Oklahoma football: Look for OU’s 2021 recruiting ranking to take vertical jump

Oklahoma football recruiting has been on high ground in recent seasons, with three top-10 class rankings and two in the top 20, but  so far in the hunt for 2021 talent, the Sooners stand far off that pace.

Seven months away from the early signing date for the class of 2021, the Sooners have five verball commitments and currently rank 48th among the top 50 recruiting classes, according to Rivals.com.

That’s got to be a concern among some quantitative folks and talent scouts who track this kind of stuff, but you don’t see or hear that same concern from OU fourth-year head coach Lincoln Riley, not this early anyway with the world pretty much turned upside down with the coronavirus pandemic and practically everything related to live sports ground to a halt and limited to virtual check-ins.

Over the past 10 college football recruiting cycles, Oklahoma has not had a recruiting class ranked any lower than 16th nationally, and three of the last four OU classes have ranked eighth or better in the Rivals composite team rankings.

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Indications are that things on the recruiting trail are about to get much better for the five-time defending Big 12 champions. For one thing, the No. 1 quarterback in the 2021 class, Caleb Williams, out of Washington, D.C., appears close to making a final decision on where he wants to play his college football, and numerous sources have said that he is strongly leaning to the Sooners.

The final choice appears to be between Oklahoma and Maryland. Maryland certainly has the geographical advantage in the recruiting tug-of-war for Williams’ services, but with the country’s top QB recruit having indicated that he wants to play for championships and get national exposure and develop his skiils as a quarterback to help prepare his game for the next level. If that indeed is Williams’ primary motivation, it would seem Riley’s track record developing QBs for the next level speaks for itself and should be the tipping point.

Williams’ commitment in itself will be enough to shoot the Sooners up in the class rankings, but he could well be a magnet that will attract interest from several other highly rated prospects. One of those who is currently in the OU recruiting crosshairs coincidentally, is another Williams, wide receiver Mario Williams, out of Plant City, Florida, (near Tampa).

This Williams is rated as the No. 3 wide receiver and 16th overall in the class and, more importantly in terms of the Sooners chances of landing him, he likes the idea of going where Caleb Williams goes. He has been compared to a former standout Oklahoma receiver from the Sunshine State, Marquise “Hollywood” Brown.

It’s hard to believe that Oklahoma is in need of wide receivers, given the Sooners plethora of riches at that position in recent years, but don’t be surprised if there are two or three wide receivers in the 2021 class. Cody Jackson, a wide receiver who comes from the same high school as CeeDee Lamb, is one of the Sooners five current commitments.

Running back is another position that will need some depth after the coming season, after which the Sooners are expected to lose Kennedy Brooks and Rhamondre Stevenson to the NFL Draft. High up on OU RB recruiting target list for 2021 is Garland, Texas, prospect Camar Wheaton. OU assistants DeMarco Murray and Cale Gundy are recruiting Wheaton hard, but so is Alabama, Ohio State and Texas, among others.

The Sooners’ record of success and future needs at this position and the very real possibility that Wheaton could make an immediate contribution are strong selling points that could be enough to get him to cross the Red River. He is rated the No. 1 running back in the class and No. 7 overall.

OU is also hot on the trail of offensive guard Bryce Foster, another highly-ranked recruit: No. 1 at his position and  ninth overall nationally, according to Rivals. He has narrowed his choices to two schools — Oklahoma and Texas A&M — according to Jason Kersey, who covers Oklahoma football for The Athletic. The major hurdle here is that his brother is a former offensive lineman at Texas A&M.

Kersey reports, however, that Sooner assistant Bill Bedenbaugh, recognized as one of the best offensive line coaches in college football, has established a strong relationship with Foster, who is from the Houston area.

Oklahoma defensive coordinator Alex Grinch has also been active on the recruiting trail as he seeks out top talent to fit into defensive system that will be in its second season under Grinch’s leadership this fall.

The overall message is that Oklahoma should be making some big football recruiting news in the coming weeks and months, and it appears fairly certain the Sooners won’t remain down for long in the 2021 class rankings.