National Signing Day: Recapping The Last Ten OU Recruiting Classes

<p>With National Signing Day arriving on Wednesday, here's a breakdown of OU's recruiting classes going all the way back to 2005.&nbsp;</p>

Tuesday, February 2nd 2016, 6:56 pm

By: Brett Coppenbarger


National Signing Day is finally upon us on Wednesday and the Sooners still have plenty work to do when it comes to finalizing the class of 2016. To go along with the occasion, here’s a brief breakdown of Oklahoma’s recruiting classes since 2005. The rankings are pulled from the 247Sports Composite Rating, which combines the rankings of the major recruiting services into one composite rank.

2005 -- National Rank 2 -- DeMarcus Granger was the headline recruit this season as a five-star and the No. 7 player in the country, but it was either Ryan Reynolds or Reggie Smith who had the most impact on the OU program.

2006 – National Rank 8 – This was a huge class for the Sooners, with five-star studs such as Gerald McCoy and DeMarco Murray among the prize recruits in the class, while little-known three-star quarterback Sam Bradford left school with a pretty big trophy.

2007 – National Rank 18 – Juco product Mike Reed was highly touted as a four-star linebacker, but a kid from Enid named Austin Box and his buddy Travis Lewis became the best linebackers in the class. Three-star receiver Ryan Broyles and juco four-star tackle Phil Loadholt had stellar OU careers as well.

2008 – National Rank 5 – Running back Jermie Calhoun and defensive end R.J. Washington never entirely panned out as the five-star players they were panned out to be, but four-star quarterback Landry Jones lived up to the hype as a pro-style playmaker.

2009 – National Rank 9 – Five-star defensive tackle Jamarkus McFarland was a huge snag for the Sooners at the time, and ironically enough McFarland is back with OU now as a graduate assistant coach. Big-named players such as Gabe Lynn, Ronnell Lewis, Justin Chaisson and Tom Wort were also celebrated as game changers, but Bishop McGuiness’ star Gabe Ikard had the most decorated career as an OU captain and All-American.

2010 – National Rank 4 – This was the year of the “Cali Trio” and the grouping of defensive back Tony Jefferson, wide receiver Kenny Stills and running back Brennan Clay were all four-star prospects that had memorable careers as Sooners. This recruiting class also hit on a lot of solid offensive lineman, with four-star tackles Tyrus Thompson and Daryl Williams headlining the group along with three-star guard Adam Shead.

2011 – National Rank 13 – Running back Brandon Williams and receiver Trey Metoyer were touted as five-star must-haves and four-star defensive tackle Jordan Phillips ended up as a solid pro prospect. A lot of people thought that OU legacy Kendal Thompson may be the face of the program at some point, but he eventually transferred to Utah.

2012 – National Rank 12 – This group had a lot of memorable names such as four-star receivers Sterling Shepard and Durron Neal to go with three-star defensive playmakers such as Charles Tapper, Eric Striker and Zack Sanchez.

2013 – National Rank 16 – Running back Keith Ford was the lone five-star recruit, but it was three-star linebackers Dominique Alexander and Jordan Evans who ended up contributing the most. This was a class that had some solid defensive lineman in four-star Matt Dimon and three-star Charles Walker.

2014 – National Rank 14 – Five-star running back Joe Mixon headlined the group, but the 2014 class also produced four-star safety Steven Parker, four-star running back Samaje Perine and three-star cornerback Jordan Thomas.

2015 – National Rank 14 – Four-star defensive tackle Neville Gallimore, four-star receiver Ricky DeBerry, and four-star corner PJ Mbanasor were some of the big names in the class, but it was juco receiver Dede Westbrook, transfer Jarvis Baxter and three-star kicker Austin Seibert who saw the field the most this last season. 

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