Oklahoma football: Five-star RB commits to Sooners for 2022
By Chip Rouse
The future running back situation for Oklahoma football got a big shot in the arm with the 2022 commitment of five-star running back prospect Raleek Brown.
Brown, a 5-foot, 8-inch, 185-pound running back is rated by 247Sports as the No. 2 all-purpose running back in the class and the No, 33 prospect overall. Among his strengths are exceptional speed and versatility as a receiver out of the backfield or in the slot.
Some recruiting analysts have likened Brown’s versatile skills and potential to such players as Tyreek Hill of the Kansas City Chiefs and former college stars De’Anthony Thomas of Oregon and Percy Harvin of Florida.
Brown chose Oklahoma over offers from a number of other major programs, including Alabama, Georgia, USC in his home state of California. LSU, Michigan and Oregon. He hasn’t been able to make an on-campus visit this past year because of restrictions stemming from COVID-19. but he did make a couple of visits to OU his freshman and sophomore seasons at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California, one of the elite high school football programs in the country.
Growing up, Brown said, Oklahoma wasn’t his dream school, but after he visited there and developed a relationship with Lincoln Riley, as well as assistant coaches Dennis Simmons and DeMarco Murray, he knew that’s where he needed to go.
“I liked the setup at Oklahoma,” Brown told Tom VanHaaren of ESPN, “and the offense is the best offense in college football.”
Brown is the fifth hard commit in the Sooners’ 2022 class. In addition to Brown, Oklahoma also has 2022 commitments from four-star wide receivers Talyn Shettron, Jordan Hudson and Luther Burden and four-star linebacker Kobe McKinzie. The Sooners are ranked fifth currently in the 247Sports Composite class rankings for 2022.
Brown is the first player to commit to Oklahoma from the state of California since fellow Mater Dei alumnus Jeremiah Criddell, a sophomore Sooner defensive back, and the first five-star running back since Joe Mixon in 2014.