Wednesday, February 6th 2013, 9:43 am
National Signing Day didn't come with the usual buzz for the Oklahoma Sooners this year. Despite not having a class loaded with four- and five-star recruits, the Sooners were able to meet a lot of needs and, more importantly, snag several players who were genuinely excited about the opportunity to play in Norman.
Here's the list of recruits so far for the Sooners. We'll update the list as the letters of intent roll in for Oklahoma. The recruits are listed in the order their letters of intent were received.
P - Jed Barnett (6'2" 215) - Oakland, CA (Laney C.C.)
Barnett was a two-star recruit by Rivals.com. With Tress Way graduated, Barnett becomes the likely replacement at punter for the Sooners. Barnett isn't the best punter in the world, but he was excited about becoming a Sooner, and that counts for a lot more than you'd think.
Offers: OU, Louisiana Tech, Stony Brook
WR - Dannon Cavil (6'5" 205) - San Antonio, TX (James Madison High School)
Cavil is a three-star and No. 35 WR by ESPN and a 3-star and No. 121 WR by Scout.com. Cavil is a huge wide receiver and has good enough speed to be a consistent vertical threat for the Sooners. If he bulked up considerably, he could possibly shift to tight end, given the Sooners' lack of depth at the position. Even though the Sooners are loaded at wide receiver, Cavil's size should help him to squeeze into the rotation at some point.
Offers: OU, Baylor, California, Clemson, Mississippi, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Texas, Houston, UCLA
DT - Quincy Russell (6'3" 311) - Athens, TX (Trinity Valley C.C.)
A three-star recruit by Rivals.com, Russell should be able to come in and start right away for the Sooners with three senior defensive tackles from 2012 graduating. Russell has great size for a tackle and has good speed as well. The only problem is that he won't be on campus for spring practice due to some class problems at junior college. He'll be in Norman for the summer, but it would have been nice to have him in the spring.
Offers: OU, Nebraska, Arkansas, Baylor, Houston, Kansas State, North Carolina, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas Tech
S - Ahmad Thomas (6'1" 199) - Miami, FL (Miami Central High School)
Thomas was a three-star recruit by all three major services. Like Hatari Byrd, Thomas will have the opportunity to start immediately for the Sooners at safety. He's got the physical tools--well-built with good height and length. He reads things very well and has great instincts.
Offers: OU, Auburn, Florida International, Florida State, Illinois, Marshall , Mississippi State, NC State, Notre Dame, South Florida, Utah State, West Virginia
DE - D.J. Ward (6'3" 245) - Moore, OK (Southmoore High School)
Ward was a four-star recruit and ranked in the top 15 among defensive ends by all three services. Ward has had a tumultuous past year without playing his senior season. He's already on campus, so he'll be participating in spring practice and getting a jump-start on the 2013 season. He's got a lot of physical tools and has solid speed for a defensive end. Like others before him, filling out his frame would make a big impact.
Offers: OU, Arizona, Auburn, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Oregon State, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Tulsa
RELATED STORY: National Signing Day 2013: Oklahoma State Cowboys
DE - Ogbonnia Okoronkwo (6'3" 220) - Houston, TX (Alief Taylor High School)
A three-star recruit, Okoronkwo has a great combination of strength and quickness, but needs to add a lot of bulk to be a college level defensive end. That shouldn't be a problem, with OU strength and conditioning coach Jerry Schmidt. Okoronkwo was originally an OSU commit.
Offers: OU, Colorado State, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma State, Purdue, San Diego State, SMU, Texas Tech, Utah, Wake Forest, Washington State, West Virginia
RB - Keith Ford (5'11" 195) - Cypress, TX (Cypress Ranch High School)
Ford is easily the crown jewel of the OU recruiting class, ranked as a top 10 running back across the board. He's a tough, powerful runner with good speed. One of the most college-ready backs in this class, Ford has drawn comparisons to Trent Richardson without the big numbers in high school.
