Oklahoma Sooners off to blazing start with 2023 recruiting

Lincoln Riley is entering his fifth season as the head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners. He has a record of 45-8, finishing no lower than No. 7 in the AP poll.

That success starts with recruiting.

Over the last four recruiting cycles, Oklahoma has finished outside the top 10 once, averaging the ninth-best class in the country. The 2022 class sits at No. 7 the first half of August, and that is strong, but it is the 2023 class that could be Riley’s best when all is said in done.

We are still 16 months away from the first opportunity that players in the 2023 class can sign with schools, but the Sooners already have some great ones on their commitment list.

Jacksonville (Fla.) Trinity Christian four-star running back Treyaun Webb got it started July 17 when he committed to Oklahoma over Georgia and Ohio State. A day later, the Sooners landed five-star quarterback Malachi Nelson out of Los Alamitos (Calif.). About three weeks later, four-star tight end Luke Hasz out of Bixby (Okla.) and five-star wide receiver Makai Lemon of Los Alamitos added their names to the commitment Aug. 6 and Aug. 7.

If you didn’t notice, all four are offensive playmakers. The Oklahoma Sooners have averaged 44 points per game over the last five seasons, and this quartet has to excite Riley, the staff in Norman, and the Sooner Nation across the country.

The secret to Oklahoma’s success

All four took visits to Norman in June and most decisions were made during, or right after that trip. The staff is recruiting at a different level.

“I think the big thing was us getting on campus and realizing that it would only take a couple commits to start this domino effect and essentially getting to that top spot in the recruiting rankings in 2023,” Malachi Nelson said.

Webb committed first publicly, and that visit to Norman played a big role in his decision, too. He got his parents out there, they signed off on his decision, and it was a wrap from there.

But the work leading up to that visit was done at a high level by those in Norman.

“They are being consistent and very involved in recruiting us,” Treyaun Webb said. “They care about academics and family. That is very important.”

High-powered Sooner offense has 2023 commits excited

When people talk about Riley, they typically talk about two things – his offense and how close he is to a national championship.

The recruits talk about both of those things as well. The 2023 commitments are all highly-ranked offensive playmakers and can’t wait to play in that offense.

“The Oklahoma offense played a big role in my decision because I know they can get the ball in my hands and give me the opportunity to make plays,” Webb said. “It is high-powered, explosive and playing in coach Riley’s offense will give me a chance to make big plays in the open field.”

The one distributing the ball will be Nelson, the No. 2 player in the On300. The signal-caller has to be excited about the opportunity to play behind guys like Baker Mayfield and Spencer Rattler.

Nelson has two more seasons of high school football, but he is chomping at the bit to play under Riley.

“The offense he runs is super fun to both watch, and to play in,” Nelson said. “I can’t wait to get up there and get started.”

Nelson’s teammate thinks it will be easy and explosive.

“Playing with Malachi is going to be super-fun and a smooth transition because our chemistry goes way back,” Makai Lemon said. “Our chemistry combined with the Oklahoma offense makes it even better for us because the way coach Riley and coach Simmons draws up plays is amazing.”

Ready to win it all

Will Oklahoma win a national championship before this group arrives? The Sooners will have two more chances to do so, and like usual, they should be ranked among the top five or six teams in the country in 2021 and 2022.

There is a lot of excitement in Norman and they could be on the verge of winning it all.

“Oklahoma is very close to a national championship, and I’m excited to be a part of it in the future,” Luke Hasz said.

Webb agrees.

“The program is a couple of players away from winning national championships, and I feel like my class can be the class to get them over the hump,” Webb said. “I have always been a winner, so I expect to win one while I’m there.”

Could this class be the missing pieces?

“I feel like our class is going to make things even better,” Lemon said. “The Class of 2023 has a very special group of guys, and I feel like Oklahoma is ready to win it all. We came up a little short last year, but this year I feel like there have been preparing very well and have the team to win it all.”

Oklahoma’s 2023 recruiting class could be best ever

We know the offense will score a lot of points. We also know Riley and his staff will land elite offensive talent. They already have four pieces of the 2023 puzzle, and it will add more.

Nelson already helped land his teammate, Lemon, and he is excited about each plege and the others that will join.

“I’m super-excited about this team and this class, especially because it is gonna be difficult to stop,” Nelson said.

“And we’re not done loading up yet.”

Hasz agrees.

The talented tight end is out recruiting guys like Gentry Williams, Micah Tease and Jacobe Johnson to name a few. With Hasz, Webb, Lemon and Nelson already in the fold combined with who else could potentially john this Oklahoma class, the Oklahoma native only knows one way to describe it.

“We are going to be scary,” Hasz said.