Oklahoma football: Four-star DE Colton Vasek commits to OU

After a white-hot month of recruiting in July the Oklahoma football coaching staff has not picked its feet up off the gas.

The first commitment in August is quite a unique one, getting a defensive end from Westlake High in Austin, Texas, Colton Vasek. This is not something that normally happens for Oklahoma. It was virtually always considered an untouchable battleground for the Sooners, as the Texas Longhorns have always been the biggest player at that school.

Not only did Oklahoma secure a commitment from the Austin high school, but Colton’s father, Brian Vasek, played DE for Texas from 1991-1995. This means Brent Venables, and Miguel Chavis did something nearly impossible, going into Westlake and getting a Longhorn legacy to commit.

Just when you think recruiting momentum can’t get better for the Sooners, it does. Vasek is rated the the No. 76 overall player in the class by Rivals and the No. 7 edge in the country and is a unanimous four-star prospect. He was one of the “locks” from the Party at the Palace event.

Who is Colton Vasek?

Colton Vasek is a 6-foot, 6-inch 225-pound defensive end. He was named Texas District 26 6-A 1st team and helped Westlake High school in going 16-0 and winning the Texas state championship. West Lake finished the No. 2-ranked team nationally according to Maxpreps. He was named the Defensive MVP of the contest after recording three sacks, of current five-star Oklahoma QB commit Jackson Arnold. His father was a DE for Texas in the early 90s. Colton is a multi-sport athlete as well trying his hand at track and field, where he throws the shot put.

Scouting and impact for Oklahoma

Getting a kid from Austin, Texas, that is a Longhorn legacy before Colton’s play is evaluated is enormous. This opens new roads in the recruiting game for the Sooners that frankly did not exist previously. However, on the football field, Vasek is a tremendous player which makes the deal much sweeter.
Vasek was dominant in Westlake’s victory over Denton Guyer in the state championship, recording three sacks. He also contributed ten sacks in the regular season as well. Colton is a powerful player with a solid get-off at the point of attack.

Though he has average arm length (despite being 6-foot-6) he has solid body control and can penetrate the backfield with a great job with his hands. Also stacks, and sheds well in the run game. He will need to put on 40-50 pounds roughly to play in Venable’s scheme, but with a bigger body is an ideal candidate to be drafted and play on the edge of the defense.

This is a good pick-up for the Sooners, and a guy I project to be a solid contributor throughout his years at Oklahoma. He is a high-floor prospect, though his ceiling may not be elite. Likely to be at OU for four or five seasons.