Oklahoma DL Target Sets Commitment Date

Four-star defensive lineman Xadavien Sims of Durant, OK, has the Sooners listed in the top five he dropped this week.

John E. Hoover|

Oklahoma DL Target Sets Commitment Date

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Oklahoma Sooners

Xadavien Sims is getting closer and closer to making some school, fan base and coaching staff very happy.

The 4-star defensive lineman on Wednesday narrowed down his recruiting prospects to five schools, and identified his announcement date — May 20.

The 6-foot-4, 270-pound Sims, a Durant, OK, product who trains at C4 Sports Performance in Durant, will reveal his decision next Saturday during the C4 Pro Day.

His finalists are Oregon, Vanderbilt, TCU, Michigan State and Oklahoma.

One of Sims’ best friends, Bai Jobe, signed with Michigan State last year. Vanderbilt was Sims’ first offer. But Sims told AllSooners he’s always followed OU closely, especially since Brent Venables returned.

“I could see myself being coached there,” Sims said. “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.”

247 Sports ranks Sims as the No. 9 defensive lineman in the country and the No. 65 player overall, while Rivals ranks him No. 8 at his position and No. 74 overall.

Published May 11, 2023

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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