Oklahoma jumps into the top-10 of On3 Industry Team Recruiting Rankings

After securing a top-10 class in the 2023 On3 Industry Football Team Recruiting Rankings last year, Oklahoma is well on its way to doing so again in the 2024 class.

After adding a total of four commitments in the month of August, the Sooners picked up a significant one on Friday night as Melissa (Texas) four-star defensive lineman Nigel Smith II chose OU over Texas, Ohio State, Penn State and Texas A&M.

With him in the fold, the Sooners move from No. 15 in this year’s team recruiting rankings all the way into the top-10 at No. 9 nationally.

The 6-foot-4, 265-pounder was named second-team Max Preps Junior All-American last year, as well as earning nods as the Texas District 7-5A-II Defensive Lineman of the Year and Texas Sportswriters Association Class 5A first-team all-state honors in 2022. He was also the Texas District 7-4A-I unanimous Defensive Lineman of the Year as a sophomore after being named the district’s newcomer of the year as a freshman.

He is the No. 100 overall prospect in the 2024 class, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. Smith is also tabbed as the country’s No. 15 defensive lineman and the No. 18 recruit in Texas.

“I wanted to take the time to pay attention to the teams that build a relationship with me, that were talking to me on a daily basis — and not just one coach; it’ll be the head coach, the position coach, the person who recruits my area,” he told On3’s Sam Spiegelman. “Oklahoma was a team that did a great job building that relationship with me and who I know will develop me the best way possible.”

Sooners trending to keep another top in-state target home

Oklahoma adds Smith to a strong defensive line class alongside David Stone and Jayden Jackson, but they don’t appear to be done this month. The Sooners are trending for four-star in-state EDGE Danny Okoye, who could announce any time this month. OU looked to be running second to Tennessee going into his official visit last weekend. The pecking order has changed though, according to On3’s Chad Simmons.

“Entering September, the buzz was around Tennessee,” Simmons wrote on Monday. “He had been on campus multiple times. And behind the scenes, the Vols were viewed as the team to beat. Okoye then took his official visit to Norman over the weekend. There was buzz while Okoye was on campus that the visit was going well. But now that the visit has ended, the visit may have been strong enough to change the leader at the top of his list.

… Brent Venables, Todd Bates and Miguel Chavis are all involved with Okoye. Each spent one-on-one time with the elite pass rusher over the weekend and the connections got even stronger. Okoye feels comfortable around the staff. He likes the environment in Norman, and he sees an opportunity to get on the field early.”

Okoye, the No. 73 overall prospect in the On300 rankings, initially planned to commit in October. But he told On3’s Sam Spiegelman, “I don’t think it’s gonna be in October anymore. It’ll definitely be sooner.”

Since then, Spiegelman, Oklahoma football recruiting insider Josh McCuistion and Texas insider Gerry Hamilton have all logged expert predictions in the Sooners favor.