Mandatory Credit: Photo by Adam Lacy/Csm/Shutterstock (5899631bs) Oklahoma Sooner fans during NCAA football game action between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Oklahoma Sooners at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, Norman, OK Ohio State Buckeyes v Oklahoma Sooners, NCAA football game, Norman, USA - 17 Sep 2016
Sooners wrap up day one of early signing period with top-10 class.
Dec. 20—For the first time in more than a quarter-century, Oklahoma signed a recruiting class that will not play a single Big 12 Conference snap.
On the first day of Oklahoma’s early signing period, 27 high school athletes signed national letters of intent (NLIs). More athletes will continue to sign their NLIs till Friday.
According to the 247Sports aggregate team rankings, the Sooners’ class is ranked seventh nationwide as of Wednesday.
The Sooners will play their first season in the SEC next season.
“Feel great about the lines of scrimmage,” Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables stated during Wednesday’s press conference. “After a couple portal acquisitions, we’ll have roughly 16 offensive and defensive linemen to help us bolster the trenches where the game is won or lost. But I really like how fast we go in this class. And I enjoy the physicality of this class.”
The class is led by David Stone (IMG Academy), a consensus five-star defensive lineman. According to 247Sports, Stone is the No. 19 defensive lineman in the nation and the fifth-ranked athlete from Florida.
Stone chose the Sooners over Florida, Miami, Michigan State, and others.
The Sooners also signed 13 four-star recruits, according to 247Sports rankings. Taylor Tatum (Longview, Texas) is the nation’s top running back and the 48th-best prospect, according to 247Sports.
Nigel Smith II (Melissa, Texas), Jayden Jackson (IMG Academy), Wyatt Gilmore (Rogers, Minnesota), and Danny Okoye (NOAH) are all four-star prospects who should significantly improve the Sooners’ defensive line.
“I’m really excited about that group of guys up front combined with the guys that we’re gonna have coming back, transitioning and going into the SEC,” he added. “We have length, size, and power. It’s still a development game, but these are guys that have a great foundation already.”
Oklahoma has six players, and Texas has seven.
Carl Albert, running back As a three-star prospect, Xavier Robinson provides the Sooners with another ground game option. 247Sports ranks Westmoore safety Mykel Patterson-McDonald as a three-star prospect and No. 13 in the state.
The Sooners’ classes have been placed in the top ten in 247Sports’ composite team rankings for the past four seasons.
Oklahoma trailed only Texas (No. 5) among the current Big 12 teams. Four of the seven teams ranked ahead of the Sooners will compete in the SEC next season.
Tarik Masri is The Transcript’s sports editor, covering OU athletics and regional sports. You can contact him by emailing tarik@normantranscript.com.
