Sooners Recruiting Updates

It’s not Taco Tuesday, but the next best thing--Recruiting Thursday.

SB Nation

The Sooners have been active in terms of going after top talent in the class of 2020. How has it paid off so far? How much did the big victory against the Longhorns help?

After putting on a defensive clinic with nine sacks, allowing zero touchdown passes from Ehlinger, and 15 tackles for loss; the Sooner defense put the country on notice. Many of those paying close attention were recruits who OU has targeted.

Now ranked 28th overall, the defense is showing the tides changing in Norman, and the shift in mindset is evident. Four star DT, Princely Umanmielen, decommitted from the University of Texas on Wednesday. If you have followed along, we have also talked about the likelihood of Longhorn commit, Josh Eaton, flipping to the Sooners. With so much success so soon, the chances of landing both of these immediate impact players continues to rise.

Dontae Manning is another name we keep talking about. The one-time Sooner commit announced he will head to Oregon, Arizona State, and Georgia to finish his five official visits. The Sooners appear to be the leader in the club house, as of now. OU was one of the first to offer and has built a great relationship with the highly-touted CB. If Grinch was able to land him, this would be a significant win for the coaching staff.

The big story last weekend was supposed to be the return of Austin Kendall; yet, this was quickly pushed to the back burner as some of the top recruits came to town.

Reggie Grimes, an ELITE defensive tackle and top 50 player in the country, arrived, under the radar. It was BIG for the Sooners to get him on campus for an official visit. Grimes could be an immediate impact player, as a true freshman, and see significant playing time. Currently, Alabama and South Carolina are thought to be leading the race for his commitment, but don’t count out OU.

Keyshawn Lawrence, a Tennessee Volunteer commit, also visited Norman over the weekend. Lawrence is a four-star safety and number two player in the state of Tennessee, behind aforementioned, Reggie Grimes. Listed at 6’1 and 200 pounds, this would be a big “get” for the improving secondary. It wouldn’t be a shocker to see the Sooners able to flip this elite DB if things continue to head south in Knoxville. Getting both kids from the Volunteer state would be big! Reminder--OU plays Tennessee in the second game of the 2020 season.

Getting a top tier recruit is difficult. Keeping a top tier recruit is equally as tough.

Mikey Henderson is a 4-star athlete and an OU commit. Henderson has long been thought of as a sure thing for the Sooners--until he visited UGA. Reports coming from Athens have indicated that he isn’t infatuated with blocking in the Sooner offense. Per a report from Dawgnation.com, Henderson said, “Georgia is in there, it is a close race.”

“That’s something right there with my situation at Oklahoma,” answering a question on how much Henderson likes to block. “They want me to play H-back and I don’t feel that’s what I am. I don’t feel like I can showcase my talent enough playing that position. I feel like they block a little too much for my liking at Oklahoma. I feel like on their route concepts and pass plays they do a lot of blocking. If they do run a route, it is like a late check-down route. That’s not my game.”

The Sooners will continue to work hard on keeping Henderson, but if he leaves, he will head to the team who just totaled 35 passing yards this past weekend against Kentucky.

Oklahoma will look to continue to impress recruits this weekend as they head on the road to face a gritty Kansas State Wildcat team, in Manhattan, Kansas.

- Austin Wood