Now there's proof Jim Nagy and Oklahoma spotted what nobody else saw in rising 2027 RB

Once again, recruiting ratings and rankings are trying to catch up to Oklahoma general manager Jim Nagy and his front office staff.

The Sooners in December landed a commitment from unrated and unranked running back Keldrid Ben, who Nagy & Co. saw something in before anyone else did. Just over two months later, Rivals on Monday released its updated recruiting ratings for the 2027 class, and all of a sudden, had Ben all the way up as the No. 5 running back prospect in the country as a four-star recruit.

2027 OU commit Keldrid Ben gets massive boost in recruiting rankings

When Ben committed to the Sooners in early December, he was unrated and unranked by every major recruiting outlet. OU was also his only Power Four offer and third overall after UTSA and McNeese State. Recruiting outlets emphasize that who has offered a prospect does not impact their evaluation, but the Sooners certainly put a spotlight on Ben, not only for recruiting outlets, but other college football programs.

The Sooners, though, ignored stars and rankings, and just went off the film before anyone else did. The numbers that mattered were Ben's 1,560 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns on 152 carries while averaging a whopping 10.3 yards an attempt last season as a junior for Montgomery High School in Texas. OU also noticed Ben's ability as a pass-catcher out of the backfield and his speed with a 4.5-second 40-yard dash while weighing in at 208 pounds at 5-foot-10.

Since his commitment to the Sooners, Ben has received new offers from Texas, Oregon, Florida State and USC. That list will continue to grow this offseason and throughout Ben's senior season.

With the upgrade from Rivals and also finally being rated by 247Sports, Ben is now the No. 8 running back in the 2027 class and No. 178 overall prospect, according to the 247Sports Composite. He's also the No. 27 overall player in the state of Texas.

Ben went from being at the bottom of the Sooners' top 2027 class to the sixth-highest rated commit basically overnight. He was one of three OU commits in the top 100 of the updated Rivals 300, joining offensive linemen Cooper Hackett (6) and Kaeden Penny (20).

Now the trick for the Sooners will be keeping Ben until December as more programs come knocking, especially since Ben committed to DeMarco Murray, who has since left to coach running backs for the Kansas City Chiefs and was replaced by Deland McCullough.