Oklahoma suffers another recruiting casualty since DeMarco Murray's exit

Another running back no longer wants to be a Sooner without DeMarco Murray leading the position for Oklahoma.

Rivals' Hayes Fawcett reported on Sunday that 2027 three-star running back Jaxsen Stokes flipped his commitment from OU to in-state Cal, then Stokes confirmed the news on X shortly after. Stokes became the second running back to decommit from the Sooners since Murray left Norman to be the Kansas City Chiefs' running backs coach in February.

Jaxsen Stokes flips to Cal as Deland McCullough must regroup recruiting at position

According to the 247Sports Composite, Stokes is the No. 50 running back in the 2027 class and No. 56 overall player in the state of California, where the Sooners have recently recruited hard. Last season as a junior for Sierra Canyon High School, Stokes rushed for 722 yards, while averaging 6.6 a carry, and 12 touchdowns in nine games.

Ultimately, the second time around, Stokes chose Cal over OU, Arizona State, Miami, Notre Dame, Oregon, Tennessee, UCLA, USC, Washington State and more. He was just in Norman last month and met with new OU running backs coach Deland McCullough, but apparently that visit wasn't enough to keep Stokes locked in.

Read more: Sooners quietly gained from NFL Draft in way tied to Deland McCullough

Recruiting worries immediately arose after Murray departed, but Stokes was actually one of the few commits to make it known he was still locked into being a Sooner despite the change on the staff.

“I’m still fully committed to OU. I chose the university and the staff before I did one single person,"Stokes told Parker Thune of Rivals then.

It seems staying in his home state was the biggest influence in Stokes' decision, but having to form a brand-new relationship with another position coach certainly opened the door for a change of heart to want to stay home.

Micah Rhodes, who is a top-3 running back in the 2028 class, was the first commit lost after Murray left and was also the only 2028 pledge the Sooners had. Rhodes, though, made it clear that Murray's departure was the main reason behind his decision.

The Sooners are looking for their first 2028 commit, but still have four-star running back Keldrid Ben part of the 2027 group, which just dipped to 19 total commits after Stokes' decision. Even Ben, though, has looked at other options since, including a visit to Notre Dame as his recruitment explodes.

This recent change may actually just create the opportunity for McCullough to start pursuing who he actually wants for his future backfield.

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