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Oklahoma football: OU hoping Junior Day made big impact on some elite recruits

By Chip Rouse

NORMAN, OK - OCTOBER 29: Oklahoma Sooners fans wait to enter the east side of the stadium before the game against the Kansas Jayhawks October 29, 2016 at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images)
NORMAN, OK - OCTOBER 29: Oklahoma Sooners fans wait to enter the east side of the stadium before the game against the Kansas Jayhawks October 29, 2016 at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images) /
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This past weekend was the first Junior Day of the year as the Oklahoma football program hosted a group of elite 2024 recruiting targets.

The OU men’s basketball team even helped out in setting an exhilarating atmosphere by completely dismantling the No, 2 team in the land, delivering a 93-69 beatdown on the Alabama Crimson Tide.
National Signing Day is on Wednesday, but the 2023 OU recruiting class is already in place and half of the class is already enrolled and participating in unofficial team activities. Brent Venables and his staff are now directing their recruiting activities toward 2024 and Junior Day weekend is a major thrust in that effort.

Based on the social media follow-up from this past weekend’s Junior Day, it would appear OU made the big impression it was hoping for.

https://twitter.com/HawkIcanNfl/status/1619689415080841217?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1619689415080841217%7Ctwgr%5E7da1b069c702d443ae486de8bfabd325d88b68de%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fsoonerswire.usatoday.com%2Flists%2Foklahoma-sooners-football-recruiting-2024-class-michael-hawkins-xadavien-sims-casey-poe-jaremy-payne-aaron-flowers%2F

Several of the elite 2023 prospects that the Sooners are heavily targeting and who were in attendance at Junior Day were four-star QB Michael Hawkins, four-star running back Jeremy Payne and four-star safety Aaron Flowers. All three are from Texas and rated as top 15 prospects nationally at their positions, according to the 247Sports Composite and all appear to be trending heavily toward Oklahoma.

A couple of other top prospects who were in attendance over the weekend and whom the Sooners are extremely high on are three-star offensive lineman Casey Poe and and four-star defensive lineman Xadavian Sims. Michigan State is also a serious contender for Sims’ commitment.

Despite Oklahoma’s first sub-par season this century in the season just ended, the OU recruiting record under Venables and his coaching staff does not reflect any ill effects. The 2023 Sooner class is ranked No. 4 in the country by ESPN and No. 5 by 247Sports, and they have added some outstanding roster additions through the transfer portal, providing depth and game experience in areas of need.

Recruiting is the lifeline of the OU football program, and from the past two classes (2022 and 2023) and early signs for the 2024 class, it would appear that the Sooner future is well on the right track.

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