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Oklahoma Loses WR Commit Anthony Evans

The speedy wideout flipped to Georgia and became Brent Venables' fourth decommitment in the 2023 class.

John E. Hoover

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After almost a week of nothing but positive recruiting momentum, Oklahoma suffered a major setback on Friday.

Anthony Evans, a 4-star wide receiver in the 2023 class and one of the fastest high school football players in the nation, announced via Twitter that he’s decommitted from OU and has flipped to Georgia, according to Hayes Fawcett of On3.

Evans’ flip has seemed almost imminent for weeks now as he’s taken several visits to Athens since his verbal pledge to OU on Aug. 26.

Evans’ official visit to Georgia happened in the summer, and as even he continued to flirt with the Bulldogs, he usually explained it away as something his mother, a big Georgia fan, wanted to do for fun.

It became something much more, however, as his announcement included the declaration, “My mama’s dream come true.”

In high school track last spring at Judson, TX, the 5-foot-10, 160-pound Evans ran the 100 meters in 10.27 seconds. In football last season, Evans caught 35 passes for 491 yards and three touchdowns.

As a senior this season, Evans has 61 catches for 782 yards and eight TDs, according to MaxPreps.

He told On3 that he credits the Georgia coaching staff for why he chose the Bulldogs.

“I feel as if I will succeed anywhere," he told On3, "so the part about how different their offense is doesn’t affect me because I believe in myself. I earned this just like the players that they have there now, and I feel like I can come in and make an immediate impact.”

After one of the biggest recruiting weekends of the year last week for the Oklahoma State game, OU landed two verbal commitments from high school prospects, one from a junior college prospect and then added one from the transfer portal.

But what goes up must come down.

The Sooners’ recruiting class — once as high as No. 3 in the 247 Sports team rankings — sat at No. 7 before Evans’ flip.

Evans is the fourth prospect to commit to Brent Venables and then later decommit in the ’23 class, joining wideout Ashton Cozart, edge rusher Colton Vasek and linebacker Kaleb Spencer.

Evans is the No. 205 player in the nation in the 2023 class, according to 247 Sports, and ranks as the No. 26 wide receiver nationally.

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John E. Hoover
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.

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