Offers: OU, Alabama, Baylor, Florida State, Michigan, Nebraska, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Wisconsin, Northwestern, UCLA, Utah
WR - Jordan Smallwood (6'2" 190) - Jenks, OK
A three-star receiver, Smallwood has great size for a receiver. He also played a lot of different roles as a receiver at Jenks, so the Sooners will be able to be flexible with how they use him. Smallwood has great hands, but could stand to bulk up just a bit.
Offers: OU, Wyoming, Eastern Illinois
RELATED STORY: National Signing Day 2013: Oklahoma Sooners Coaches' Takes
OL - Christian Daimler (6'6" 270) - Houston, TX (Stratford High School)
Daimler isn't the overpowering offensive tackle you see on SEC rosters, but he could develop into that. He could add some more weight to his 6'6 frame and become a truly dominant player. The best thing about Daimler is that he's a very efficient run blocker, something the Sooners desperately need on the offensive line.
Offers: OU, Arizona State, Colorado, Colorado State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Texas State, UNLV, Washington State
WR - Austin Bennett (6'0" 170) - Manvel, TX
Bennett is a solid receiver who could fit nicely in OU's offense as a slot receiver. However, he also has a lot of experience on defense, so it will be interesting to see how OU uses him. Chances are he'll be on offense, though, due to his quickness and speed. However, he'll definitely need to add some weight to his wiry frame.
Offers: OU, Arkansas, Kansas State, Louisiana Tech, Mississippi, Mississippi State, SMU, TCU, Texas, Tulsa, Utah, West Virginia
DT - Matthew Romar (6'3" 268) - Port Arthur, Texas (Memorial High School)
Another defensive tackle the Sooners added late in the game, Romar is a 'tweener' and has the size to play both end and tackle. However, given the Sooners' lack of depth at tackle, he'll definitely fit in at tackle. He'll need to add bulk, but that's a common trend for most of these players.
Offers: OU, Baylor, Houston, Kansas, Missouri, North Texas, Texas Tech, Tulsa, Utah
DT - Charles Walker (6'4"280) - Garland, TX (South Garland High School)
Walker is a physical guy with good size. He's got some developing to do at the defensive tackle position, but he should be able to turn into a solid player for the Sooners. What's even better is that he's another guy who is genuinely excited about being in Norman.
Offers: OU, Colorado State, Houston, Iowa State, Louisiana-Lafayette, New Mexico, New Mexico State, North Texas, Texas State
CB - Stanvon Taylor (5'11" 165) - Tulsa, OK (East Central)
Taylor is one of OU's oldest commits and has the ability to play receiver or cornerback, but based on his skill set, he'll be best suited at cornerback. He's got great reach and is very lanky. He really needs to spend time in the weight room to bulk up his frame.
Offers: OU, Arizona State, Arkansas, Arkansas State, Houston, Indiana, Iowa State, Kansas State, Mississippi, Texas Tech, Tulsa, Utah State
LB - Dominique Alexander (6'2" 195) - Tulsa, OK (Booker T. Washington)
Alexander has quality size and good speed. He'll be able to add weight at OU and be a strong, physical linebacker or possibly a safety. He's listed as an athlete, but he's been recruited by OU to play linebacker, and with his speed, he should turn out to be a great asset at the position. Again, with more weight, he should be able to be solid.
Offers: OU, Arkansas, Arkansas, Kansas State, Arkansas State, Colorado State, Houston, Indiana, Iowa State, Oregon State, Texas Tech, Tulsa, Washington State
OL - Josiah St.John (6'6" 305) - Athens, TX (Trinity Valley C.C.)
St. John has a great frame for a tackle and even has room to grow into it a bit more with some time in the weight room. His reach is solid for a tackle prospect and he's a decent run blocker.
