Oklahoma football: Elite RB commits to Sooners for 2023

It wasn’t 24 hours ago that we wrote about how Oklahoma football recruiting was about to gain some steady momentum in earning commitments for its 2023 class.

In the past few days, the Sooners have added three new names to the ’23 commitment list, and on Wednesday they reeled in a big one. Four-star running back Kalib Hicks from Denton, Texas, pledged to play his college football at Oklahoma. Hicks announced his decision via Twitter on Wednesday night.

Hicks, who accumulated 1,448 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns last season for Ryan High School, is a four-star, all-purpose back with exceptional track speed who ranks as the No. 12 running back in the 2023 class, according to Rivals.

The highly touted running back chose Oklahoma over high interest shown by a number of major programs, including Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Baylor, Oklahoma State, Penn State and Wisconsin.

The Sooners’ recruitment of Hicks was a somewhat fast one. A scholarship offer was extended on May 21. He visited OU this past weekend and apparently liked what he saw. His commitment came four days later.

Here is a scouting report excerpt on Hicks provided by the Rivals’ Oklahoma recruiting website SoonerScoop.com recruiting editor Josh McCuistion:

"“His decisive running style has to truly appeal to (offensive coordinator) Jeff Lebby and the Sooner staff…Hicks isn’t one to dance or hesitate. When he sees his running lane, he is going to attack it and use that speed to create some big plays…“There’s just no denying that Hicks puts off some big Kennedy Brooks vibes.”"

Hicks is the first running back to commit to Oklahoma’s 2023 class. He joins five-star QB commit Jackson Arnold and WR Keyon Brown as offensive recruits with high promise in the 2023 class. The Sooners now have seven 2023 commitments.