Oklahoma DE Target Danny Okoye Opens Up About His Top 6 Schools

After his team's season opener on Friday night, the state of Oklahoma's top-ranked recruit talked to AllSooners about his recruitment.

John E. Hoover | Aug 26, 2023

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TULSA — From Oklahoma to Texas, from Alabama to LSU, from Tennessee to Colorado, everybody wants Danny Okoye as an edge rusher.

But would the prodigious talents of the top high school football player in Oklahoma be wasted playing just one position in college?

OK, probably not.

The 6-foot-4, 246-pound Okoye is a physical force of nature. He’s a 4-star prospect in the 2024 recruiting class whose rare combination of size, speed and just sheer power make him a coveted prize for any defensive line.

But Okoye can do so much more than just rush the passer.

On Friday night at Milton Stadium, opening his senior season for Tulsa homeschool squad NOAH (Northeastern Oklahoma Association of Homeschools), Okoye made eye-popping all over the field for the Jaguars against Kiefer. Kiefer jumped out to a 40-6 lead and won 62-36, but NOAH — last year’s homeschool national champion — bounced back in the second half thanks to some resourceful quarterback play and a steady dose of Okoye.

On defense, and on offense.

“Man, I mean, I've been really working on my offensive skill set,” Okoye told AllSooners. “I’ve been putting a lot of work in the offseason with Sooner 7 (spring 7-on-7) and just my own work behind the scenes and I really see it paying off. I think I'm definitely going to be an offensive weapon this year.”

Okoye played just a handful of offensive series, but caught a 20-yard pass in the first half (he ran an out route, leaped for the catch, then weaved through traffic, turned upfield and plowed over tacklers), added a 30-yard reception to start the second half (he had two defenders on him but came back for an underthrown deep ball and made a falling-down catch while staying inbounds) and then added another catch on a 2-point conversion (he caught a tunnel screen and bulldozed tacklers across the goal line).

Okoye also punted twice, sending each kick 50 yards and pinning Kiefer inside the 10-yard line both times.

Of course, Okoye was a wrecking machine on defense, lining up mostly at right end, occasionally at left end, and a couple of times at inside linebacker. NOAH coach James Ballinger even used him a handful of times in a position that Oklahoma coach Brent Venables used to call “spinner,” where defensive end Dan Cody would slide inside and rush the passer from a stand-up position on the interior of the d-line.

“The first year we had him, he actually played right tackle, offensive tackle for us,” Ballinger told AllSooners. “So he's played everywhere that we need him to play — and sometimes I think to his detriment, because we kind of bounce him around so much, he doesn't really get to settle in somewhere. Of course on defense, he’s always, you know, he's a d-end. But we'll bump him in at linebacker every once a while.”

The bottom line is that Okoye will play on the edge of the defensive line in college, but his athletic ability to do so many other things portends great things for whichever school lands him.

Okoye will be on his official visit to Oklahoma’s season opener against Arkansas State next Saturday, and he has official visits lined up to Texas (Sept. 16) and Tennessee (Sept. 30).

On3 ranks him as the No. 76 player in the nation, ESPN and Rivals have him as a 4-star prospect, while 247 Sports tabs him a 3-star and the No. 3 player in Oklahoma.

Okoye broke down his top six:

“I really think Colorado has the potential to be a powerhouse, especially with what Deion (Sanders) is building over there. He was one of the greatest defensive backs in football and it'd be really cool to play under him and be coached by him. So that's why I put them in the top six.

“Alabama is an NFL prep school. Everything that they do there is built for taking it to the next level as efficiently as possible. I really think if I go there and I work hard, it'll really pay off in the long run.

“LSU, I can really see LSU being a national powerhouse here in a couple of years. They've had some defensive, you know, slack, just in their recruitment, but I definitely see them coming back from that and becoming a hard hitter.

“Tennessee has been showing the most love. Right now it's tied between them and OU (for) the love being shown.

They really just are very detailed in what they want me as — not just athletically, but just as a person. They know how to develop very well. They're very big on the personal side of football, not just the athletic side, and I can really appreciate that.

“Texas has been the one — I just was on an OV down there last month, month before last — the vibes were immaculate. Everybody there has a huge smile on their face and they're so welcoming. It was definitely one of my favorite visits by far.

“Oklahoma just knows how to show love, man. All the coaches there, we are best friends. I mean, I have all of their numbers saved. I’d say that I call them maybe on a bi-daily basis. So the connection’s there. I believe that's a big part of the factors that would go into me choosing or making a decision, is the connection that I have with the coaching staff and with, you know, the faculty and all of them. So I definitely feel that connection with OU.”

Okoye expounded on what makes his relationships with the Sooner coaching staff so strong.

“Coach (Miguel) Chavis, Coach Venables, Coach (Todd) Bates, Coach (Ted) Roof, all of them guys. They’re my people,” he said. “ ... The relatability. They take the time to get to know you on a personal level. They're very in depth. When they're recruiting somebody, they're not just recruiting you for what you can do, they're recruiting you for who you are. And that's a very big, very big factor.”

Okoye said he doesn’t necessarily have any favorites among his top six right now, but said when his official visits are finished, “I’m pretty sure … you'll be able to figure out who I like more than others.”

Okoye has embraced the pressures that come with being the No. 1 player in Oklahoma as well as the expectations of playing for the defending homeschool national champion. In truth, it’s all motivated him to come back greater than ever for his senior season.

“It definitely did,” he said, “along with the recruitment that was taking place over the summer. All these coaches kind of being on my tail about bulking up a little bit — I was kind of skinny last year and I guess I took what they said kind of seriously. So I've been I've been working out I've been trying to you know perfect my craft and I think I think it's really going to show this year.

“I mean, (being ranked No. 1 in Oklahoma by recruiting media) definitely does help me play with a little bit of a chip on my shoulder. I try not to think about it too much because the last thing I want to do is get a big head, you know? So just try to focus on the game, focus on what I need to do, my responsibilities, and I can't really control what everybody else is doing. So I just try to focus on my part. You know, if I can't do something, then I can’t do something. But I don't ever want to be the guy who had an opportunity to make a play and didn't do it.”

Okoye excels at the speed rush (he said he recently ran the 40 in 4.53 seconds and will keep pushing to get it in the 4.4s), but he also delivers a sledgehammer impact at the point of attack with a good variety of pass-rush moves and an intelligent approach to the position. He engages blockers with force, easily pushing them backward and creating pileups in the backfield, knows how to use his hands to disengage, and will become even more formidable as he lowers his pad level.

“Yeah, his athleticism is just off the charts,” Ballinger said.
“Never seen a kid that can do some of the things that he does. And just has the strength, speed, everything that kind of goes into being a top prospect, for sure.”

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Published Aug 26, 2023

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.