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Oklahoma Lands Commitment from 4-Star DB Maliek Hawkins

After bringing in 4-star safety Marcus Wimberly over the weekend, the Sooners strengthened their defensive backfield in the upcoming recruiting cycle on Wednesday.

Randall Sweet

Maliek Hawkins
Maliek Hawkins / Photo via Maliek Hawkins on Twitter/X

On Wednesday, Oklahoma earned a commitment from 4-star defensive back Maliek Hawkins.

Hawkins chose Brent Venables and company over Texas, Mississippi State, Arkansas and Texas State.

"(Jay) Valai played a big part in that," Hawkins told Greg Powers of Dave Campbell's Texas High School Football. "The way he told me how he's going to use me and I think it shows that be believes in me."

Hawkins is the Sooners' 11th pledge in 2025 recruiting class, coming less than a week after 4-star Bauxite (AR) safety Marcus Wimberly announced his commitment to OU.

Listed at 6-foot-2 and 180 pounds, Hawkins is rated the No. 330 overall player and No. 33 cornerback in the nation, according to On3's Industry Ranking.

The son of former Oklahoma and Dallas Cowboys defensive back Michael Hawkins Sr. and the younger brother of Sooners true freshman quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr., the Frisco Emerson (TX) standout is set to become the third member of his family to don the Crimson and Cream.

Hawkins Sr. played under Venables during his time at OU, which his son said was a big factor in his decision.

"Coach BV harps on that a lot, about defense, defense, defense. It'll win the game," Hawkins told Powers. "Growing up with my dad going there and him knowing all the coaches and things like that, it definitely played a part in that."

At OU's Spring Media Day last month, Hawkins' big brother offered optimism that they would be playing college football together soon.

"I’m excited," Hawkins Jr. said. "I got a good feeling he’s gonna come to Norman and play with me. And if he does, that’ll be a really good experience for both of us, just keeping that going through high school too. So that’ll be fun. I’m excited for him."

With good size, length and speed, Hawkins' play style fits well in the SEC, as the talented defensive back is able to get physical with opposing wide receivers at the line of scrimmage and can make plays on the ball in the air.

In 2023, Hawkins helped lead the Mavericks to the UIL 5A state semifinals in the program's second year, where Emerson ultimately fell to perennial powerhouse South Oak Cliff.

Hawkins joins Wimberly, Wagoner (OK) edge rusher Alexander Shieldnight, Carl Albert (OK) linebacker Marcus James and Lee's Summit North (MO) defensive lineman Ka'Mori Moore on the defensive side of the ball, giving OU defensive coordinator Zac Alley a solid start in the upcoming cycle.

Prior to Hawkins' pledge, the Sooners held the No. 6-ranked 2025 recruiting class in the nation, according to 247 Sports and Rivals.

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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.