Oklahoma Football: Longview leads from the front – 5 star RB Taylor Tatum is a Sooner

The Oklahoma football program has just secured the most significant commitment of the 2024 recruiting cycle. Five-star power running back Taylor Tatum has committed to the University of Oklahoma. Tatum’s commitment marks the biggest achievement thus far in Coach Brent Venables’s running back recruitment and RB coach DeMarco Murray’s biggest commitment of his young career.

Tatum committed to the Oklahoma football program today, choosing the Sooners of the USC Trojans. Taylor Tatum is a composite five-star running back from Longview, Texas (Longview HS). Taylor stands 5′ 10.5″ and weighs a solid 205 pounds.

Tatum’s style is downhill, refreshing in today’s finest age of college football. He appears to be an exceptional candidate for a freshman All-American candidate from the Southeast Conference, the Sooner’s new home when Tatum takes the field in Norman next year.

When I watched his film, I first noticed his downhill physicality. Another glaring obvious component to his high school film… he runs out of the Power I! Remember that formation? Tatum runs downhill frequently out of the “I” and shows shifty yet downhill explosiveness. His build, body type, and downhill agility remind me of a young Leonard Fournette. Now, Fournette was 6′ 1” – 225 in high school… a little different from Tatum; however, they are built similarly, and their run styles have several similarities.

Another obvious talent I see in Tatum’s film is a quality similar to Three Sooners in Norman. Running backs Jovantae Barnes, Gavin Sawchuk, and RB coach DeMarco Murray were/are patient runners. So is Tatum. He sets his blocks up 10 yards before they are executed. Then he deploys an explosive cut off the block, sending a defender two steps in the wrong direction, and we all know if you’re even… you leaving.

Tatum marks the 15th commitment in the 2024 recruiting class for the Sooners. He also shoots the class up to the number 16 ranking. (By the way, that’s way off). Davon Mitchell should’ve maintained his 5th star, which would put the Sooners in the top 10. Tatum is also the 2nd running back commit next to Carl Albert’s Xavier Robinson. There’s hopefully one more running back to go, Duncanville’s Caden Durham, who is scheduled to verbally commit to his college destination on August 25th.

The Longview running back has made many Sooner football fans have a happy start to the weekend. We can’t wait to watch this beast work in Norman. Welcome to Norman, Mr. Tatum… we know a Storm is coming with you.