Are the Pieces of the Sooners' 2021 Recruiting Puzzle Finally Falling Into Place?

The hype is reaching its zenith, one cryptic tweet at a time.

As your SI Sooners staff discussed last week, Caleb Williams' potential commitment could be the most impactful development on the recruiting trail in Sooner history.

Remarkably, that has relatively little to do with the fact that Williams looks like a generational talent at the quarterback position. It has much more to do with the fact that Williams' commitment could instantly propagate a slew of commitments from other 2021 recruits.

One of the more prominent such recruits is four-star defensive end Kelvin Gilliam of Highland Springs, VA. Gilliam had previously stated that he talked "sometimes daily" with Williams. On Tuesday, Gilliam told SI Sooners that he and Williams have narrowed the primary focus of their conversation to one particular school.

“We were talking about the OU dorms," Gilliam said. "Talking about all the guys we’re trying to get. Mario Williams, Maason Smith, guys like that. The conversations have just mainly been about OU.”

Gilliam gave SI Sooners the full list of schools that he intends to take visits to, but acknowledged that a decision from Williams could render that list moot.

“It would be huge if the #1 quarterback [committed] to OU and I’m already being heavily recruited by them,” Gilliam said.

Mario Williams, the speedy Plant City, FL wideout, recently earned a five-star rating from Rivals. He's long been identified as the player with the strongest connection to Caleb Williams. It seems a foregone conclusion that the pass-catching Williams will very quickly commit to Oklahoma if and when the pass-throwing Williams does so.

Smith, an elite defensive tackle prospect out of Louisiana, holds an offer from Oklahoma but didn't place them in his initial top ten. However, that list was released in October, so there's certainly a chance that the love from Gilliam and Williams has kindled a renewed interest in the Sooners.

Then there's Daymon David, whom SI Sooners profiled long before he earned the interest of Power 5 programs across the country. Oklahoma was the first true blue-blood school to offer the Reisterstown, MD safety.

On Tuesday night, David tweeted at Williams very suggestively, and Williams quoted the tweet in a similarly suggestive manner. It's been clear for quite a while that the Sooners hold a wide lead in the race for David's commitment. The implications therein are obvious.

If that weren't enough, four-star Orlando wideout Christian Leary tweeted "#OUDNA" on Tuesday evening, and Austin cornerback Latrell McCutchin tweeted "#BoomerSooner" in response to four-star receiver and Oklahoma commit Cody Jackson. Both Leary and McCutchin are among those in Williams' well-documented correspondence circle.

It could all be nothing more than hype, and it could be a surefire signal of things to come. One way or another, things are heating up on the recruiting trail, and Norman is the center of the nebula. Sooner Nation would be well advised to monitor the coming days very closely.

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