Oklahoma building more recruiting momentum following win over Texas

Brent Venables and Oklahoma had the victory of the weekend, as the Sooners took down Texas in the Red River Rivalry, 34-30.

Now, with momentum in hand, Oklahoma has its eyes set on winning the Big 12 and securing a spot in the College Football Playoff. That’s not all, however. The Sooners are also hopeful that that momentum will carry over to the recruiting trail as they try and cap off a top-10 class.

SoonerScoop’s Josh McCusition joined the latest edition of The Inside Scoop to break down what the win over the Longhorns will do for Oklahoma from a recruiting standpoint, as well as a couple of potential flip targets the Sooners have their eyes on.

“Recruits, they either do or don’t want to believe. They were just looking for a reason — a lot of these cases — to believe in what Brent Venables and that staff had been pitching. We talk all the time about proof of concept, and that’s what this is for Oklahoma,” McCuistion said.

The win for the Sooners avenged a 49-0 beatdown that was suffered at the hands of Texas a season ago. Not only did OU hand Texas its first loss of the season, but the Sooners have now won seven of the last 10 Red River matchups, including five of the last six.

“They went on the field and won against a team that has a proven scalp on their wall with that big win at Alabama for Texas,” McCuistion said. “I think it’s huge for OU in that they kind of get to reestablish themselves with a lot of the elite recruits — and did so, against obviously a school they recruit against heavily.”

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Sooners looking for flips to help round out 2024 class

Oklahoma’s 2024 class is currently No. 8 in the nation, according to the On3 Industry Team Recruiting Ranking. The pledge list consists of 24 commits, seven of whom are top-200 recruits.

The class already has five commits at wide receiver. According to McCuistion, however, the Sooners are trying to flip a couple of elite prospects at the position down the stretch now that things are looking up in Norman.

Timpson (Texas) five-star athlete Terry Bussey committed to Texas A&M on Sept. 28. The Sooners were in the mix for the No. 19 recruit but could never grab frontrunner status ahead of the Aggies, while Texas and LSU also fought for his pledge.

Bussey took an official visit to Norman in June, then returned for a game visit at the beginning of September. Offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby and WRs coach Emmett Jones have led the Sooners’ recruitment of Bussey and won’t give up until pen hits paper.

“A very different scenario for A&M right now than where Oklahoma is, coming off the weekend. Oklahoma was always kind of playing the long game with him,” McCuistion said. “I think they thought that first commitment was probably going to head toward College Station, and they knew that and they were gonna keep recruiting him and keep working him, cause that’s a guy they really like.

…They have the addition of saying ‘hey, we want you to come play receiver,’ that’s what Oklahoma wants from Terry Bussey, while obviously at A&M he’s more of a corner target. It’s kind of a question: does that matter to him? Can that play a role?”

Oklahoma also after Clemson 5-star pledge Bryant Wesco

Midlothian (Texas) five-star WR Bryant Wesco committed to Clemson on June 6 and headlines the Tigers’ top-20 recruiting class alongside Jefferson (Ga.) five-star linebacker Sammy Brown. Like Bussey, the Sooners were involved but couldn’t cross the finish line ahead.

Wesco frequented Norman, but never made an official visit. Clemson got him on campus for an OV, which resulted in his pledge just three days later. There’s been no buzz around Wesco’s recruitment since he committed, but McCusition chalks it up to the wideout keeping things behind closed doors.

“I have a pretty strong impression that door is not closed. I can’t say too much more than that…Bryant is such a quiet kid, I think he’s one of those guys that if he shows up, he’ll just show up,” McCuistion said. “I don’t think anybody’s going to know about it, I don’t think you’re gonna get a lot of preamble. He’ll just kinda be in Norman one day and everyone’s gonna spot him.”

Wesco is the No. 18 overall prospect in the cycle and would be Oklahoma’s second highest-ranked pledge in its class, behind only Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy Five-Star Plus+ defensive lineman David Stone. If Oklahoma can run with the momentum it has acquired, it could lead to some big decisions for top targets like Bussey and Wesco.

“The timing works out well, Oklahoma’s got this off week, they can really get out on the road, go see some guys … then you head into that UCF home game,” McCuistion said. “Coming off the Texas win, the crowd’s gonna be really good. You’ve got a chance to really do something there and make that a big home environment. If (Wesco) showed up for that it wouldn’t shock me, but I do think that is going to be a pretty solid visit weekend.”