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Official: Star 2023 DE Colton Vasek Flips Commitment From Oklahoma to Texas

The Sooners were dealt a major blow to their defensive line recruiting on Tuesday, and the Longhorns were the beneficiaries.

Ryan Chapman

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Oklahoma’s 2023 recruiting class was dealt a massive blow on Tuesday.

Colton Vasek, a defensive end from Austin who is rated a 4-star recruit by both 247Sports and Rivals, flipped his verbal commitment from OU to Texas.

The defensive end had been committed to the Sooners since Aug. 1, but he’s been long rumored to be staying home to play for his father’s alma mater.

Vasek was Oklahoma’s No. 9-ranked recruit by 247Sports, and was projected to be a key piece in revamping OU’s struggling defensive line.

The Austin product is ranked as the No. 17 edge rusher and the 127th-best overall player in the class by the 247Sports Composite Ranking.

On the field, Brent Venables’ first season hasn’t gone to plan.

Following last week’s loss to Baylor, the Sooners are now 5-4 overall and 2-4 in Big 12 play to kick off the Venables era.

The Longhorns added insult to injury in this year’s Red River Rivalry game, embarrassing the Sooners 49-0 in OU’s first shutout loss since 1998.

OU currently ranks No. 119-overall against the run, and the Sooners have struggled at the point of attack since entering the Big 12 portion of the schedule.

Kansas State, TCU, Texas and Baylor all opened up gaping holes against Venables’ defense, and Oklahoma has seemingly had no answers on how to get any consistency from its defensive line.

Vasek would have paired with fellow highly-rated defensive linemen P.J. Adebawore and Derrick LeBlanc to help bring much-needed talent to the Oklahoma defensive front.

The Sooners also missed out on David Hicks, the top-rated defensive lineman in the 2023 class, when Hicks committed to Texas A&M on Sept. 28.

Before Vasek’s decommittment, OU was rated as the No. 6-overall recruiting class in 247Sports Team Rankings.

Now, the Sooners have dipped to eighth in the 247Sports Team Rankings, while the Longhorns have vaulted up to sixth. 

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Ryan Chapman
RYAN CHAPMAN

Ryan is deputy editor at AllSooners and covers a number of sports in and around Norman and Oklahoma City. Working both as a journalist and a sports talk radio host, Ryan has covered the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma City Thunder, the United States Men’s National Soccer Team, the Oklahoma City Energy and more. Since 2019, Ryan has simultaneously pursued a career as both a writer and a sports talk radio host, working for the Flagship for Oklahoma sports, 107.7 The Franchise, as well as AllSooners.com. Ryan serves as a contributor to The Franchise’s website, TheFranchiseOK.com, which was recognized as having the “Best Website” in 2022 by the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters. Ryan holds an associate’s degree in Journalism from Oklahoma City Community College in Oklahoma City, OK. 

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