Offers: OU, Arizona State, Arkansas, Baylor, Kansas, Mississippi, Oklahoma State, Oregon State, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Washington, Washington State, West Virginia
OL - Dionte Savage (6-5 345) - Flint, Mich. (Arizona Western CC)
Savage is a monster on the interior of the line. Think Phil Loadholt size, only at guard instead of tackle. As with any lineman of that size, he needs to work on pad level and flexibility, but having a huge body on the inside of the offensive line would be a huge plus for the OU running game. Savage was originally a Baylor commitment.
Offers: OU, Baylor, Kansas, Syracuse, Texas Tech, West Virginia
QB - Cody Thomas (6'5" 220) - Colleyville, TX (Heritage High School)
Thomas has fantastic size and is one of the best pro-style passers in this class. He has a cannon for an arm and has great running ability. With OU's depth at quarterback, Thomas, also a standout baseball player, is definitely a great option for the Sooners' future at quarterback.
Offers: OU, Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Iowa, LSU, Michigan State, Mississippi, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Oregon, TCU, Texas Tech, USC, Vanderbilt, Virginia
DE - Matt Dimon (6'2" 252) - Katy, TX (Katy High School)
Dimon has great potential as a standout defensive end for the Sooners. He has great speed and with more weight on his frame, could be another David King, able to play both defensive end and tackle.
Offers: OU, Baylor, Mississippi, Missouri, Rice, Texas Tech, Vanderbilt, Arkansas, Boise State
S - Hatari Byrd (6'1" 190) - Fresno, CA (Central East)
Byrd is a true safety with great speed and physicality. He has great size and is a good cover safety. With Javon Harris and Tony Jefferson leaving, Byrd will have a chance to come in and start immediately.
Offers: OU, Arizona, Arizona State, California, Eastern Michigan, Georgia, Houston, Illinois, Mississippi, Notre Dame, UCLA, UNLV, Washington
LB - Jordan Evans (6'3" 205) - Norman, OK (Norman North High School)
Evans is an interesting player because he doesn't have a true position. He played on both sides of the ball at Norman North as well as returned punts and kickoffs. Chances are he'll end up on defense at linebacker. He's got great speed and size, with a frame that can add some major bulk to be a quality-sized linebacker.
Offers: OU, Air Force, Arkansas State, Colorado State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Memphis, Navy, New Mexico, Ohio, South Dakota State, UNLV
DT - Kerrick Huggins (6'4" 283) - Dallas, TX (Skyline High School)
Huggins flipped his commitment from Texas A&M to Oklahoma not long after Justin Manning, long thought a lock for OU, committed to the Aggies. He's got good size already for a defensive tackle, and has room to get bigger. Any defensive tackle is a good pick up for the Sooners.
Offers: OU, Colorado State, SMU, Texas A&M, Texas Tech
WR - KJ Young (6'0" 180) - Perris, CA (Citrus Hill High School)
Young is another great prospect as a slot receiver that has really flown under the radar for much of the recruiting period. He's a wiry receiver, but has decent height and should turn out to be a solid player.
Offers: OU, Boise State, Colorado, Colorado State, Iowa State, Texas Tech, UNLV, Utah, UTEP
CB - Dakota Austin (5'11" 167) - Lancaster, TX
Austin isn't rated very highly by anyone (2-stars by Rivals, 3-stars by Scout), but some of his fellow OU commits having been raving about his abilities on Twitter. He's a bit small, but with a bit more bulk, he'd be a solid cornerback. He runs a 4.5, so he has good speed to keep up with the Big 12 receivers.
Offers: OU, Indiana, Nevada, Texas Tech, Tulsa, UNLV, Utah St., UTEP
DB - L.J. Moore (6'1"170) - Fresno, California (Central East High School)
Moore was a hot target for the Sooners before the 2012 season began, but the interest seemed to taper off before being rekindled in the past few months. He can play both safety and cornerback, but will most likely be a cornerback thanks to his size and athleticism.
Offers: OU, Arizona State, California, Notre Dame, Oregon State, Arizona, Georgia, Pittsburgh, Texas Tech, UCLA, Washington
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