Robert Spears-Jennings Already Feels Part of the Family at Oklahoma

Robert Spears-Jennings provided some early fireworks for Oklahoma fans on the Fourth of July.

The 6-foot-2, 195-pound athlete announced his commitment to the Sooners on Sunday, bringing his impressive size and speed to the OU secondary.

After only being offered by Oklahoma on June 9, Spears-Jennings told SI Sooners the decision was easy once he decided his best path in the future was at defensive back.

“Just talking to a couple of friends and family members, and they were like if you want to be developed and make it to the next level, DB is the way to go,” Spears-Jennings said. “My only two options at DB were Texas Tech and OU so I just took the opportunity at OU because of Coach (Alex Grinch) and Coach (Roy Manning).”

Grinch and Manning have turned heads, inheriting the worst defense in school history and catapulting them to one of the premier units in the country.

“Seeing how before they got there Oklahoma was one of the worst defenses in the Big 12,” Spears-Jennings said. “And now they’re like top five, top three. So that just shows a lot of how they turned the program around that fast and how they’ve sent DB’s and just defensive players in general to the (NFL).”

Not only was Spears-Jennings drawn to the results on the field, but he said he loved the energy that Manning brings to the table every day and how hands on of a coach he is.

“You can call him at 11 p.m. and he will have the same energy, so he’s not putting on a front for anybody,” he said. “I like when coaches do the drills with you, it makes practice fun. Makes it not seem like it’s just work.

“If you make practice fun, it goes by faster and it goes by easier and you’re actually getting better more work done than just being sluggish and going through the motions.”

Though he hasn’t been playing defensive back for long, Spears-Jennings said he has some clear influences.

“Cam Chancellor, big safety. He’s big like me, he’s tall and strong,” he said. “Jamal Adams, people like them. Tall, strong guys that aren’t afraid to hit and are ball hawks also.”

After OU’s big Fourth of July, the Sooners now have 12 verbal commits in their 2022 class, with five of those being defensive commits. Spears-Jones joins Jayden Rowe as Grinch’s pair of defensive backs who have committed.