Oklahoma football: Sooners beat out Florida for talented 2023 LB commitment
By Chip Rouse
Oklahoma football recruiting added its fifth 2023 commitment in the month of June with a pledge from a talented linebacker/athlete to play football at OU.
Samuel Omosigho, from Crandall, Texas, committed to the Sooners on Thursday. He chose Oklahoma over Florida.
Listed at 6-feet, 1-inch and 201 pounds, Omosigho is ranked by 247Sports as the No. 35 player at his position in the 2023 class and was targeted early on by the new Oklahoma coaching staff and new head coach Brent Venables and defensive coordinator Ted Roof, both of whom are viewed as top evaluators of superior defensive talent.
Omosigho also had offers from other Power Five programs, including Auburn, Michigan, Oklahoma State, Wisconsin and USC.
Omosigho, rated as three stars in the 247Sports Player Composite, is the fifth defensive commitment and the first linebacker in Oklahoma’s 2023 class, which currently numbers nine, with more commitment expected in July.
The Sooners are getting some blowback in social media by fans who are concerned about the number of three-star prospects they are targeting and gaining commitments from. Seven of the nine OU commitments for 2023 are rated as three stars. By comparison, the top 10-ranked OU 2022 recruiting class had only four of 22 signees rated below four stars.
Venables and his coaching staff are not afraid to go after players they feel are on the rise and have high ceilings, even if they might not be designated as four- or five-star prospects.
Of the nine 2023 commitments so far, four are offensive players — including four-star quarterback Jackson Arnold and four-star running back Keyon Hicks — four are defensive players and one athlete.