Oklahoma football: Sooners’ 2022 class took a hit, but finished strong in early signings
By Chip Rouse
It’s been touch and go for the past couple of weeks in Oklahoma football recruiting.
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OU recruiting took a tough hit for sure with the sudden departure of Lincoln Riley, but former coach Bob Stoops and new head coach Brent Venables worked hard in the closing days to hold the line and the Sooners finished strong on the first day of the early signing period, even managing to bring in several additional top prospects for next season and beyond.
Oklahoma signed 13 recruits to National Letters of Intent on Wednesday. The makeup of the early signing class is seven offensive players and six who play defense. Nine of the 13 signees are rated as four stars and four as three stars.
By position, the breakdown is two offensive linemen, two wide receivers, a quarterback, a running back and a tight end. On defense, there are two defensive linemen, two linebackers, a cornerback and a safety. A good mix at all positions, not including special teams.
The signees come from five different states: five from Texas, three from Oklahoma, two from Florida and one each from Colorado and Nevada.
The Sooners have two verbal commitments, four-star athlete Gentry Williams and four-star tight-end Kaden Helms, who have yet to sign, but are expected to stay with Oklahoma.
Venables did say at Oklahoma’s Signing Day press conference that they will probably add a couple more recruits in the next couple of days.
Six previous Sooner commitments had a change of mind in the days immediately following the announcement that Riley was headed to USC and reopened their recruiting. That included a five-star RB (Raleek Brown), a five-star defensive lineman (Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy), a four-star offensive lineman, (Demetrius Hunter), four-star defensive lineman (Derrick Moore) and four-star linebacker (Kobie McKenzie).
Oklahoma also lost four-star athlete Xavion Brice, who flipped his 2022 commitment to Texas instead of Oklahoma. While Venables and Co. lost out on Brice on National Signing Day on Wednesday, OU actually gained a recommitment from McKenzie, who had briefly pledged to Texas after backing off of his earlier commitment to Riley and the Sooners.
The Sooners counteracted those decommitments by adding four-star quarterback Nick Evers and four-star wide receiver Jayden Gibson, both previously committed to Florida, and three-star defensive tackle Alton Tarber, who had previously been committed to Georgia Tech.
The highest-rated offensive player among the 2022 early signing class is 5-foot, 11-inch, 175-pound running back Gavin Sawchuk, a four-star prospect out of Littleton, Colorado. Sawchuck is rated by 247Sports and the No, 5 running back in the 2022 class and the 73rd player overall.
The top-rated defensive player in the Sooners’ 2022 class is Gentry Williams, who is listed as an athlete but is being recruited by OU as a defensive back. Williams is considered the top-ranked recruit in the state of Oklahoma, the No. 10 cornerback and No. 81 overall, according to 247Sports. Williams has said he remains committed to OU but will not sign until February.
As of 4 p.m. CT on Wednesday, Oklahoma 2022 signing class ranked 10th by 247Sports, 11th by ESPN and 13th by Rivals.
Oklahoma will be pursuing additional 2022 recruits between now and the first Tuesday in February, the beginning of the traditional signing period for recruits who will graduate in the spring. The transfer portal will bring recruiting opportunities for next season.