Oklahoma Sooners: Sunday soapbox – When recruits don’t choose OU, be better.

Durant, Oklahoma’s Xadavien Sims commits to Oregon

I wasn’t planning on writing a Sunday article. I planned on spending my day watching my beloved Texas Rangers and Houston Gamblers. But then, I scrolled through social media (typically a bad idea for relaxing) and saw something disgraceful. I saw message board posts posted by so-called “Sooner Fans” that showed a pathetic response to Xadavien Sims Oregon commitment. After I saw these posts, I felt the need to grab my soap box, stand on the top, and give a quick “Do Better” rant on behalf of the Oklahoma Sooners fanbase.

Yesterday, Durant Oklahoma’s very own 4-star defensive tackle Xadavien Sims committed to the University of Oregon. It was a shock to me; I had the in-state stud going to Oklahoma all the way, but for his own reasons, Sims chose the Ducks. Bummer for sure. This kid is a talented, aggressive, violent football player with a high motor and an impressive skill set. He would’ve skyrocketed the Sooners 2024 recruiting class into the top 10 nationally. But… he didn’t.

Sims had his commitment ceremony with his family and a large group of friends yesterday. He committed in a YouTube live stream with 247Sports. Ultimately Sims put on an Oregon Ducks hat, which was a gut punch to the Oklahoma Sooners’ fanbase. OU let the top in-state talent, perhaps the best Oklahoma-based defensive talent since Gerald McCoy, slip away to Oregon. To put it plainly… it sucked to see him go.

About an hour after Sim’s commitment, I cheered up, moved on, and started thinking about the other potential commitments the Sooners’ coaching staff will continue to pursue on the defensive line. Names like Williams Nwaneri (#1 DL in America, #3 overall player in America), David Stone (#2 DL in America, #7 overall player in America), Nigel Smith (#15 DL in America), and Zina Umeozulu (#10 EDGE in America). But then, as I scrolled through Twitter, I saw this…

This is unreal. These are grown-aged adults (*men), completely ripping this young man to pieces for not choosing Oklahoma. It’s disheartening to read these, especially since the kid who these geniuses are talking about had to read it too. Xadavien Sims has been one of the most humble, low-key, yet dominant football recruits of the 2024 recruiting cycle, and since he doesn’t pick OU, these *men rip him apart? That’s disgraceful. It’s pathetic. Overall, it isn’t Oklahoma.

This kind of reaction doesn’t represent Oklahoma. It surely doesn’t represent Sooner Nation. It’s an embarrassing display of emotion from a group of keyboard warriors… *men.

Now, if we could look up these message board posters’ athletic backgrounds, we would see that they too were 4-star composite defensive linemen with dozens of division one college offers like Sims. I’m sure at one point in time, they were all physical freaks on a football field who held a special place in some dominant defenses gameplan. I also know If they had put Uncle Rico in during his state title game, they’d have won state. I mean, he could throw a football over a mountain.

I’m sure Xadavien Sims doesn’t read my articles. Why would he? He’s an Oregon Duck now. But if he did, I’d tell him these guys don’t represent Sooner Nation. If you came across these *men in any sort of one on one meeting, they’d be your biggest fan. Ignore it. And good luck at Oregon.

Sims is an Okie. He plays at Durant. We don’t bash kids but especially not our own in-state kids. If you were one of those other top defensive line recruits, would you want to deal with that? Every fan base has degenerates like that, it is what it is, but it isn’t Sooner football. I know that 99 percent of Sooner Nation moved on from the Sims commitment, just like I did. Anyone who has followed recruiting for more than 8 seconds knows the recruiting process is far from over. The chances of Sims decommitting from Oregon and signing with OU were low, but they’re lower now.

He retweeted the response from these message board Hall of Famers!

Keep in mind, the recruiting process is slow, confusing, and changes like the weather. These kids flip-flop between schools constantly. Don’t burn bridges.

Stay classy, Sooner Nation. Be better. Act like you’ve been there before.

As for Xadavien Sims… he’s gone. He’s a Duck. And hopefully, one day, he’ll be an All-American. Ultimately he’s an Okie, and I support his future wholeheartedly.

Now… off my box and onto the next one. Moving on.