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Oklahoma's 2024 Recruiting Class is on Pace With Previous Cycles

Despite worries from the fanbase, the Sooners have a similar number of commitments in the 2024 class as they have had at the same point during years past.

Randall Sweet

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Every year, July 4 is a big day in the recruiting world. 

Fan bases across the country take a break from food, fireworks and family time to check social media and see if their favorite program landed any big time prospects. While the holiday held no commitments for OU in 2023, Sooner fans have received good news multiple times on Independence Day in recent years.

Over the past few months, Oklahoma fans had begun to worry about the team's 2024 recruiting class. With only six players committed in the upcoming cycle heading into June, Brent Venables and company were beginning to take a lot of heat from Sooner Nation. 

In June, however, OU gained five more commitments to bring their 2024 class to 11 players. 

Oklahoma hasn't had more than 11 commitments in its next recruiting class at this point in the year since 2018, when Lincoln Riley had earned 13 pledges for the 2019 class. 

As of July 5, 2018, the Sooners had already received commitments from Derek Green, Joseph Weté, Marcus Major, Theo Wease, EJ Ndoma-Ogar, Trejan Bridges, Spencer Rattler, Austin Stogner, Marcus Alexander, Jonathan Perkins, Jamal Morris, Marcus Hicks and Kori Roberson in the 2019 cycle. 

Since then, OU has reached 11 commitments as of July 5 twice.

In the 2021 class, Cullen Montgomery, Clayton Smith, Mario Williams, Cody Jackson, Danny Stutsman, Ethan Downs, Jordan Mukes, Nathan Rawlins-Kibonge and Isaiah Coe all committed to OU before Independence Day. That same year, Caleb Williams and Latrell McCutchin both committed to the Sooners' on July 4.

Now in the 2024 class, Oklahoma has pledges from Xavier Robinson, Wyatt Gilmore, Ivan Carreon, Michael Hawkins Jr., Dozie Ezukanma, Isaiah Autry, Zion Kearney, KJ Daniels, Jeremiah Newcombe, Jaydan Hardy and James Nesta.

Aside from 2019 and 2021, the closest any Oklahoma recruiting class has come to receiving 11 commitments as of July 5 was in the 2020 cycle, when Riley and company hit 10 pledges in early July. 

In the '20 class, Nate Anderson, Mikey Henderson, DJ Graham, Seth McGowan, Noah Nelson, Perrion Winfrey, Brynden Walker, Trevon West and Brian Darby all announced their pledges to the Sooners before July 5, with Woodi Washington committing on the Fourth of July.

After Riley's departure, the team's class consisted of less than 10 players who were committed before July 5 for Venables' first two cycles. Finally in the 2024 class, the new regime has the recruiting trail seemingly back on track. 

With Riley leaving the Sooners' in late 2021, Venables had to do what he could to keep OU's 2022 class in tact. Oklahoma ended up signing just seven players in that year's cycle who were committed to the Sooners as of July 5. 

Venables was able to keep Gavin Sawchuk, General Booty, Jayden Rowe, Robert Spears-Jennings, Jacob Sexton, Kip Lewis and Jason Llewellyn on board. The former Clemson defensive coordinator was able to get the full opportunity to craft his own class in 2022, bringing in nine commits before July 5.

Keyon Brown, Samuel Omosigho, Erik McCarty, Joshua Bates, Kalib Hicks, Kade McIntyre, Heath Ozaeta, Jackson Arnold and Phil Picciotti all announced their commitments to OU's 2023 class before July 5. Unfortunately for the Sooners, Brown is headed to junior college in 2023 instead of playing for Oklahoma.

With Venables' policies and philosophies on commitments, it makes sense that OU would have fewer commitments earlier in the year than under other head coaches. The Sooners' lead man has expressed that he does not want players to commit too early and does not want prospects taking any more visits to other schools once they have committed. 

These sentiments will result in a smaller wave of initial commitments, but in theory should bring in more high-end talent later in the process. In the 2024 class, for example, Venables and company are still awaiting decisions from big-time recruits like David Stone, Taylor Tatum, Williams Nwaneri, Nigel Smith II, Caden Durham, Terry Bussey, Zion Ragins and Mykel Patterson-McDonald, among others. 

While it may have taken Venables a year to get things back on track, OU's head coach has already steadied the ship, getting back to the same numbers that the Sooners' were reaching under Riley. 

After two full cycles under Venables, fans should to realize that the build up in the head ball coach's recruiting classes may be slower than other programs, but will likely even out by the end of the cycle. 

With multiple commitment dates set throughout the coming months, the Sooners' 2024 class could grow quickly.

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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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