All Sooners

Four Oklahoma Targets Set Commitment Dates

After earning two commitments earlier in the week, the Sooners are in contention to win a few more battles on the recruiting trail.

Randall Sweet

Xavier Robinson via Twitter
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When 4-star linebacker James Nesta and 3-star wide receiver Dozie Ezukanma announced their pledges to Oklahoma on Tuesday, they ended a near-two month drought of commitments for the Sooners.

Adding the two talented prospects to the 2024 class moved Brent Venables and company to the No. 19 recruiting class in the country, according to On3. OU now has eight commits in the upcoming cycle, with the chance to add to this total in the near future.

With at least four Sooners’ targets already setting commitment dates over the next three weeks, Oklahoma fans could be feeling a lot better about the 2024 cycle if Venables and his staff can close out on some of their top targets.

The first important date comes next Tuesday, June 27, as 3-star running back Xavier Robinson is set to announce his pledge at 5 p.m. The Carl Albert (OK) star is believed to be choosing between Iowa State, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State and OU.

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Rated one of the top-five players in the state per Rivals, Robinson could be the first running back commit in the Sooners' 2024 class if DeMarco Murray and company don’t earn any surprise commitments over the weekend.

Rivals, On3 and 247Sports all project Robinson to end up in Norman.

The next commitment date on the Sooners calendar is July 1, when 2024 defensive back Justin Denson from La Salle Academy (RI) is set to choose between Alabama, Florida, Michigan State, Texas A&M and Oklahoma.

The 3-star safety visited Norman for the ChampU BBQ last weekend, but is taking visits to Michigan State and Alabama before making his final decision. Listed at 6-foot-2, Denson is one of the top 30 safeties in the country according to ESPN.

If Brandon Hall and company were to earn a commitment from the talented defender, Denson would join Jaydan Hardy and Jeremiah Newcombe in what would be an impressive early run of 2024 DBs for the Sooners.

A week later, 4-star 2024 offensive lineman Marques Easley and 4-star 2025 tight end Davon Mitchell are slated to announce their commitments.

At 4 p.m. CT on July 8, Easley will choose between Oklahoma, Alabama and Tennessee.

The 6-foot-7 offensive tackle took an official visit to Norman June 9-11, the same weekend as 5-star pass rusher Williams Nwaneri and a slew of other talented recruits. Easley posted photos on Twitter during the visit of him with 2024 OU quarterback commit Michael Hawkins Jr., seemingly enjoying his time on campus.

This weekend, however, the Kankakee, IL, product is also in Tuscaloosa to visit the Crimson Tide. Easley is rated one of the top 20 offensive tackles in the nation, according to 247Sports.

Also on July 8, the No. 1 tight end in the 2025 recruiting cycle is set to announce his commitment.

Mitchell, who now plays for Los Alamitos (CA) after transferring from Allen (TX) earlier in his career, is a consensus top-two tight end in his class. Listed at 6-5 and 245 pounds, Mitchell is one of the most coveted prospects in the nation, pulling in offers from Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State and many others.

Currently, OU is the favorite to land Mitchell according to the 247Sports Crystal Ball.

In addition to the aforementioned players, there is belief that the top running back in the 2024 cycle, Taylor Tatum, could announce a decision soon. Hailing from Longview, TX, Tatum is a 4-star back who wants to play both football and baseball in college.

While it was originally believed to be a three-team race for the dual-sport athlete, it appears that Michigan is out of the market for 2024 running backs after picking up two already. This left Oklahoma and USC as the two frontrunners for Tatum’s services, with the Trojans believed to be the Texan’s preferred choice heading into the ChampU BBQ.

After the barbecue, however, it is now widely believed that Tatum favors the Sooners in his recruitment. While there has been no date set for his commitment, the star tailback could be announcing a decision soon, having taken visits to USC and OU.

Finally, 2024 edge rusher Wyatt Gilmore has one more official visit to take, leaving some to speculate that the 4-star from Rogers, MN, could make his pledge soon. Gilmore will be in Eugene this weekend visiting the Ducks, so there likely won’t be any news until the 6-4 defensive lineman returns from his trip.

Oklahoma fans have reason to be optimistic about Gilmore’s recruitment, however, as multiple recruiting sites have had predictions come in over the past few days forecasting him to pledge his commitment to the Sooners.

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Randall Sweet
RANDALL SWEET

Randall is a recruiting analyst and staff writer at AllSooners focusing primarily on OU Football and the recruiting trail. Working as a journalist, Randall has covered the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma City Thunder, and high school sports across the state. A 2022 University of Oklahoma graduate, Randall hails from Lubbock, TX. While in college, Sweet wrote for the OU Daily in addition to working with Sooner Sports Pad and OU Nightly. Following his time at OU, Sweet served as the Communications Coordinator at Visit Oklahoma City before leaving to join the team at AllSooners. The West Texas native has bylines in the Norman Transcript and is a Staff Writer for Inside the Thunder. Randall holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of Oklahoma in Norman, OK. 

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