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Oklahoma Earns Commitment from Nation's Top RB

The Sooners landed a massive victory on the recruiting trail Friday morning, picking up a commitment from one of the top players in the Lone Star State.

Randall Sweet

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Taylor Tatum, a 5-star running back from Longview, TX, has committed to Oklahoma.

After a long saga that pitted the Sooners against USC in the star tailback's recruitment, Brent Venables and company have emerged victorious. 

Tatum is DeMarco Murray's biggest recruiting win since taking over at OU. The Longview High School (TX) star is the No. 1 running back and No. 31 player in the country according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. 

“(Having Jackson Arnold on campus is) a great thing,” Tatum told 247Sports. “Another Texas kid. We’ve talked a couple times. I believe top quarterback in the class. Once you see somebody play in person, I think that sealed the deal for me. Getting a chance to play with him, probably be a Heisman-caliber quarterback, I think a chance to play with him and that defensive class is going to be good.”

Tatum attends the same high school that produced Sooner legend and standout NFL offensive lineman Trent Williams. 

Tatum is also a very talented recruit on the diamond, and will play baseball for Oklahoma. Listed at 6-foot and 205 pounds, the Lobos halfback totaled 2,051 yards from scrimmage and 36 touchdowns as a junior.

Tatum has pulled in almost 40 offers, including Alabama, Georgia and Ohio State. 

As of a few months ago, however, it seemed that Tatum viewed Michigan, Oklahoma and USC as his top three schools. With the Wolverines already taking two running backs in the 2024 class and Tatum cancelling his trip to Ann Arbor, it seemed that the Sooners and Trojans were the final two competitors for one of the nation's most coveted prospects. 

Within recent weeks, Tatum officially trimmed his list to only OU and USC.

While USC was reportedly in the lead for Tatum prior to the ChampU BBQ last month, the Sooners' recruiting pitch must have changed the star tailback's mind. Coming out of OU's big weekend, the dual-sport athlete seemed to lean towards Oklahoma, in large part due to Skip Johnson and his history of success with athletes who play both baseball and football. 

With Cody Thomas and Kyler Murray both splitting time between football and baseball for the Sooners yet still achieving professional careers in one (or in Murray's case both) of the sports they competed in, it is easy to see why prospects who hope to compete in baseball and football draw interest in OU. Last month, fellow dual-sport athlete James Nesta also committed to Johnson and Venables, marking a great week for Oklahoma's football and baseball programs. 

After a near-two month recruiting drought for Venables and company, the ChampU BBQ has inspired another flurry of commitments. The Sooners' are likely not done yet, as they have a chance to land multiple big-time recruits who are set to make decisions in late July and early August.

“I feel like coach Venables has something building over there," Tatum said to 247Sports. "I think Jackson Arnold is going to lead them the next three years. I think him building around Jackson, they’re going to be back to what Oklahoma was just a couple years ago.”

For more:

Could Oklahoma Land Three Running Backs in the 2024 Recruiting Class?

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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. 

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