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Top Oklahoma recruit Morgan Pearson could play multiple positions, or multiple sports

Oklahoma State, Iowa State and Pittsburgh have offered, but Oklahoma and others are on the radar for Plainview football/baseball star

Morgan Pearson isn’t consumed with recruiting. Still a young 15, he knows there’s plenty of time — and plenty of opportunities.

“He’s still just a kid, man,” said Pearson’s fitness trainer and 7-on-7 coach, Sean Cooper. “I know you see his body and you’re like, ‘That’s a grown man.’ But when you get around him, he’s a kid. At 15, he’s closer to 14 than he is to 16. And I can tell you this, he does not wake up thinking about recruiting. Which is a great thing.”

Morgan Pearson

Morgan Pearson

Pearson is one of the top college football recruits in the state of Oklahoma in the 2023 class. He’s a wide receiver at Plainview High School who’s winding down his sophomore year and is just at the beginning of his journey.

With scholarship offers from Oklahoma State, Iowa State, Pittsburgh and Illinois State, Pearson is a 3-star recruit ranked by 247 Sports, the state’s No. 5 overall prospect and the No. 1 true receiver. Bixby’s Luke Hasz is regarded as a tight end; Mustang’s Jacobe Johnson is an athlete. So far, Pearson has only played wideout.

Pearson also could slide into the “athlete” category eventually — in two sports.

First, the 6-foot-1, 215-pound Pearson is looking for a school where he can play both football and baseball. OSU, for instance, has offered him in both sports.

“It’s great,” Pearson told SI Sooners. “I just finally met the offensive coordinator, coach (Kasey) Dunn. I love him. He’s so funny. I feel like we can have great relationships. And then baseball-wise, I have another offer from there, too. It just all combines together. They all know each other. It’s great to have somebody that can work with me at both sports.”

Morgan Pearson

Morgan Pearson

And second, Pearson currently plays wideout for Plainview, but he may not stay there throughout his career. He’s gotten bigger and stronger, and he could transition to another position. One look at his frame and it’s easy to see a Lincoln Riley H-back.

“I used to play tall, since I’m such lengthy kid,” he said. “I put muscle on. I used to play tall and slow, and then I learned how to use my feet and hips more to work with it and just go around these defensive guys with my speed.”

“Is he a receiver? Is he an H-back/tight end? Or could he transition to play linebacker?” Cooper asks. “Because he’s just so big. Those are the questions I’ve gotten (from college recruiters).”

Morgan Pearson

Morgan Pearson

Cooper played college football at Southeastern State University in Durant, OK. As a freshman running back, one of those on the depth chart ahead of him was current OU linebackers coach Brian Odom, who had begun his college career as a Sooner running back. Now Cooper runs C4 Sports Performance & Fitness, and trains athletes from all over the Texoma area while also coaching them in offseason 7-on-7 events.

“I think OU is gonna make a push for him,” Cooper said. “I think right now everybody just wants to see where he’s gonna go.”

Pearson has had preliminary discussions with Oklahoma. He said offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh came to his school, just over an hour south of Norman, and met with him briefly.

“It was pretty cool,” he said. “Talked to him for a little bit. … It could be a dream school. But since everybody’s going there, I kind of wanted to be different and go a different route.

“But OU, if they offer me, it’s gonna be one of my tops, for sure.”

Cooper said Pearson’s recruiting got off to a slow start because he played back and forth on the varsity and freshman team during his freshman year — he backed up Blake Nowell, who’s now playing at TCU — and recruiters told him they wanted to see Pearson play a full season on varsity.

He did that last fall, excelling as a sophomore with 48 catches for 831 yards and 10 touchdowns.

“I honestly thought that once he played his first full year, he’d get more Power 5 offers,” Cooper said. “Especially when you look at the film. The film is crazy. I think that’s why he’s the No. 1-ranked receiver in Oklahoma in 2023 on the new 247 rankings. You look at the film, he attacks the ball just as good or better than anybody.”

Illinois State offered last June, and on Feb. 1, both Iowa State and Oklahoma State offered. When March arrived, Pittsburgh offered.

Cooper said he’s spoken to coaches at Texas and Baylor in the Big 12, Washington and Washington State in the Pac-12, and Texas A&M and Vanderbilt in the SEC.

Morgan Pearson

Morgan Pearson

Pearson said Iowa State was “a quick call,” but said, “it was great. I love them. They’re great. The only thing I don’t like is they don’t have a baseball program right now. But we could work around it. Even though football is my favorite sport, I’d still like to play both in college.”

With players like Kyler Murray and Cody Thomas having played both sports, Oklahoma has proven it’s a school willing to let players succeed at football and baseball.

“God just blessed him to play both of those sports at a high level,” Cooper said. “I know he loves competing. I know he loves the competition of football, the man-on-man aspect of football.”

Whatever happens, Pearson will stay chill and try to enjoy the journey.

“He trusts the process. He trusts what I tell him. He trusts what (Plainview) coach (Joe) Price tells him. He’s not tripping about recruiting like you see a lot of kids do today. He’s not trying to generate and accumulate offers.”