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Oklahoma Picks Up Commitment from Highly Touted In-State DL

The Sooners added to their 2024 class on Wednesday night, earning a pledge from one of the top players in the state.
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Oklahoma Picks Up Commitment from Highly Touted In-State DL
Oklahoma Picks Up Commitment from Highly Touted In-State DL

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Oklahoma Sooners

BIXBY, OK — Oklahoma's 2024 defensive line class just got even stronger.

On Wednesday night, 4-star Tulsa NOAH (OK) defensive lineman Danny Okoye announced his commitment to OU, choosing the Sooners over Texas and Tennessee. 

Okoye is one of the top 66 players and top eight edge rushers in the the nation, according to On3. The Jaguars' standout is also the No. 1 player in Oklahoma, per On3, ESPN and Rivals.

"Really, just the relationship I had with all the coaches," he said of what swung his decision to OU. "The coaching staff has always been good to me. Just the energy they have, every time we communicate. I can really buy into what Coach Venables is building over there. I really just think it's a good fit for me."

In particular, Okoye said he has enjoyed building a relationship with his future position coach, Miguel Chavis.

"We really just match each other's energy a lot," Okoye said. "That's just the type of person I am. I'm really big on vibes."

In August, Okoye released his top six schools, with Alabama, Colorado, LSU, Texas, Tennessee and Oklahoma all in the mix for the star pass rusher.

In September, Okoye cut his list in half, keeping Tennessee, Texas and OU in contention. 

But Okoye revealed Wednesday that he's actually been silently committed to OU ever since taking his official visit to the school back on Sept. 2.

"To be honest, I committed on the visit," Okoye said. "Rumors were flying around. I didn't' confirm or deny anything. But yeah, I've been locked in since the (official visit)."

Keeping the secret, he said, was the hardest part.

"It was hard to trust people," he said. "Because a lot of people, you can't really tell them stuff. Because then it's like, not gonna be secret any more. Keeping it under wraps was probably the hardest part."

He said OU is "really big on family. They care a lot more about helping the athlete. They care about helping the person. And a lot of programs care more about what you do on the field than what you are as a man, and I want to be a good man before I'm a good athlete."

Even though he's been committed to OU, Tennessee and Texas were in the mix, Okoye said.

"I mean, Tennessee's been showing the love for a long time," he said. "I've had a relationship with them longer than I've had a relationship with OU. So just buying into that and spending time with them as well, it definitely made the decision a lot harder. But in the end, I feel like I did what was best for me."

Okoye said the official visit for the week of the Arkansas State game "played a big part, I'm not gonna lie. Before I went on the official to OU, Tennessee was leading, I'm not gonna lie. But after that visit, I got to talk to a lot of good people and I got to get a lot of information, and based on that, I made the decision I made today."

When asked about one of the important factors in his recruitment, the 6-foot-5, 250-pound d-lineman said that he is looking forward to playing in the SEC.

“The SEC is the most violent conference, and I like violence, so it's for me,” Okoye said.

Earlier in the season, AllSooners talked to Okoye about what he likes about the Sooners following his game against Kiefer (OK).

“Oklahoma just knows how to show love, man," Okoye said. "All the coaches there, we are best friends. I mean, I have all of their numbers saved. I’d say that I call them maybe on a bi-daily basis. So the connection’s there. I believe that's a big part of the factors that would go into me choosing or making a decision, is the connection that I have with the coaching staff and with, you know, the faculty and all of them. So I definitely feel that connection with OU.”

The stellar edge rusher continued to say that he has a great relationship with the Sooners' coaching staff.

“Coach (Miguel) Chavis, Coach Venables, Coach (Todd) Bates, Coach (Ted) Roof, all of them guys. They’re my people,” Okoye told AllSooners. “ ... The relatability. They take the time to get to know you on a personal level. They're very in depth. When they're recruiting somebody, they're not just recruiting you for what you can do, they're recruiting you for who you are. And that's a very big, very big factor.”

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Why Oklahoma DL Target Danny Okoye is Excited to Play in the SEC

Okoye's commitment to Miguel Chavis, Todd Bates and company bolsters what was already an impressive defensive line group in the Sooners' 2024 recruiting class. OU has already received commitments from 5-star defensive lineman David Stone, 4-star d-lineman Nigel Smith II, 4-star defensive tackle Jayden Jackson and 4-star edge Wyatt Gilmore.

With three defensive lineman all rated inside the top 100 players of the 2024 class, Oklahoma is on its way to signing one of the best defensive line classes in program history. 

"It's definitely gonna be something special," Okoye said. "I think a lot of people don't realize that."

Earning a pledge from such a talented in-state edge rusher should help Sooner fans recover from not landing Williams Nwaneri, the nation's No. 1 defensive lineman, in August. Between Stone, Okoye and Smith, the OU defensive coaching staff has brought in a handful of big, physical, athletic defensive lineman that will help Oklahoma transition into the SEC.

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