Oklahoma football: Seven Sooner signees take part in Under Armor All-American game

Guyer quarterback Jackson Arnold (11) snaps the ball against Westlake during the Class 6A Division 2 State Championship game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Dec. 18, 2021. Westlake defeated Guyer 40-21.Aem Westlake Vs Guyer 11
Guyer quarterback Jackson Arnold (11) snaps the ball against Westlake during the Class 6A Division 2 State Championship game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Dec. 18, 2021. Westlake defeated Guyer 40-21.Aem Westlake Vs Guyer 11

The 2023 Under Armour All-American High School Game provided plenty of positive recognition for the Oklahoma football brand with eight Sooner signees participating in the game.

The Sooners name got mentioned frequently throughout the ESPN broadcast of the game with members of Oklahoma’s 2023 recruiting class manning positions on offense and defense for Team Speed, which was matched up against high school All-Americans from around the country playing for Team Phantom.

Five-star quarterback recruit Jackson Arnold captained Team Speed, which also featured a couple of other five-star recruits, safety Peyton Bowen and defensive linemen/edge rusher Adepoju Adebawore, who will be his teammates at OU starting with the 2023 season.

The five other new Sooners who saw action in the Under Armour All-American Game included wide receiver Jaquaize Pettaway, offensive tackle Cayden Green, linebacker Lewis Carter, and athlete Jacobe Johnson. Future OU linebacker Derrick LeBlanc was alson selected to play in the game but chose instead to work out with the Oklahoma team in its bowl preparation, according to the Tulsa World.

Team Phantom defeated Team Speed 14-7 in a low-scoring game featuring good offense but better defense. Arnold accounted for Team Speed’s lone touchdown on a23-yard touchdown pass to Utah signee Michael Matthews late in the second quarter. For the day, Arnold completed 12 of 23 passes for 100 yards, a touchdown and an interception. He also picked up 51 rushing yards on runs of 16, 15 and 20 yards.

Arnold was asked after the game by an ESPN sideline reporter what the transition would be like going from his high school offense at Denton Guyer High in Texas to Jeff Lebby’s offensive system at Oklahoma:

"“It’s perfect. We run (at Denton Guyer) almost the identical offense,” the Sooners top 2023 recruit said. “It’s different terminology, of course, but the offense is very similar so it will be easy for me to adjust to.”"

Arnold will enroll early at OU and is scheduled to be in Norman on Jan. 14.

The college sports and recruiting website On3 ranked OU’s Adebawore, who recorded a quarterback sack of Kansas State signee Avery Johnson to provide Team Speed with some momentum going into halftime, as the No. 2 overall top performer of the week. Arnold was ranked No. 3.

Future OU LB Carter had five tackles in the game, Adebawore had two stops in addition to his sack, Bowen had a tackle and Johnson had a stop and a pass breakup that forced a punt.

The game was played at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, the same venue where Oklahoma and Florida State played in the Cheez-It Bowl a week ago.

Three other members of Oklahoma’s 2023 will be taking part in the All-American Bowl on Jan. 14 in Panama City Beach, Florida. Sooners taking part in that high school all-star contest are offensive lineman Joshua Bates, safety Makari Vickers and linebacker Samuel Omosigho.