Stormin in Norman
Fansided

Oklahoma football: Thirteen Sooner 2023 recruits enrolled and ready to rumble

By Chip Rouse

The Tulane Green Wave is painted on the field of the Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla. on Friday, Sept. 3, 2021. The logo was painted in preparations for the NCAA football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners and the Tulane University Green Wave that was moved from New Orleans to Norman due to hurricane Ida.Tulane Logo
The Tulane Green Wave is painted on the field of the Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla. on Friday, Sept. 3, 2021. The logo was painted in preparations for the NCAA football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners and the Tulane University Green Wave that was moved from New Orleans to Norman due to hurricane Ida.Tulane Logo /
facebooktwitterreddit

A little over a month ago, Oklahoma football signed a 25-member 2023 recruiting class. As of this week, 13 of those recruits are on campus, attending classes and beginning their Sooner football careers.

Getting new recruits and transfers on campus for the spring semester and available to integrate into the spring football program is a big bonus in getting newcomers acclimated to Oklahoma football and ready to roll come fall. Otherwise, the first introduction to the program and systems wouldn’t come until the summer and the start of preseason training camp.

Notable among the early arrivals are five-star quarterback prospect and Gatorade National Player of the Year Jackson Arnold,five-star defensive end/edge rusher P. J. Adebawore.

The Sooners’ 2023 recruiting class is currently ranked No. 5 nationally by both ESPN and 247Sports and No. 7 by On3. If it holds that way through the end of the national signing period, this will be the highest-ranked Oklahoma recruiting class since 2010, according to 247Sports.

That’s exactly the kind of talent infusion Oklahoma needs as it looks ahead to the second season under head coach Brent Venables with the goal of markedly improving on its disappointing 6-7 2022 season.

The Sooners’ 2023 class includes the No. 4 player (Adebawore), the No. 6 player (Arnold) and the No. 15 player (Bowen), according to On3’s final 2023 On300 prospect rankings. That is a strong indication of the quality of the talent that exists in Oklahoma’s incoming class.

Here is the complete list of early enrollees from Oklahoma’s 2023 signees:

DE P.J. Adebawore (5-star, No. 4 at his position nationally, according to 247Sports)

QB Jackson Arnold (5-star, No. 7 at his position)

OL/C Joshua Bates (4-star, No. 21 at his position)

S Peyton Bowen (5-star, No. 2 at his position)

OG Cayden Green (4-star, No. 9 at his position)

RB Kalib Hicks (4-star, No. 36 at his position)

DL Derrick LeBlanc (4-star, No. 155 at his position)

ATH Erik McCarty (3-star, No. 54 at his position)

LB Phil Picciotti (3-star, No. 46 at his position)

DT Ashton Sanders (3-star, No. 63 at his position)

RB Daylan Smothers (4-star, No. 19 at his position)

CB Makari Vickers (4-star, No. 6 at his position)

CB Jasiah Wagoner (4-star, No. 31 at his position)

Home/OU Football