Oklahoma football: The final votes are in and Sooners are a top-five 2023 class
By Chip Rouse
![Helmets sit on the field before an NCAA football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the TCU Horned Frogs at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Saturday, Nov. 23, 2019. Oklahoma won 28-24. [Bryan Terry/The Oklahoman]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape%2Fcover%2Fsport%2Fb0e1d45d76baad23431fc09870a40c304538027ca48b064f6801af211a22d7df.jpg "Helmets sit on the field before an NCAA football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the TCU Horned Frogs at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Saturday, Nov. 23, 2019. Oklahoma won 28-24. [Bryan Terry/The Oklahoman]")
National Signing Day is officially here, and it’s also official that Brent Venables and the Oklahoma football program have produced a top-five national recruiting class for 2023.
As expected, there was very little activity around the OU football offices on Wednesday, what was once the one and only National Signing Day for college football recruits. Oklahoma, like most of the major college programs around the country, had already signed virtually its entire 2023 class during the early signing period in December.
Twenty-five of the 26-member OU 2023 recruiting class signed on or shortly after the early signing period, beginning on Dec. 21. The Sooners did sign one more player on Wednesday to bring the total class size to 26. Taylor Heim, rated as a three-star linebacker prospect from Bethany, Oklahoma, and the No. 82 player at the position nationally, sent in his letter of intent Wednesday morning.
Also in the past 24 hours, Oklahoma received a commitment from C.J. Compton, and offensive lineman from Bethel, Oklahoma. Listed at 6-foot, 6 inches and 290 pounds, is rated three stars by On3 and the No. 13 prospect in the Sooner State. He was also receiving interest from Oklahoma State.
The Sooners’ 26-member 2023 class is the largest since OU’s 2017 class, which signed 28 players.
Fourteen members of the 2023 class are already enrolled at Oklahoma and have begun the integration into the Sooner football program.
The Sooners’ 2023 class ranks in the top five of most of the national services who rank college football recruiting classes as well as the individual prospects themselves. ESPN, CBS Sports and 247Sports rank the Oklahoma 2023 class No. 4, Rivals and USA Today rank the Sooners at No. 6, and On3 has the 2023 OU class at No. 7 nationally.
The headliners in the Oklahoma 2023 class are QB Jackson Arnold, edge rusher P.J. Adebawore and S Peyton Bowen, all rated as five-star prospects. There are also 14 four-star prospects in the class.
The class is heavily weighted toward defensive players, as might be expected given Oklahoma defensive struggles in recent years. Sixteen of the 26 signees play on the defensive side of the ball. It marks the first time since Bob Stoops was on the sidelines that the Sooners have brought in as much elite defensive talent as is in the 2023 class.
Most of the defensive focus in the 2023 recruiting cycle was placed on the defensive front and in the secondary. Eleven of the 16 defensive players in the class are either defensive linemen, edge rushers or defensive backs.