Oklahoma Makes Top Four for Two 2024 OL

One day after finding themselves in the mix for 4-star RB Stacy Gage, the Sooners learned that the are also in contention for two offensive lineman in the same class.
Bennett Warren via Twitter
In this story:

Bennett Warren, a 2024 offensive lineman from Fort Bend Christian Academy (TX), and Daniel Cruz, a fellow 2024 o-lineman out of Richland (TX) High School, both announced their top four schools on Thursday afternoon. Oklahoma made the cut for both of the talented trench players, thanks to the work of one of the nation's top offensive line coaches, Bill Bedenbaugh

Hailing from the Houston area, Warren is listed at a whopping 6-foot-8 and 330 pounds. In sheer size, the rising senior resembles former Sooner great Orlando Brown Jr., who is 15 pounds heavier than Warren, according to the Cincinnati Bengals roster. 

Currently, Warren is rated a 4-star prospect, ranked as one of the top five offensive tackles in the country according to 247Sports. The talented blocker has 35 offers from schools around the nation, but cut his list to Texas A&M, Michigan, Tennessee and OU on Thursday, leaving out schools like Oregon, Texas, Penn State and LSU. 

When asked about Oklahoma, Warren told On3's Hayes Fawcett, "They have an amazing coaching staff and an amazing amount of opportunity with an extremely knowledgeable O line coach. He has shown amazing hospitality towards me and my family."

Cruz, a 6-4 and 297 pound interior o-lineman, is teammates with recent Sooners' offer Michael Turner Jr. at Richland High School in the Dallas area. Cruz is a 4-star recruit, touted as a top 10 interior offensive lineman per On3's recruiting database. 

With nearly 30 schools vying for the Royals' guard, Cruz has racked up an impressive offer list, earning scholarships from programs such as Alabama and USC. On Thursday afternoon, however, the North Richland Hills product cut his list to Ohio State, Texas A&M, Texas and Oklahoma. 

If Bedenbaugh is able to land either of the highly regarded prospects, it would be a solid victory for the Sooners, who will have to beat out multiple top tier programs to earn a commitment from either of the Texas natives. Regardless, OU being in contention for both Cruz and Warren this late in both of their recruitments illustrates that Bedenbaugh is still one of the most talented recruiters in the nation. 



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.