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Oklahoma football: Sooner 2023 recruiting slowed, fighting to hold on

By Chip Rouse

DALLAS, TEXAS - OCTOBER 12: Oklahoma Sooners cheerleaders hold up megaphones during the 2019 AT&T Red River Showdown at Cotton Bowl on October 12, 2019 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
DALLAS, TEXAS - OCTOBER 12: Oklahoma Sooners cheerleaders hold up megaphones during the 2019 AT&T Red River Showdown at Cotton Bowl on October 12, 2019 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /
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Through the summer months and well into September, Oklahoma football 2023 recruiting was riding a high wave.

The Sooners’ 2023 class had settled in as high as No. 5 in the national recruiting rankings and there was a lot of optimism that it would climb even higher before National Signing Day on Dec. 21.

Now 10 games into the 2022 season and with Oklahoma trying desperately to hold its head above water in the overall won-lost column and avoid last place in the Big 12 standings, that earlier optimism has turned to concern over potential decommitments because of the Sooners’ disappointing performance this college football season.

In the last few weeks, Oklahoma has lost two commitments from its 2023 class. Kaleb Spencer, a three-star linebacker prospect from Chester, Virginia, originally committed to Brent Venables and the Sooners in May, changed his mind in late October and is now a member of the Miami Hurricanes 2023 class.

Colton Vasek, listed as a four-star prospect at weakside linebacker, flipped last week to Texas. His original commitment to OU was a bit of a surprise to begin with. Vasek lives in Austin and comes from a family of Longhorn alums. He is ranked No. 25 at his position in the 2023 class.

This weekend’s home finale with Oklahoma State is going to be a big recruiting weekend for the Sooners, and it will be the last chance this season they will be able to bring in recruits for a football weekend. Among those expected to be on hand are Texas A&M commit David Hicks, rated as the top defensive lineman nationally in the 2023 class who many experts believed was going to pick OU on the day of his public announcement. A number of other top targets Oklahoma is hoping to land are also expected to be in attendance this weekend.

Oklahoma is currently ranked seventh in the 247Sports 2023 class rankings and 10th in the Rivals team rankings. The Sooners’ 20 commitments so far for 2023 are headed by five-star quarterback prospect Jackson Arnold and five-star edge rusher Adepoju Adebawore.

The Sooners are still actively pursuing four-star safety Peyton Bowen, a Notre Dame commit and ranked as the fifth best at that position nationally. Bowen is a teammate of Jackson Arnold at Guyer High School in Denton, Texas.

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