Meet 4-Star Sooners OL Target Jacob Sexton
Jacob Sexton via Twitter (@Jacob_Sexton_)
The state of Oklahoma is rife with prep football talent in the class of 2022, and the Sooners are looking to maintain their domination of the local recruiting trail. That effort starts with two-way athlete Gentry Williams, wideout Talyn Shettron and offensive lineman Jacob Sexton.
Sexton, who stands 6-foot-5 and weighs in at 285 pounds, hails from Edmond. He’s listed as a 4-star recruit by both 247Sports and Rivals, and he’s emerged as a dominant force in the trenches for Deer Creek High School. He credits his wrestling background for his impressive combination of muscle and finesse.
“Before I even started playing football, I wrestled for two years,” Sexton said. “That was one thing that my dad made me do. He said before I played tackle football, I had to wrestle for two years. That’s kind of where a lot of this started.”
There certainly aren’t any questions surrounding Sexton’s size and strength. But he says wrestling also helped him grasp the finer points of offensive line play.
“Balance, for sure,” he said. “Flexibility. A lot of stuff that people wouldn’t really think about, but it shows. I can do a backflip on a trampoline, and I’m real close to being able to land one on the ground.”
The rising junior has always been the biggest kid on the field, and from an early age, he recognized that his frame could give him a natural edge.
“When I started playing football, I was a lot taller than everyone else,” Sexton said. “Obviously, I was a little bit stronger, too, ‘cause being bigger, your body has to do a little more. A smaller dude doesn’t have to move as much body around. I knew as a kid that I’d be a big guy once I was fully grown.”
In a competitive Oklahoma prep circuit, Sexton isn’t quite the physical outlier that he was as a youngster. But he welcomes the increasingly tough competition head-on.
“There’s definitely some good kids out here,” he noted. “There’s some big kids, and most of them are pretty athletic and pretty quick.”
Sexton himself is pretty athletic and pretty quick, clocking a 5.4 40-yard dash as a sophomore. He’s also versatile; Deer Creek has deployed Sexton as both a tackle and a guard. That athleticism and adaptability have made Sexton a favorite of Oklahoma offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh.
“The first time I talked to Coach Bedenbaugh was at their camp my freshman year,” Sexton said. “I went to a lot of (Oklahoma) games last season too. I went to a handful there, and everything went really good. He’s a nice guy and I think he does what’s best for his players.”
Given Sexton’s affinity for Bedenbaugh and the Sooners, it might be surprising to learn where his allegiance lay as a young football fan. Despite growing up in the Sooner State, he didn’t root for Oklahoma. Instead, he pulled for their bitter rival.
“I was actually a Texas fan as a kid,” he admitted. “My dad came out of Texas, and that’s about the only reason I had a favorite football team.”
The Longhorns are among the more prominent programs after Sexton’s commitment, so it’s safe to say Bedenbaugh and the Sooners may have a little added motivation to lure the Edmond phenom to Norman.
Sexton, who’s an avid outdoorsman, is doing his best to soak up his final two years of high school life before he takes his talents to the FBS. But the thrill of leisure doesn’t override his grit as a football player.
“We have 15 acres and a pond,” he said. “I really like fishing, swimming, pretty much anything outdoors. (But) when I step on the field, it’s time to go.”
In addition to the interest from the Sooners and Longhorns, Sexton holds offers from Arizona State, Texas A&M, Nebraska and Tennessee, among many others.
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