Lincoln Riley rips away a top Oklahoma 2027 target

There were only the worst of options for the Oklahoma Sooners to potentially lose 2027 consensus four-star wide receiver Quentin Hale to.

Hale announced live on the CBS Sports College Football YouTube channel on Friday his decision to commit to Lincoln Riley and the in-state USC Trojans after narrowing down his options to USC, OU, Texas and LSU. Other than winning Hale themselves, the Sooners' only other options were losing the top target to the most disliked man in Norman, the most hated team in Oklahoma or the most despised coach in all of college football in LSU's Lane Kiffin. At least now the Sooners will never have to face Hale if he stays put at USC, even if he does potentially help Riley succeed.

2027 WR Quentin Hale chooses USC over Sooners

Riley was at OU for seven years between two seasons as offensive coordinator under Bob Stoops and five seasons as head coach after replacing Stoops. He then headed west in the middle of the night to USC in 2021 in fear of the Sooners' looming move from the Big 12 to SEC.

Many recruiting experts had already predicted for this to be Hale's decision, but it was still a tough reality for OU fans to face considering who won the recruiting battle.

According to the 247Sports Composite, Hale, listed at 6-foot-3, is the No. 10 receiver in the 2027 class and No. 51 overall prospect. He's also the No. 7 overall prospect in the state of California out of Centennial High School in Corona. The Sooners have had plenty of recent success in Cali, but this time they couldn't pry a recruit away from home.

Hale had recently narrowed his choices from nine to four after eliminating Alabama, Miami, Tennessee, Ohio State, Notre Dame and Texas A&M. LSU was then added to the mix later when Kiffin got there and extended an offer.

Brent Venables & Co. made a hard push for Hale down the stretch. Venables made the trip to California alongside OU wide receivers coach Emmett Jones just three weeks ago to visit Hale at his school. It was promising when that was the only home visit Hale posted about on X. Hale also visited Norman during the season on Sept. 20, when the Sooners beat Auburn in their SEC opener.

However, Riley and the Trojans were just down the road as Hale took took two trips to USC during the 2025 season while visiting every other option just once, if at all.

Missing out on Hale was not a devastating blow for the Sooners, though. OU already has two receivers committed from the 2027 class in four-star Demare Dezeurn, also from California, and three-star Tra'Von Hall. Dezeurn and Hall are a part of the Sooners' 2027 class that is currently No. 1 in the country based on 247Sports Composite Team Rankings.

And this also might not be the end for the Sooners getting Hale to Norman. Not only is the Early Signing Period still 10 months away, but Riley will enter the 2026 season on the hot season, so Riley getting fired and the Sooners benefitting from it would make for one of the most satisfying recruiting wins.