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Sunday Offering: Recapping a Busy Week for Oklahoma on the Recruiting Trail

In the past week, the Sooners received three commitments and learned that they were in contention for two 2024 offensive lineman.
Randall Sweet|
Sunday Offering: Recapping a Busy Week for Oklahoma on the Recruiting Trail
Sunday Offering: Recapping a Busy Week for Oklahoma on the Recruiting Trail

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Oklahoma Sooners

Brent Venables and company have had a busy week on the recruiting trail.

OU's coaching staff has been hard at work bolstering the 2024 class while preparing to build another strong group in next year's recruiting cycle. 

With three commitments, two players announcing their commitment dates, two more Oklahoma offers planning visits to Norman and another quarterback offer being extended by  OU coaches all in the past week, the Sooners have been busy recruiting. 

Commitments 

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On Tuesday, Emmett Jones landed his fifth wide receiver commit in the 2024 class when Zion Ragins of Jones County High School (GA) announced his pledge to OU.

Ragins is a 4-star recruit, rated one of the top 180 players and top 20 wide receivers in the nation according to ESPN. Listed at 5-foot-9, the Gray, GA, native has electrifying speed and has clocked a 10.3 in the 100-meter dash. 

The speedy pass catcher chose the Sooners over Georgia and Florida State, among others. 

On Saturday, Jones and company got a commitment from Jacob Jordan, a preferred walk-on from Southlake Carroll (TX). 

Also 5-foot-9, Jordan is a skilled slot receiver who holds scholarship offers from Texas Tech, Western Kentucky, Tulsa and North Texas.

Jordan attended the Brent Venables Elite Camp in June, dominating one-on-one reps and receiving a PWO offer on the spot. 

Jordan and Ragins join Zion Kearney, Ivan Carreon, KJ Daniels and Dozie Ezukanma in Oklahoma's 2024 wide receiver room. 

On Friday, OU earned a commitment from the nation's No. 1 running back, Taylor Tatum.

The 5-star prospect from Longview, TX, chose the Sooners over USC after cutting his list to Southern California and Oklahoma earlier in July. Previously, Tatum was also believed to be considering Michigan.

Prior to the ChampU BBQ in mid-June, the Lobos standout was reportedly leaning towards the Trojans. After his visit to OU’s campus, however, Tatum's opinion seemed to change. 

Not only is the 5-foot-11, 205-pound tailback one of the top 31 players in the 2024 class on the football field, but he is also a talented recruit on the diamond, planning to play baseball at OU. In fact, Skip Johnson and the Sooners' baseball team was a huge selling point for the No. 1 running back in the country.

Commitment dates

In addition to the three commitments the Sooners picked up this week, Venables and company learned that they are potentially in the mix for a few more. 

On Tuesday, Sierra Canyon 4-star 2024 offensive lineman Eugene Brooks is set to make his college decision between OU and Texas. For Bill Bedenbaugh and company, who only have one offensive lineman committed in the 2024 cycle, beating out the Longhorns for a pledge from Brooks would be a huge victory. 

Rated one of the top 15 interior offensive lineman in the country according to Rivals, Brooks would join offensive tackle Isaiah Autry as the only offensive trench players in the Sooners' upcoming recruiting class. 

According to predictions from On3, Rivals and 247Sports, Brooks is expected to join OU's 2024 class on Tuesday. The talented interior lineman visited Norman on June 9, the same date as Ragins, Michael Hawkins Jr. and Williams Nwaneri, among others.

Josh Aisosa, the state of Oklahoma's top offensive lineman in the 2024 recruiting class, said on social media earlier this week that he will announce his commitment on August 14.

Hailing from Edmond Santa Fe (OK), Aisosa is listed at 6-foot-4 and 300 pounds. The 3-star lineman currently holds 11 offers, with OU, Iowa State and UTSA headlining the group. 

Per predictions from Rivals and On3, Aisosa will likely pledge to the Sooners in August, which could put Oklahoma at three offensive line commits in the 2024 class. For Bedenbaugh and company, gaining a commitment from the Wolves star would be important in more ways than one.

Not only would Aisosa's commitment help fortify the Sooners' 2024 offensive line group, but it would be a sign that the Sooners have faith in the local talent pool. Keeping the state's top recruits within Oklahoma's borders helps build a strong culture around Venables' program, and helps OU's coaching staff recruit at Edmond Santa Fe and around the state in the future. 

Planned visits

Speaking of in-state prospects, two of the top recruits in Oklahoma announced on Twitter earlier this week that they will visit Norman prior to the start of their upcoming seasons.

Danny Okoye, one of the top 80 players and top 10 edge rushers in the nation according to On3, said that he will visit the Sooners and the Crimson Tide this summer.

Listed at 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds, the 4-star 2024 prospect from Northeastern Oklahoma Association of Homeschools (also known as NOAH) has racked up nearly 30 offers heading into his final high school season. 

If OU is able to land a commitment from Okoye, the Sooners' defensive line group in the 2024 recruiting class would be even more formidable than it is already shaping up to be. Currently, Rivals has Oklahoma as the favorite for Okoye while On3 projects that he will end up in Austin.

Alexander Shieldnight, another talented in-state edge rusher, also said that he will visit OU again this summer. 

The 6-foot-3, 220 pound edge from Wagoner, OK, is currently viewed as a 3-star prospect according to Rivals and On3. Shieldnight was on campus in June for the Brent Venables Elite Camp, performing well in front of the Sooners' coaching staff.

Shieldnight is one of the top 20 edge rushers in the 2025 recruiting class per Rivals and holds nearly 10 offers. At the moment, Oklahoma State and Arkansas appear to be the Sooners' biggest competition for the Bulldogs' standout.

Offers

Even with all the action over the past week, Venables and company still found time to offer another 2024 quarterback, Alliance High School (OH) signal caller Brendan Zurbrugg. 

Zurbrugg is a talented dual-threat QB who is committed to Northwestern after originally pledging to Syracuse. Now, with some of the issues around the Wildcats program, it would not be shocking to see Zurbrugg change his mind once again. 

Listed at 6-foot-4, the skilled passer also excels on the track, running a personal best 38.16 in the 300 meter hurdles and 14.60 in the 110 meter hurdles. The Alliance High School (OH) product has been named to the All-Ohio track team twice in his career.

If Jeff Lebby is able to get a commitment from Zurbrugg, it would strengthen OU's quarterback room and give the team some much need depth after Dillion Gabriel's inevitable departure. 

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Randall Sweet
RANDALL SWEET

Randall is a recruiting analyst and staff writer at AllSooners focusing primarily on OU Football and the recruiting trail. Working as a journalist, Randall has covered the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma City Thunder, and high school sports across the state. A 2022 University of Oklahoma graduate, Randall hails from Lubbock, TX. While in college, Sweet wrote for the OU Daily in addition to working with Sooner Sports Pad and OU Nightly. Following his time at OU, Sweet served as the Communications Coordinator at Visit Oklahoma City before leaving to join the team at AllSooners. The West Texas native has bylines in the Norman Transcript and is a Staff Writer for Inside the Thunder. Randall holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of Oklahoma in Norman, OK. 

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