BREAKING: Isaiah Autry, a 4-Star OT and Marcus Dupree's Cousin, Commits to Oklahoma
Oklahoma has landed its fourth verbal commitment of the 2024 recruiting class, and it’s a big one — literally, and figuratively.
Isaiah Autry, a 4-star offensive tackle from Itawamba Agricultural High School in Fulton, MS, announced Friday his decision to pledge to the Sooners.
The 6-foot-6, 280-pound Autry is a cousin of former Sooners running back legend Marcus Dupree.
Autry drove into Norman Thursday night with his family to attend the OU Spring Game on Saturday. They spent Friday morning shopping for OU gear, then made the announcement.
“Man, it’s really good,” Autry told AllSooners. “We’re all happy about recruiting. Now I’m just excited to be up here to watch the spring game, really.”
Autry picked the Sooners over Alabama, Auburn, Florida State, Ole Miss and others.
Isaiah Autry
Isaiah Autry via Twitter
Asked which offers stood out to him, he had but one answer.
“Mostly Oklahoma,” he said.
“I was already here before, and I got to see a lot already from how they coach their players, how they are as a family, how it’s always just more than football to them.”
“I knew it! I knew it!” Dupree told AllSooners. “When he said he wanted to come back again (for a recruiting visit), I said, ‘He’s going to OU.’ “
Autry visited OU on March 25-26 and received his offer from Brent Venables and Bill Bedenbaugh then. Less than a month later, he’s committed.
“Shoot, I just had one of those — I really had that gut feeling when I first got up here,” Autry said. “Then when I talked to Coach Venables, I talked to Coach B, and we all had a really great time. My mom and my stepdad, they really like it too.”
Isaiah Autry and Brent Venables
Isaiah Autry via Twitter
Autry is a 4-star prospect by Rivals and a 3-star by 247Sports and On3. Autry is rated as the No. 38 offensive tackle in the nation in the 247Sports composite ranking and No. 35 in the On3 industry composite.
He is the son of former Tennessee Volunteer forward Pashen Thompson-Dent, who won a pair of national championships for the Lady Vols under Pat Summitt in 1996 and 1997.
“Everybody in my family has played college ball,” Autry said. “My mom played college ball and a little bit of pro, so she knows how everything is. She was really good about Oklahoma, too.
“We got to talking about how it was as a family and the atmosphere over here — and how they’re playing ball and giving it their all, but having fun and just enjoying it at the same time.”
Of course, Autry’s famous cousin has been recruiting him to OU.
Pashen Thompson and Barry Switzer
Isaiah Autry via Twitter
Dupree played for Barry Switzer in 1982-83 and rushed for 1,144 yards as a true freshman before leaving midway through his sophomore year. His pro aspirations were wrecked by knee injuries, and he was the subject of an award-winning ESPN 30 for 30 documentary, “The Best That Never Was.”
Dupree, who’s freshman season at OU was something out a tall tale from the Old West, has maintained close ties to OU through the years.
“He was telling me OU is a really good place,” Autry said. “He said, ‘When you get up there, you’re gonna like it for real.’ “
The legend of Marcus Dupree is not lost on Autry.
“Oh yeah,” he said. “I got all his movies and everything. I know pretty much all his stories.”
Dupree says he’s been a big fan of the newest Sooner for a long time.
“Him and my grandson (junior college prospect Ja’Naylon Dupree) used to play together all the time,” Dupree said. “Since he moved to (Fulton), he’s gotten better and he’s a man now. He’s gonna get bigger, too. Taller, I mean. He’s powerlifting, he’s doing all the things he’s supposed to be doing. And he’s a smart kid.
“That’s good to hear.”
Isaiah Autry
Isaiah Autry via Twitter
Autry is the first offensive line commitment in Oklahoma’s 2024 recruiting class, joining cornerback Jeremiah Newcombe, quarterback Michael Hawkins and wide receiver K.J. Daniels.
“The recruiting part, it has been a little crazy,” Autry said. “Because just when I took my first visit to OU, a lot of schools down South were wondering, ‘All the way up there?’ and all that. But distance don’t really matter. Just whatever fits me well is where I’ll go.
“I just know OU’s a really good school, and they develop a lot of good players at OU.”
Autry said he can’t wait to play for and be developed by Bedenbaugh, who has a long heritage of placing offensive linemen in the NFL.
“That’s really something,” Autry said. “They’re drafting three (Anton Harrison, Wanya Morris, Chris Murray) this year, I think. He’s got some of them coming down for the game.”
It’s been a good week for Autry. On Thursday he received an invitation to play in the Army All-American Game.
Though it’s still early in the 2024 recruiting cycle, Venables’ Oklahoma staff has continued to find success recruiting nationwide.
Newcombe, the first commitment of the cycle, is from Arizona, and is joined by Hawkins out of Texas, Daniels from Louisiana and Autry in Mississippi.
The Sooners will continue working to build the 2024 class all weekend, as the spring game will be a recruiting showcase for top prospects from all across the country. At least two more commits are widely projected to happen by Monday.
The Sooners’ transition to the SEC is now an imminent selling point for the OU coaching staff, and they’re starting to win more and more battles for talent in the South.
To Autry, the realization that this Mississippi kid will soon be playing games every week against SEC opposition is all too real.
“Oh yeah, for real,” he said. “We’ll probably play a lot of teams down there, no doubt.”
And no doubt Autry will have a few family members coming to his games.
“Um, probably a lot,” he said. “A lot of ‘em probably not even in my family are gonna show up.”
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