Sooners Slide in Latest 2022 Team Recruiting Rankings

Despite an explosive July on the recruiting trail, the Oklahoma Sooners slid in the Sports Illustrated All-American Team Recruiting Rankings for the second straight month.

After debuting at No. 6 in June, OU dropped to No. 10 at the start of July, and has now fallen again to 11th to start August.

July was a big recruiting month across the country, with many prospects deciding to make the call and commit after the NCAA dead period was lifted for June.

The Sooners were no different, landing eight pledges for their 2022 class.

Headlined by a pair of 4-star offensive linemen in Jacob Sexton and Jake Taylor, Oklahoma also laid down a marker on the defensive side of the football, earning the commitment of 4-star defensive lineman Derrick Moore.

While OU bolstered their depth with defensive backs Xavion Brice and Robert Spears-Jennings, tight end Kaden Helms and defensive lineman Cedric Roberts, there are still bigger targets on the board for the Sooners that could see them vault back into the top 10.

The SIAA rankings are weighted toward the premium positions (quarterback, offensive tackle, defensive line, cornerback), and while OU added a ton of talent at those positions in July, the Sooners may not have gotten as big a boost as expected as a bulk of their July pickups have flown under the radar nationally.

Top 25 College Football Team Recruiting Rankings https://t.co/LWFZEhmiQP
— SI All-American (@SIAllAmerican) August 2, 2021

Two of Oklahoma’s marquee commits in July, Malachi Nelson and Treyaun Webb, are class of 2023 prospects, and will form a strong core of the 2023 class even though they don’t count toward these specific team rankings.

The Sooners remain the highest rated Big 12 team in the rankings, with the Texas Longhorns checking in one spot behind them at No. 12. Baylor is currently slotted as having the 15th best class, with Iowa State following at No. 20 and West Virginia at No. 23.

Even though they won’t have to contend with the SEC grind in 2021, Oklahoma has some ground to make up on the recruiting trail. Four of their future conference foes (Alabama, LSU, Georgia and Texas A&M) are slotted above the Sooners in the top 10, with another four members of the SEC rounding out the top 25.

Lincoln Riley, Alex Grinch and the rest of the staff have plenty of time to make moves, however, as SIAA will continue to release updated team rankings all the way through signing day.