All Sooners

Why Oklahoma is So High on 4-Star DL Xadavien Sims' Impressive List of Offers

The Sooners are targeting the state's top prospect for his size, speed, strength and athleticism, and he's looking for meaningful relationships in his college experience.

John E. Hoover

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BROKEN ARROW, OK — Xadavien Sims likes a lot of what he’s seen so far from Oklahoma.

But what he likes most is Sooners head coach Brent Venables.

Sims, the top-rated player in the state of Oklahoma in the 2024 recruiting class and a 4-star defensive lineman, according to 247 Sports, has a lot of options from which to choose.

And OU is at the top with any of them, thanks to Venables.

“It’s just like a family,” Sims told AllSooners recently in between games at the Prep Redzone Oklahoma 7-on-7 tournament. “Like, I could see myself being coached there. I went to a camp there, and he’s a great coach, Coach (Todd) Bates and Coach (Miguel) Chavis. And what really most stands out about OU is I have a really good relationship with the head coach, and I don’t have that with most of or a lot of the other schools. Coach Venables, he talks to me a lot, so that’s a real big thing for me. He coached me a lot when I was at the camp, so that’s what I like.”

Xadavien Sims
Xadavien Sims :: John E. Hoover / AllSooners

Sims is a 6-foot-4, 270-pound athlete at Durant (OK) High School, where he played defensive line and tight end last year and says he will move to offensive tackle this season.

But his future is on defense. Sims said he has no real preference where he plays on the defensive line, whether as an edge rusher, a down defensive end or an interior 3-technique.

Watching him run routes and catch passes for the C4 Sports Performance 7-on-7 team illustrates that he’s athletic enough to contribute anywhere.

It’s why 247 Sports ranks him as the No. 9 defensive lineman in the nation and the No. 65 overall player. It’s why Rivals ranks him at No. 8 at his position and No. 74 overall.

And it’s why coaches from 20 Division I schools (so far) have offered him a scholarship. The list includes OU, Michigan State, Arkansas, Colorado, Miami, Michigan, Nebraska, Ole Miss, Oregon, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Georgia Tech.

Sims’ own top list includes the Sooners, Spartans, Ducks, Longhorns, Horned Frogs and Yellow Jackets. He just got home from another visit to Michigan State (he visited with top d-line prospect, Oklahoma native and OU target David Stone) and last weekend took a visit to Arkansas.

Last weekend he was posing with Lincoln Riley at USC during a C4 trip to Southern California. He said March and April will be filled with official and unofficial visits, most likely to Miami and Michigan.

“A lot of other schools on my list,” he said. “Like Miami, Michigan, Michigan State’s still on my radar. I like Texas, too. I’m gonna get back to Texas, too. Texas is actually one of my dream schools. I got much love for Texas.

“Oh, I forgot about Oregon, too. Coach Tui (Ducks d-line coach Tony Tuioti) came to my school like two times in one week. Oregon’s a great school. I could see myself playing there. I’ll be at Oregon soon.”

It’s a tough choice, with a lot of personal ties.

Sims and his family originally hail from Alabama, “so Bama’s kind of my dream school, too,” although the Crimson Tide hasn’t offered yet. He has an uncle who played at TCU, and said the whole family are Frog fans.

One of Sims’ good friends is Bai Jobe, the state’s top prospect from the 2023 class who chose Michigan State. Sims forged a strong relationship with former Spartans defensive line coach Marco Coleman, who now coaches d-line at Georgia Tech — and extended Sims an offer the day he got the job back on Jan 5.

“When Coach Coleman left Michigan State for Georgia Tech, I still had love for him,” Sims said. “So that’s a big thing.”

Xadavien Sims
Xadavien Sims :: John E. Hoover / AllSooners

It’s relationships that Sims wants out of his school — and that’s why Venables, Bates, Chavis and OU are so high on his list.

“They’ve been on me pretty hard,” Sims said. “Coach Venables, he hits me up a lot, telling me a lot of good things. I really like it over there. My mom likes it. So it would be a big major recruiting school for me in the future.”

Most projections have Sims going to Michigan State, but Coleman’s move and the Sooners’ full-court press could work in OU’s favor.

“I’ve been to OU recently. I’ve been there about 3-4 times,” Sims said. “It’s a great environment there.

“Good people. I have a great relationship with both of them (Bates and Chavis). Coach Bates came to my school, so I really like him. He’s one of them coaches, he’ll send me Bible scriptures, he’ll talk to my mom and stuff like that. So that’s what I definitely like about them. They’re two good coaches that can coach me very well.”

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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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