Oklahoma Lands Wide Receiver Commit

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Oklahoma received a verbal commitment Wednesday from a record-setting wide receiver.
Eli Merck, a senior at Daniel High School in Central, SC, pledged to play for the Sooners in 2023.
Merck announced his commitment on Twitter.
Congrats on your commitment @elimerck04. So proud of you big dawg! #BoomerSooner #WinToday https://t.co/26zfuOUX96
— Coach Ellis (@Coach_Ellis) January 25, 2023
The 6-foot-2, 180-pound Merck holds an offer from Appalachian State and will be a preferred walk-on at OU. He received his offer from OU in late December.
Merck set a school record at Daniel with 3,233 yards receiving on 171 catches and scored 49 touchdowns.
Career Stats:
— Eli Merck (@elimerck04) November 20, 2022
3,270 yards
171 receptions
49 td
Thank you @dwdanielFB for the best 4 years of football anyone could ask for. I can say with no regrets, I left everything on the field. With this door closing there will soon be one opening. #15out pic.twitter.com/bkkWGaI6e1
Congratulations to Eli Merck @elimerck04 on finishing his Daniel career with 3,233 yards receiving, establishing a school record! #WinToday! pic.twitter.com/8D1bFKa27x
— D.W. Daniel Football (@dwdanielFB) January 24, 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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