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Oklahoma Lands Commitment from Norman North Prospect

Chapman McKown is a versatile running back who goes into his senior season coming off more than 1,300 yards rushing last year.

John E. Hoover

Oklahoma Lands Commitment from Norman North Prospect
Oklahoma Lands Commitment from Norman North Prospect /

Oklahoma received a verbal commitment on Sunday from a local high school star in the 2023 recruiting class.

Chapman McKown, a running back and return man at Norman North, announced his verbal pledge to the Sooners via Twitter.

McKown told AllSooners he was born and raised in Norman, but he hasn’t always been a Sooner fan.

“I grew up an Oklahoma State fan,” McKown told AllSooners. I wasn’t really big time on the Sooners. I never would’ve pictured myself playing here. But Coach (Brent) Venables got the job in December and he called me — and I’ve been a fan ever since.”

The 5-foot-6, 165-pound McKown is one of the most explosive players in the state. Sources say he’ll be a preferred walk-on at OU next year after choosing the Sooners over scholarship offers from Navy, Air Force and Army.

“I will have a scholarship,” McKown said. “But the details of that scholarship I’ll just keep between coach Venables and myself.”

McKown took his official visit to OU this weekend and also attended OU's Elite Junior Day in March.

“It was great,” McKown said. “I just felt at home. It felt great being around a staff that truly felt like they believed in me. There’s no place I’d rather be. I feel like I can make an immediate impact.”

In 11 games as a junior last year, McKown rushed for 1,304 yards (7.9-yard average) and added 156 receiving yards (22.2 yards per catch).

McKown has played three varsity seasons with the Timberwolves.

The speedy McKown also runs track, where he has posted a 10.65 in the 100 meters, and he said the OU coaches told him he'd immediately be one of the fastest, quickest players on campus.

McKown said the December call from Venables and the opportunity to get to know the Sooners’ new head coach and his staff give him reason to be “All In” for OU.

“Getting to know about the program and all the changes he wants to make at OU, the culture,” McKown said. “The program was already in a great spot, so it’s not like he’s coming in making all these changes. It was already elite. But he said what’s different now is the players and the culture. It’s gonna change. That’s what I’m gonna be a part of. It’s more on an emotional and spiritual level now. We’re gonna win even more games, and we’re gonna win championships.

“I’m grateful to have this opportunity.”

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John E. Hoover
JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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