide receiver. The four-star prospect is Cody Jackson, who drew interest from several major programs, including Alabama, Michigan, Florida State and Oregon. Big 12 schools who were interested in the talented wide receiver from Richmond, Texas, included his home-state Longhorns, Oklahoma State, TCU and Baylor.
The Sooners are reportedly high on the list of the country’s No. 1 2021 quarterback prospect, Caleb Williams. In addition to being the top-rated quarterback prospect, 247Sports also lists Williams as the No. 5 prospect overall in the 2021 class.
Brandon Drumm, the OUInsiders’ recruiting expert on the 247Sports platform reported that Williams and Riley have been breaking down plays via videoconferencing. Williams spent a weekend at OU last month before the coronavirus outbreak.
Williams has indicated he would still like to visit LSU, Clemson, Maryland and Penn State before he makes a final decision, but has no immediate plans to do so because of the coronavirus situation.
Drumm reports that the recruiting winds continue to indicate that Williams is leaning toward the Sooners, but that could also be because he really hasn’t been anywhere else for an extended visit and OU is fresh in his mind. The fact, however, that he has been in contact with Riley since the visit is also a positive indication.
Oklahoma lost the commitment of Brock Vandagriff, the No. 2 quarterback in the 2021 class, who decommitted from the Sooners earlier this year. After that development, the Sooner coaching staff concentrated its attention on Williams, who hails from Washington, D.C.
The recruitment of Williams is important for another reason. According to OUInsider Drumm, several other top-rated players nationally have indicated they would strongly consider following Williams wherever he goes.
The Sooners’ recruiting net is out there, as it always is. They have extended scholarship offers to a number of top offensive and defensive prospects. It’s just early in the process, and the cancellation of all college sports activities has further slowed things down.
We can expect verbal commitments to pick up for OU and all the other schools as the current restrictions are gradually lifted.