Oklahoma Sooners set to host key recruiting targets this weekend

Oklahoma‘s biggest football recruiting weekend of the summer is expected to take place later this month when multiple five-star prospects will head to Norman for official visits.

But a few more of their major targets are expected to be in town this weekend as Brent Venables and Co. look to add to the nation’s No. 18 recruiting class in the On3 Industry Team Recruiting Rankings. The Sooners have six commits on the board already, but two positions of need — defensive line and cornerback will be well-represented this weekend.

Headlining the group are a pair of five-stars: Lee’s Summit (Mo.) defensive lineman Williams Nwaneri and Waco (Texas) Connally cornerback Kobe Black. The Sooners have been considered the program to beat for months now with Nwaneri, who has strong ties to OU’s program through his school head coach, Jamar Mozee, a former Oklahoma running back. OU currently leads in the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine, but has stiff competition from Tennessee and Georgia, among others.

“Williams Nwaneri has already been to Oklahoma probably a half dozen times, and he is the priority for Miguel Chavis, Brent Venables and Todd Bates on that defensive front,” On3 national recruiting analyst Sam Spiegelman said. “He’s already very familiar with them, but this visit looms large. It’s not their biggest recruiting weekend of the summer — that’s next weekend — but getting him back on campus after his official visit to Georgia is big. We already know Tennessee is gaining steam in his recruitment, but he has been to Oklahoma the most, he loves the energy and culture around the staff, and this is a big opportunity for them.”

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Sooners looking to make up ground with Kobe Black

While the Sooners are considered to be in the driver’s seat (or close to it) for Nwaneri, they have some work to do with Black. Texas stands as the heavy favorite in the On3 RPM, but Black is still considering the Sooners and a number of others.

“He is nowhere close to making a decision, from what I’m told. But he is taking important visits this summer,” Spiegelman said. “The plan is to narrow it down to his final five or six before his senior season gets underway. He’s been to Texas quite a bit and will be back there at the end of June.

… He is also set to be at Ohio State. But Oklahoma continues to work hard, and along with Alabama and Texas A&M, they’re kind of those fringe top five schools looking to get him on campus. He is looking for a place that will develop him and let him focus on his career. I still think Texas is the team to beat. But OU is fighting and has a chance to shoot their shot.”

Other key recruiting targets headed to Norman

In total, OU is expected to have more than a dozen 2024 recruits on campus this weekend. Black and Nwaneri may be the headliners, but they’re far from the only important targets.

Four-star offensive linemen Grant Brix, Jason Zandamela, Weston Davis, Marques Easley and Eddy Pierre-Louis represent some of the Sooners’ top targets along the offensive line. And each is expected in Norman. Four-star Tennessee cornerback commit Kaleb Beasley will also be in town as the Sooners, among others like Notre Dame, look to flip him from the Vols.