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Oklahoma Lands DB Makari Vickers Over Alabama and Michigan

Brent Venables and Jay Valai won a major recruiting battle against the Crimson Tide on Friday night.
Ryan Chapman|
Oklahoma Lands DB Makari Vickers Over Alabama and Michigan
Oklahoma Lands DB Makari Vickers Over Alabama and Michigan

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Oklahoma Sooners

Jay Valai and Brent Venables’ partnership at Oklahoma continues to pay dividends.

Tallahassee safety Makari Vickers announced his commitment to Oklahoma over Alabama and Michigan on Friday night, marking the third marquee defensive back pickup for OU in its 2023 recruiting class.

Vickers, a 6-foot-1, 180-pound defensive back, is rated a 4-star recruit by both 247 Sports and Rivals. He is also ranked the No. 85-overall prospect in the country by 247 Sports’ composite ranking, and is rated as the sixth best safety in the country.

A versatile athlete, Vickers has been utilized on both sides of the football throughout his high school career, and he’s also a standout track and field athlete off the football field. Defensively, he uses his speed to cover plenty of ground, both putting himself in position to come down with the football over wide receivers and to step up into the run game and level opposing ballcarriers.

After officially visiting on June 3, Vickers returned for the “Party at the Palace” recruiting event at the end of July before pulling the trigger and committing to the Sooners.

Not only is Vickers Oklahoma’s 22nd commit of the 2023 recruiting cycle, he marks a recruiting win for Venables over Alabama before the new head coach has even presided over a single contest in Norman.

He’s also the 10th defensive commit for Oklahoma, as the new coaching staff has brought plenty of balance to their first full recruiting class on campus.

Vickers joins fellow defensive backs Jacobe Johnson and Jasaiah Wagoner in the class, as well as defensive linemen P.J. Adebawore, Colton Vasek and Derrick LeBlanc, and linebackers Samuel Omosigho, Lewis Carter and Phil Picciotti and athlete Kaleb Spencer.

The talented defensive back is also the fourth verbal commitment the Sooners have landed from Florida in the 2023 class.

Oklahoma isn’t done, either, as OU is still pursuing defensive linemen David Hicks, Jordan Renaud and Tausili Akana. The additions of any one of those recruits would round out an incredibly impressive defensive haul in Venables’ first full recruiting cycle back in Norman. 

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Ryan Chapman
RYAN CHAPMAN

Ryan is co-publisher at Sooners On SI and covers a number of sports in and around Norman and Oklahoma City. Working both as a journalist and a sports talk radio host, Ryan has covered the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma City Thunder, the United States Men’s National Soccer Team, the Oklahoma City Energy and more. Since 2019, Ryan has simultaneously pursued a career as both a writer and a sports talk radio host, working for the Flagship for Oklahoma sports, 107.7 The Franchise, as well as AllSooners.com. Ryan serves as a contributor to The Franchise’s website, TheFranchiseOK.com, which was recognized as having the “Best Website” in 2022 by the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters. Ryan holds an associate’s degree in Journalism from Oklahoma City Community College in Oklahoma City, OK. 

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