5-star DL Kellan Hall was destined to be a Sooner until he witnessed what Georgia did to OU

Five-star 2028 defensive tackle Kellan Hall wanted to be a Sooner. That is, at least, until he watched Oklahoma get destroyed by Georgia, as he witnessed that the foundation of Brent Venables' program is not as solid as he would like.

Hall was in Athens over the weekend as the Bulldogs thumped OU 41-13 in the Sooners' SEC opener and dropped them to 2-2 heading into the bye week. He was in Norman just the week before, when OU struggled to get past New Mexico 14-6. Apparently, after two weeks, Hall has seen enough.

Last week, Hall was predicted to eventually commit to OU, as the Sooners have been all in to secure the crown jewel of their 2028 class. But then on Tuesday, just six days after that initial projection and two days after being there to witness Georgia hammer OU, Rivals national college football recruiting reporter Steve Wiltfong logged an expert prediction for Hall to instead choose Kentucky, his home-state program.

As of Tuesday, Rivals gave Kentucky a 56% chance of getting Hall, compared to OU at 33%.

Oklahoma's struggles put Sooners behind Kentucky and others in race for Kellan Hall

Hall has also been considering Georgia and told Dawg Nation after his visit that it was strategically planned for him to watch OU and Georgia on the same field just a week after being in Norman. He also shared a harsh truth about what was revealed on Saturday between the hedges.

“We all saw what happened,” Hall told Dawg Nation. “If you want to go to the best school that you feel like is going to fit you, you have got to make tough decisions like that. I know things happen, but I mean, Georgia made a statement with that.”

He didn't flat-out say it, but the Sooners also made a statement; it was just a negative one. It seems the Sooners weren't just replaced by Kentucky as the new favorite, but also dropped below Georgia. If nothing changes soon, OU could continue to fall even further behind in the race.

“They definitely moved up off this week,” Hall said of Geogia. “They are pretty high up there. Just one thing my family is actually figuring out is just where everybody else stands at the end of the day. ...

“There may be some visits I may not get a chance to go to. It’s really just a week-to-week process. Especially with the way some teams are playing now. You just never know.”

It's hard to blame Hall for his thinking. Fans are also frustrated by what they've seen from the Sooners and are losing hope. Although Venables just signed that new contract extension through 2031, it's still difficult for Hall to trust that Venables will still be leading OU by the time he can sign next December.

Georgia, though, is as solid as any program in college football under Kirby Smart, and Kentucky is already on the rise under first-year coach Will Stein. A prospect as highly touted as Hall also has plenty of other options to choose from.

According to the 247Sports Composite, Hall, listed at 6-foot-4 and 265 pounds, is the top defensive lineman in the class and No. 2 overall player. He's also the best prospect from Kentucky out of Christian Academy of Louisville.

There's no doubt that Hall would have been the centerpiece of the Sooners' 2028 class, but now that seems unlikely, unless OU really ups its NIL package for him and it's too good to resist. The Sooners will keep pursuing Hall, and should, but fans shouldn't get their hopes up now after a sudden change of direction.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow