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Oklahoma's 2024 Recruits Show OU is Closer to Being Ready for 'All-Encompassing' SEC

NORMAN — Oklahoma coach Brent Venables was beaming Wednesday. The Sooners’ head man talked for more than 30 minutes about OU’s 2024 recruiting class, and his

John E. Hoover

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NORMAN — Oklahoma coach Brent Venables was beaming Wednesday.

The Sooners’ head man talked for more than 30 minutes about OU’s 2024 recruiting class, and his usual high energy persona was buzzing more than ever.

To say Venables was stoked about the 27 scholarship newcomers would undersell it.

“Really excited about the group of guys,” Venables said.

And with good reason.

February signing day still lies ahead, but based on the first day of the Early Signing Period on Wednesday, Venables landed his third straight top-10 class, according to 247 Sports.

The 2024 Sooners are currently ranked No. 9 — they were No. 6 last year, and No. 10 in his first season — although Venables said this year’s class is “our best one up to this point in time — I think time will tell.”

And that’s music to the ears of the fan base. Because when the No. 12-ranked Sooners play their next football game — Dec. 28 in the Alamo Bowl against No. 14 Arizona — it’ll be their last game as a member of the Big 12 Conference.

The SEC is right around the corner. In fact, Venables had to cut short his press conference Wednesday because he had a scheduled interview with the SEC Network.

Spending a decade at Clemson, Venables knows all too well what the SEC looks like from the other sideline. Several members of his coaching staff have either spent ample time coaching against SEC teams, or coaching for SEC teams.

Venables said Wednesday’s signatures marked another significant step toward being ready for their new league.

“We’re always working to be better,” he said. “We certainly are competitive. We want more — and we’re going to need more, whatever that means.”

Venables described football in the SEC as “all encompassing. It’s incredibly competitive. It’s relentless. It’s year-round. It’s challenging. There’s smart coaches and there’s a lot of programs that have a lot of resources, like Oklahoma. It’s a very real competition. And one that isn’t just going to go away. We’re gonna win some and not win some. But you need to win more than you lose. And so everybody here in the program, from the president all the way to the athletic director and then everybody else — the recruiting staff, the coaches, the families, the players, everybody — there’s a real commitment to it. I don’t think there’s anybody here that doesn’t recognize what’s in front of us right now.”

Historically, with seven national championships and seven Heisman Trophy winners and 50 conference titles, Oklahoma takes a back seat to no college football program. But realistically, on a streak of 23 years now without a national championship, Venables knows there’s some catching up to do.

It’s one big reason he’s been able to sign three top-10 classes in his first three years as a head coach, he said.

“The standard of Oklahoma,” Venables said, “and the people remember decade after decade after decade of Oklahoma excellence. … It’s a true blue blood. The door’s always open for a program like Oklahoma.”

But he also realizes that OU’s recruiting budget and NIL resources and facilities and fan engagement and gameday experience are all going to have to ramp up.

And so is the level of football.

Wednesday was a huge step in the right direction, with the likes of 5-star defensive tackle David Stone officially becoming a Sooner, and his IMG Academy defensive MVP teammate Jayden Jackson officially becoming a Sooner, and Melissa, TX, pass rush phenom Nigel Smith officially becoming a Sooner — and forming what looks the most like an SEC defensive line that Oklahoma has fielded in years.

There’s also the No. 1 running back in the country in Taylor Tatum, and a top 25 receiver in Zion Kearney, and the No. 5 interior offensive lineman in Eugene Brooks, and the No. 12 safety in Reggie Powers, and the No. 11 tight end in Davon Mitchell (who reclassified from being the No. 1 tight end in the 2025 lass) and the No. 15 safety in Jaydan Hardy — and so on.

In all, 21 Sooners who signed on Wednesday rank among the top 40 at their position nationally, per 247 Sports. Stack that talent with the 2023 class, where 17 players ranked in the top 40 at their position, and the 2022 class, where 17 more ranked in the top 40, and Venables has Oklahoma looking more and more SEC-ready.

How much will life change for Oklahoma? The entire 16-team SEC is ranked in top 40 of the 247 Sports team rankings this year. The Big 12 has just three ranked in the top 40, and only one (No. 22 Texas Tech) is ranked higher than 30. OU is ranked No. 9 nationally, but only No. 5 in the SEC.

“Recruiting’s always been competitive,” Venables said. “But you’re going to go to a conference now that the resources are very real everywhere you go — that are either every bit as good if not better than what you have. You’ve got to be resourceful. Certainly you’ve got to be committed to our philosophy.

“ … As college football is becoming more and more transactional, we want to continue to be relational. I believe that has longevity and sustainability. But at the same time, things have changed dramatically in the last three years in college football. That goes without saying. And the fluidity of rosters is a very real thing. The lack of stability of rosters is a very real thing. And so we’ve got to be adjustable and adaptable and be aggressive along the way. Not just reactive, but proactive. And I believe that’s the vision and the philosophy that is shared throughout our university and community.”

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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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