Oklahoma football: Four-star athlete becomes OU’s 20th 2023 commitment
By Chip Rouse
Oklahoma football recruiting added its 20th commitment to the 2023 class on Saturday with a pledge from home-state product Jacobe Johnson.
The 6-foot, 3-inch, 200-pound defensive back/wide receiver is listed by 247Sports as the No. 2 athlete in the 2023 class, No. 2 in the state and the No. 85 player overall. He becomes the 20th commit in OU’s 2023 class.
Johnson had narrowed his recruiting decision to five schools and chose Oklahoma over offers from Michigan, Alabama, Stanford and Oklahoma State.
According to ESPN, Johnson’s commitment gives the Sooners 12 ESPN 300 commitments, five inside the top 50 and seven ranked inside the top 10 at their respective positions.
Johnson was born in Lawton, Oklahoma, but moved to Mustang at the start of his freshman year, which, he says, is when he became an OU fan. Mustang is just 30 miles from the Norman campus. He stars in both football and basketball in high school and would like to try to play both sports in college. He has indicated he will definitely play football and is expected to be used as a defensive back by the Sooners.
His junior season in 2021, Johnson made 35 tackles and had an interception, while on the offensive side he was credited with more than 1,000 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns and led his team to the Class 6A-I semifinals. He was named the Central Oklahoma Athletic Conference Co-Player of the Year.
Johnson is the 13th player to commit to head coach Brent Venables and the Sooners since June 30. Since that time, Oklahoma has steadily moved up in the national recruiting ranking to its present No. 7 standing, according to 247Sports.
Oklahoma’s 12 commitments from prospects in the ESPN 300 ties Texas and Ohio State for the fourth most of any college team.