All Sooners

Oklahoma Adds Versatile Athlete to 2024 Recruiting Class

The Sooners picked up a commitment from a talented local athlete on Thursday morning, continuing their local recruiting prowess.

Randall Sweet

In this story:

OKLAHOMA CITY — Andy Bass, a 3-star athlete from Heritage Hall High School, committed to OU on Thursday. 

After cutting his list to just three schools on July 30, Bass chose the Sooners over Kansas State and Syracuse. 

"It was tough, kind of, in the earlier stages," Bass said of his decision. "Once I went back to OU a couple more times, then it kind of made the decision a lot easier when I knew where I was going, I knew where was home."

Believed to be joining the team as a walk-on, Bass will essentially be on a scholarship due to Brent Venables' creative use of NIL funding. Earlier in the summer, Edmond Santa Fe (OK) defensive lineman Bergin Kysar committed to Oklahoma under a similar agreement.

The OU coaching staff initially extended Bass an offer after he excelled at the Brent Venables Elite Camp in June. While working in the wide receiver group, Bass used his speed to run by defenders, catching multiple long touchdowns in one-on-one drills.

While Bass is primarily being recruited as a running back, the versatile 5-foot-10, 200-pound athlete will fill a variety of roles in the Sooners' offense. In addition to his talent as a ball carrier out of the backfield, Bass is fast enough to play in the slot and has the experience to be a dangerous wildcat quarterback. 

"I'd have an impact kind of all over the field," Bass said about his potential role. "I feel like it would be a great place to showcase my entire skill set and really put everything on display. So, super excited, I can't wait to work for coach (Jeff) Lebby and coach (Brent) Venables."

Playing QB for the Chargers, Bass shows off his skills as a ball carrier on a weekly basis. At Heritage Hall's scrimmage against Washington (OK) last week, Bass broke tackles on multiple plays to score a pair of touchdowns during the live quarter.

In addition to his strength and stature, Bass is extremely fast, running a 10.56 in the 100-meter dash as a junior last season. 

Bass will be coached by OU running backs coach DeMarco Murray once the Chargers' standout arrives in Norman. Following his announcement, the Sooners' newest commit discussed his relationship with the former NFL rushing champ.

"Coach Murray is a great friend of mine, I can't wait to play for him," Bass said. "He's been a great person not just to me, but to my parents as well. So, it's going to be super exciting to play for him. I know he's going to make me into the best football player I can be."

With the Heritage Hall star's commitment, Oklahoma has managed to land commitments from nine local prospects over the summer. Since the start of June, the Sooners have earned pledges from Bass, Kysar, Joshua Aisosa, Mykel Patterson-McDonald, Xavier Robinson, Liam Evans, Ace Hodges, Jaden Nickens and Elijah Thomas. 

"It's a family," Bass said. "We're going to be a great team here in the next few years when we all kind of develop into the OU offense, so, I couldn't be more excited."

Bass said after his commitment that it was important for him to stay close to home, adding that he has multiple family members who went to school in Norman and that he even grew up a Sooners fan.

"I know a bunch of people at OU," Bass said. "My grandpa played golf at OU, my dad went to OU, so it means the world to me."

With a handful of other talented players in the Sooner State, such as 2024 4-stars Danny Okoye of Tulsa NOAH and Devon Jordan of Tulsa Union, Venables and company are still looking to round out the 2024 class with a few more local recruits.

Published
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. 

Home/Football