Being early to the race for recruits tends to pay off for the Oklahoma Sooners, but now it is in a brand new way.
Rivals' Greg Biggins reported on Monday that four-star safety Pole Moala reclassified from the 2028 class to 2027, but even though Moala's recruitment process was just cut short by a year overnight, it could actually benefit the Sooners, who were already among his top choices. With the decision, he'll go from likely signing early in December 2027, to making things official this December while skipping his junior season. That's also less time to keep Moala committed if he made a decision early.
Oklahoma's early offer could pay off again after Pole Moala reclassification
Although he was still early in his process before the reclassification, Moalo had already narrowed his options down to five between OU, Ole Miss, Michigan, Cal and UCLA. He also has offers from Arizona State, BYU, Florida State, Miami, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, USC and more.
Moalo's recruiting interest had just recently exploded, with the Sooners offering on Feb. 19. Michigan and Texas also didn't offer until after the turn of the new year.
According to the 247Sports Composite, Moala, listed at 6-foot and 185 pounds, is the No. 35 safety in the country, even with the jump to the 2027 class. He's the No. 33 overall prospect in the state of California out of Santa Margarita Catholic School. Before the move, though, 247Sports ranked Moala as the No. 4 safety in the 2028 class.
Last season as a sophomore, before transferring from Leuzinger High School, Moala got time at safety, cornerback, wide receiver, running back and returned kickoffs to show off his athleticism. According to 247Sports, he recorded 45 tackles, four tackles for loss, seven pass breakups, three interceptions and a forced fumble. Offensively, he caught six passes for 97 yards and three touchdowns. He also returned a kickoff for a touchdown.
Moala would be the second safety added to the Sooners' 2027 class that's already the best in the country with 19 total commits. Four-star safety Jaylen Scott is also committed to OU as the No. 14 safety in the class.
A big reason the Sooners' 2027 class has been so successful is because they've discovered talent before anyone else and those early offers paid off, but none resulted in the same type of early payout as Moala would.