All Sooners

Nation's No. 1 RB Target Announces Commitment Date, Final Two

Taylor Tatum is down to two schools and will announce his choice later in July.

John E. Hoover

Taylor Tatum via Twitter
In this story:

The nation's top running back has narrowed down his choices.

Taylor Tatum, the No. 1-ranked running back in the class of 2024, told On3's Hayes Fawcett on Monday that he's down to two schools and revealed the date on which he will announce his choice.

Tatum will choose between USC and Oklahoma, and he'll announce his decision on July 21.

The 5-foot-10, 200-pound senior at Longview, TX, told On3 he liked a lot about each school.

"I really enjoyed Cali and coach (Lincoln) Riley’s offense is hard to deny," he told Fawcett. "Coach Riley also had a plan for me as soon as I get on campus and I think I can be the next Reggie (Bush).

Oklahoma, he said, "feels just like home and I fit right into coach (Jeff) Lebby’s offense. Coach (DeMarco) Murray knows all the ins and outs of every level of football and it’s hard to deny getting coached by someone who has been in your exact shoes.”

The Sooners already have one running back verbally committed in the 2024 class in Carl Albert's Xavier Robinson, but are considered favorites to also land both Tatum and Caden Durham of Duncanville, TX.

If OU was able to bring in all three ball carriers, it would be only the fourth time in the last 22 years the Sooners have signed three running backs in one class. 

Tatum was in Norman for the ChampU BBQ, and was reportedly very impressed by what he saw. Before his official visit to Oklahoma, the 5-star running back was seen as a USC lean, but after talking with both Venables and OU baseball coach Skip Johnson, Tatum seems to favor the Sooners.

The Longview product is a talented recruit on the diamond as well, and hopes to play both baseball and football in college. With the success Oklahoma has had producing dual-sport athletes in recent years, it makes sense that Johnson and Venables were able to together a remarkable pitch to Tatum. 

Published
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.

Home/Football