Oklahoma rises in On3 Consensus Team Recruiting Rankings

Oklahoma continued its spectacular summer on the recruiting trail Thursday night by landing a commitment from Kissimmee (Fla.) Osceola four-star defensive lineman Derrick LeBlanc. The 6-foot-4.5, 270 pound prospect chose the Sooners over Florida and Penn State.

His decision elevated the Sooners’ class to No. 9 in the 2023 On3 Consensus Team Recruiting Rankings. Oklahoma’s group rose one spot from No. 10 and currently ranks No. 2 in the Big 12.

“I think he brought more discipline to the area,” LeBlanc told On3’s Chad Simmons about Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables. “It’s just like teaching them real championship football to me. That’s what I think he brought. And that’s something I connect (with) and I know I needed. Everywhere you go, you’re gonna find some type of discipline, but I thought Venables was the best guy for me.”

Leblanc is the No. 109 overall prospect and No. 11 defensive lineman in the 2023 On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He also ranks as the No. 26 player in Florida.

LeBlanc is latest blue-chip commit for the Sooners

Oklahoma’s 2023 recruiting class contains 18 commitments and is composed of one five-star, 10 four-stars and seven three-stars. Following the addition of LeBlanc, the Sooners now have seven top-200 recruits.

LeBlanc is the fifth-highest ranked recruit in Oklahoma’s class behind only Denton (Tex.) four-star quarterback Jackson Arnold, Houston (Tex.) Langham Creek four-star wide receiver Jaquaize Pettaway, Kansas City (Mo.) North Kansas City four-star EDGE Adepoju Adebawore and Lee’s Summit (Mo.) Lee’s Summit North four-star offensive tackle Cayden Green.

These five recruits, as well as Crandall (Tex.) four-star linebacker Samuel Omosigho and Tampa (Fla.) Tampa Catholic four-star linebacker Lewis Carter, have played a massive role in the Sooners’ rise into the top 10.

July has been especially kind to Oklahoma with pledges from Adebawore, Pettaway, Green, Carter, Spanaway (Wash.) Spanaway Lake four-star cornerback Jasiah Wagoner, Charlotte (N.C.) West Charlotte four-star running back Daylan Smothers, Westfield (N.J.) Hun School three-star offensive tackle Logan Howland and Perkasie (Penn.) Pennridge three-star linebacker Phil Picciotti.

The Sooners also landed June commitments from Omosigho, Tallahassee (Fla.) James Rickards four-star wide receiver Keyon Brown, Denton (Tex.) Ryan four-star running back Kalib Hicks, Snoqualmie (Wash.) Mount Si three-star offensive tackle Heath Ozaeta and Fremont (Neb.) Archbishop Bergan three-star linebacker Kade McIntyre.

“There’s only one Oklahoma. Why wouldn’t you want to come play here?” Green told On3’s Chad Simmons. “On top of us going into (the) SEC, you get to play in the best conference in college football. You can’t lose.”

Sooners still in the hunt for top prospects

Oklahoma likely aren’t done landing four-and-five-star prospects. This weekend, the Sooners are hosting Katy (Texas) Paetow five-star defensive lineman David Hicks, the No. 8 overall prospect in the On3 Consensus. This will be his fifth visit to Oklahoma. According to the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine, the Sooners have the second-best odds for his commitment (34.2%) behind Texas A&M (60.2%)

Tallahassee (Fla.) John Paul II Catholic four-star safety Makari Vickers included Oklahoma in his top three along with Alabama and Michigan. The RPM has the Sooners at 16.5%, a close second to the Crimson Tide (23.1%). Vickers is the No. 86 overall prospect and No. 8 safety in the On3 Consensus.

The RPM does have Oklahoma as the top team for some prospects, however. They include Converse (Texas) Judson four-star wide receiver Anthony Evans (54.8%) and Mustang (Okla.) four-star athlete Jacobe Johnson (86.5%).