Oklahoma snaps drought, picks up major running back commitment

Raleek Brown, a 5-star running back from Mater Dei in Southern California, announced his commitment to OU, potentially ending back-to-back 5-star RB heartaches

DeMarco Murray got his guy.

Raleek Brown, a 5-star running back, per 247 Sports, out of the football factory Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, CA, announced his verbal commitment to the Oklahoma Sooners on Friday evening via social media.

OU won the commitment of Brown over USC, Alabama, Michigan, LSU, Georgia and Oregon.

If he signs — and if he holds onto his ranking — he'll become Oklahoma's first 5-star running back since Joe Mixon signed in the 2014 class. 

The 5-foot-8, 185-pound speedster, is the No. 25-ranked player in the country, and the third best running back in the 247 Sports rankings. At The Opening regional recruiting event, Brown logged a 4.57 second 40-yard dash, flashing his game-changing speed.

In his freshman and sophomore seasons for Mater Dei, Brown combined for 2,684 yards on 253 carries, getting into the end zone 34 times.

The ground game isn’t Brown’s only strength, as he can make plays in the receiving game as well. On top of his production on the ground, he has totaled 1,408 yards and 18 touchdowns through the air in his two seasons of high school football.

California high school football was unable to play in the 2020 season due to pandemic restrictions, robbing Brown of his junior season to add to his eye-popping career totals.

Brown’s commitment starts things off on the right foot for the Sooners in 2022, who are in need of a marquee running back in a big way.

In the past two recruiting cycles, Oklahoma has been left at the alter by 5-star backs Jase McClellan and Camar Wheaton, both opting to attend Alabama.

Murray can begin to make his mark on the OU coaching staff with Brown, as it can be argued his addition into the Wheaton sweepstakes could have come too late in the process to make a huge difference either way.

Tennessee transfer portal addition Eric Gray will paper over the depth problems in the running back room left by the Wheaton and McClellan misses, but transfers are only a temporary fix.

Brown might not be the only addition at the running back spot in OU’s 2022 class. 

The Sooners are also in for Littleton, CO, native Gavin Sawchuk, rated the No. 2 running back in the class. 

Brown is OU's fifth verbal commitment of the 2022 class. He joins wide receivers Talyn Shettron, Jordan Hudson, Luther Burden and linebacker Kobie McKinzie.

The race is far from run, as the Sooners know just as well as anyone. Regardless of how the pursuit of Sawchuk turns out, priority number one for Oklahoma will be holding on to Brown’s commitment all the way through signing day, and getting him on campus to join Lincoln Riley’s record setting offense.