Oklahoma football: Sooners get first O-line commitment for 2023
By Chip Rouse
The top-ranked Oklahoma football 2023 recruiting class added an offensive lineman on Friday.
The Sooners’ 2023 class, ranked No. 1 in the country by both 247Sports and Rivals, gained the commitment of three-star offensive line prospect Joshua Bates from Durango, Colorado.
Bates’ recruiting stock has been rising since the first of the year. He was one of the top performers at the National Preps Collegiate Showcase in Las Vegas this offseason, according to Blair Angulo, a recruiting analyst for 247Sports.
Besides Oklahoma, Bates also caught the attention of Oregon, USC and Colorado out of the Pac-12 and Michigan State out of the Big Ten. All three schools made scholarship offers, but OU offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh won out, convincing Bates to come to Oklahoma.
The Sooners have had outstanding offensive line play for most of Bendenbaugh’s eight seasons at OU. In 2018, the Oklahoma O-line won the Joe Moore Award, recognizing the best offensive line in college football.
Bates plays center for Durango High School, and Bedenbaugh says he was also impressive at an OU offensive line/defensive line camp in June.
Bates is the fifth commitment for the Sooners’ 2023 class, which also includes five-star quarterback Malachi Nelson and five-star athlete Makai Lemon, both from the same Southern California high school; four-star tight end Luke Hasz, a home-grown Oklahoma prospect; and four-star running back Treyaun Webb, from Jacksonville, Florida.
Three of the Sooners’ five 2023 commitments have come since August 1. Seven of OU’s 15 2022 commitments occurred in July, but they have announced no further 2022 commitments since July 28