Oklahoma football spotlight: Freshman DL Gracen Halton

With a 22-member 2022 recruiting class and 13 additional players picked up from the transfer portal, almost one-third of the Oklahoma football roster for the coming season is made up of newcomers.

Periodically into the summer months, we will introduce you to these new faces. Today we introduce incoming freshman DL, Gracen Halton. Halton was a unanimous four-star prospect and top 300 player among all services. He was a late addition to the class, who was recruited by current staff and signed late in the process. Halton also marked the Sooners nabbing a player from California, something that many insisted would not happen with the previous coach at USC.

Who is Gracen Halton

Gracen Halton is a 6-foot 3-inch 275-pound defensive lineman from San Diego, California. He had originally committed to play football for Oregon, but with Mario Cristobal leaving for Miami (FL) he re-opened his recruitment and then picked the Sooners over the Hurricanes and Ducks. Halton is a tremendous athlete, playing both sides of the ball for his high school as well as ran track.

Depth Chart and Impact for Oklahoma

Gracen could play both defensive tackle, as well as a defensive end for Oklahoma, however, in either spot, Oklahoma is rather deep. So it seems unlikely that Halton will make much of an impact early for the Sooners, though with the new redshirt rule he will perhaps have the opportunity to make some noise and put some quality tape on the field. Still, the impact of his commitment was enormous. First, Venables and Bates beat both the school  Halton was already committed to, as well as the head coach he had previously committed to. Venables only had a couple of weeks, and pulling this young man out of the state of California was enormous. Halton is the kind of player I expect to have a good career with the Sooners and compete for a starting spot or at least a place in the rotation in 2023.

Scouting

Athleticism is the first thing that comes to mind when you look at Gracen Halton on film. He caught five touchdowns his senior season, as well as a two-point conversion. He is a defensive lineman who runs and moves like a wide receiver, which is rare. He is a big man but is nimble on his feet. So nimble, it’s rumored he defeated Indy Sooner in a dance competition on Twitter. The young defensive stalwart is not all finesse though, he is a powerful player with elite anchor ability. He is tough to move, he has a strong base and drives linemen back. He moves well laterally and can close with a quick burst of speed. He still has some work to do from the standpoint of technique but has all the tools to be an All-Conference caliber player by the time he leaves the program, and an NFL draft selection.