Damonic Williams transfer commitment signals Oklahoma 'can play in the SEC'

Oklahoma earned a major commit on Thursday night from Damonic Williams, a top defensive line transfer from TCU. With him in the fold for the Sooners, On3’s Pete Nakos now fully believes in the program’s chances of successfully transitioning into the Southeastern Conference.

Nakos discussed Williams’ commitment on Friday during ‘Andy Staples On3’. He started by detailing his overall recruitment, which came down to OU and Texas along with LSU and Missouri, and noted how it was a very covert process. Still, in the end, it was the Sooners who did it by adding him to their roster.

“You know, this was an interesting one. I was talking to Josh Newberg yesterday and I said this feels so much like a high-school recruitment,” Nakos said. “I know I cover the transfer portal and I know I’m not Steve Wiltfong and Chad Simmons. Like, I haven’t done recruiting like that but it felt like that. The reason why is, like, even late into last night after 7 p.m. eastern time, there was really no sense in either camp of which way Damonic Williams was really going to go.”

“Obviously, Oklahoma stepped up. They got the job done,” said Nakos.

Williams had spent the past two seasons starting with the Horned Frogs. While in Forth Worth, he posted 60 tackles, 4.5 sacks, and a forced fumble. That included his freshman year, one in which he was a Freshman All-American where he was part of a defense and team that played for the national title.

Williams entered his name into the portal for the spring cycle in mid-April. He did so as the No. 69 overall transfer and the No. 6 DL in On3’s 2024 Transfer Portal Top Players.

Williams took visits with all four of his options, starting with Oklahoma for their spring game. By Thursday, it was looking set to be a Red River recruitment between the Sooners and Longhorns. Still, after both teams visited him in the 24 hours of his process, he ultimately went with OU.

Now, with this commitment, Nakos believes Oklahoma has what they need to compete in the SEC. Not only did they add someone that was necessary for them in the trenches to fight in that league. They also showed they can battle on the financial side of things to win a notable recruitment, especially against a rival and versus in-conference opponents.

“The points have been made and I totally agree. I think that this is the point now that, yes, Oklahoma can play in the SEC,” said Nakos. “Oklahoma has the NIL dollars to make it happen.”

“They needed this to happen too, Andy. You talk to the football folks and everything and, I mean, there was a real need to add another guy on the defensive tackle position in this portal and they probably get the best guy available at this point,” Nakos said. “It was a huge win for Oklahoma.”

Oklahoma sealed the deal on Williams to bring him in as their 16th transfer addition of the offseason with only Caiden Woullard and Branson Hickman rating above him. They also proved themselves to Nakos as a program that’s prepared to make their conference move for this fall.

“I mean kudos to Oklahoma, man. They probably get one of the top four guys that have gone in the spring portal cycle,” Nakos said. “I mean you talk to people around Norman and, going into the 15-day spring portal, it was evident that the priority was going to be on the defensive line. Then, the offensive line, they’ve done both now. They picked up Branson Hickman, the SMU offensive lineman. Now they go get Damonic Williams.”