Oklahoma football: Sooners’ 2021 recruiting about to lift off

The Fourth of July ended with a bang in the Sooner Nation with a pair of highly rated 2021 Oklahoma football prospects pledging their commitment to the Crimson and Cream.

Caleb Williams, the No. 1 quarterback and the No. 4 player overall in the 2021 class, ended what little suspense there was about where he would be taking his game a year from now, announcing his commitment to the Sooners on the CBS Sports HQ streaming channel with a “horns down” hand salute.

The timing of Williams’ announcement was planned ahead of time, but it was the second piece of great news Oklahoma received Saturday night. Williams’ firework display was always going to be the main act, but a surprise pre-show was provided by four-star cornerback Latrell McCutchin, who preceded the Williams news with the announcement that he too was committing to play for the Sooners.

Williams was the highest-ranked uncommitted prospect in the national 2021 class and was on the target list of practically every top program in college football. A couple of months ago he eliminated all but three schools — OU, LSU and Maryland —  from his choices, but most everyone concluded over time that he was leaning heavily toward Oklahoma and getting to play for Lincoln Riley.

It has been a big week for Oklahoma’s 2021 recruiting effort, but it has been even more eventful for Williams. In addition to his much-anticipated announcement on Saturday night, the Washington. D.C., resident earlier in the week was named the MVP of the Elite 11 quarterback competition held in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

Williams is the second five-star quarterback Riley has reeled in in the past three recruiting cycles and is the highest-ranked prospect Oklahoma has landed since Adrian Peterson, No. 1 overall in the 2004 class, signed on with the Sooners. Spencer Rattler, who is expected to be the starting QB for the Sooners this season, was the top-rated quarterback in the 2019 class.

Peterson, who now plays for Williams’ hometown NFL team, the Washington Redskins, got in on the act during Williams’ live announcement, praising the young QB for making good choices and welcoming him to the Sooner football family.

Although Riley was head coach in both Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray’s Heisman seasons, their recruitment was credited to former head coach Bob Stoops. Riley gets all the credit for Rattler and Williams’ recruitment, but they still have to earn their stripes on the field.

According to Jason Kersey, who covers Oklahoma football for The Athletic, since 2010, 17 schools have signed or earned commitments from five-star quarterbacks. Oklahoma is one of five schools that have signed at least two. Alabama leads with five, Clemson and Georgia each have three, and the Sooners now have two.

McCutchin’s commitment to the Sooners has taken an interesting and somewhat telling route. Until March 1, the top-10 wide receiver in the 2021 class, from Austin, Texas, in the heart of Texas Longhorn country, had been committed to Alabama. After an early March visit to Oklahoma, however, he curiously decommitted from the Crimson Tide. Although he just announced his commitment to OU, some believe that he had made up his mind a number of weeks before that.

At 6-feet, 1-inch, McCutchin’s length and athleticism at the cornerback position is just what defensive coordinator Alex Grinch has been wanting in the Sooner secondary to pass defend against tall receivers. McCutchin is one of two defensive backs who have committed to Oklahoma for 2021. Jordan Mukes, who stands 6-feet, 4 inches, from Choctaw, Oklahoma, is the other.

As we have been reporting for several weeks, Williams’ commitment could be just the beginning of a string of top-rated recruits who could be coming Oklahoma’s way in the weeks and months ahead.

Typically, when a school lands a prime quarterback prospect, it brings with its residual benefits because of other talented recruits who want to be part of the same championship formula. As a recent example, when Rattler committed and eventually signed with Oklahoma, three of the top-10 wide receivers in the class, all five-star prospects (Jadon Hasselwood, Theo Wease and Trajan Bridges) followed suit.

Top targets that Riley and his staff have high on their radar include No. 1 running-back prospect Camar Wheaton, another big name that is on many team’s hot list. This could be a big test for running backs coach DeMarco Murray, who was brought in specifically to keep the OU running back pipeline flowing.

Four-star WR Jalil Farooq, who is from Maryland and a close friend of Williams. He could easily to be the next domino to fall on the Sooner side of the fence.

Bryce Foster and Savion Byrd are a pair of talented offensive line prospects from the Lone Star State. Foster is probably a closer lean to Oklahoma than Byrd, who is also being recruited hard by SMU and the other big Texas schools.

The Sooners are also highly interested in keeping in-state defensive back Kendal Daniels at home. Daniels, who is from Biggs, Oklahoma, outside of Tulsa, is considering OU along with Texas A&M, LSU and Clemson. If he stays home and goes with Oklahoma, the Sooners will probably move him to linebacker.

In the coming weeks we will see how far Williams’ announcement has opened the door for more top talent to join the Sooners’ 2021 class.