Sooners Land Another Top 100 DL - Danny Okoye

Top 100 defensive end Danny Okoye had once thought his decision could run on for months. It wasn’t that long ago that the nation’s No. 66 overall player in the On3 rankings was talking November or even close to national Signing Day for his college commitment. Then he took a trip to Norman on Sept. 1 for his official visit and the entire picture started to change.

For the Tulsa Northeastern Oklahoma Association of Homeschools product the chance to stay at home proved important. A big part of that thought revolved around the advantages of being an in-state prospect with connections as a future ‘ex’ Sooners player.

“Right now, I just think staying home is the best idea, I’ve got a lot of good options, I really took a lot of time to think about. All the other option looked really nice. I didn’t have a single place that was ‘this was terrible’. It was a long, hard decision. The main thing that made me think about is how are these schools going to set me up after football is over,” Okoye explained of his Oklahoma commitment.

“The decision I went with was the one that helps me in how I want to pursue my goals after I’m done with football.”

Sooners One-on-One Conversation Sells Okoye

All of his time and effort came to a point when he was sitting in Brent Venables‘s office in Norman and had to give himself a second to think through a moment he’d been considering for years. Okoye couldn’t think of anything better than a bathroom break.

“I committed on the official visit, I had a conversation, I was thinking about it and I had to take a second and said ‘let me go to the bathroom’. I was just racking my brain, making sure I wasn’t being stupid or on an official visit high like people talk about,” he explained.

“When I really thought about it, I was like ‘nah, this is the best option for me, for who I am’. Maybe if I was from a different place or had different principles.

“So I sat down next to (Venables) and handed him that ‘all in’ poker chip.”

Coming into the trip to Norman he had plans for numerous future visits and says that Tennessee was the school that had been standing out to him. But his talk of Oklahoma setting him up for the future isn’t just idle chatter. He had a conversation with a Sooner staffer who once had similar goals to the ones Okoye currently holds. And when life threw a curveball at Caleb Kelly Oklahoma was there for him.

Kelly’s story gave Okoye further belief in the Sooners.

“Talking to Caleb Kelly, it was really a good conversation that we had. He had goals just like I did, going to the NFL, doing it big. Building an empire in sports. Then something happened where he couldn’t do all of that. But coach Venables and people around him, they cared enough about him the person and not just the athlete where he was able to still pursue his goals and do things he dreamed of,” Okoye recalled of his conversation with Kelly.

“That really spoke to me, just that family atmosphere. With a lot of places it’s an organization and [at Oklahoma] it’s a tight-knit family.”

Okoye Looking Toward his Future in Norman

The nation’s No. 8 EDGE knows that there is a considerable gap between where he is as a player and where he’ll need to be. But for Okoye part of the appeal of Norman is in the work that lays in front of him.

“I know it’s not going to be easy, I know it’s going to be a challenge, a lot of other places, they are hitting me up [saying things like] ‘you’re going to come in here and start right away’. Or ‘you’re going to be the star of the defense’ and I don’t really want to even be that, I want to fight, I want the adversity,” Okoye explained.

“I really feel like Oklahoma will bring the most out of me.”

‘Wanting the adversity’ sounds like a quote directly from the mouth of Venables and his staff. So it isn’t all that surprising that the Sooners head man has really connected early on with Okoye.

“We definitely (have), we went over to his house and he has that huge house, and all three houses in one. He’s got a nice pool and gun range in his game room, it’s just crazy. You see all of that stuff and this spotless house and then you look at him and he’s just standing there talking to his wife, he doesn’t care about the flashy stuff,” the state of Oklahoma’s top prospect explained. “A lot of head coaches act like that’s the reason they do what they do. He does what he does because it’s what he’s called to. It’s what he does and just enjoys coaching football. It’s about making people the best he can be, and I can get with that type of program.”

Schmitty Makes Lasting Impression on Okoye

Though Okoye has something of a reputation of a social media star who has let talent lead him to where he is. If you talk to people around the program at NOAH he’s an early riser who starts his day with a serious workout. Knowing that, the instant connection would be the ‘adversity’ he’s looking for will be found in the springs and summers working with Oklahoma’s director of sports enhancement and strength and conditioning Jerry Schmidt.

On his official visit Okoye said he was impressed by Oklahoma’s experienced, and slightly intimidating, strength coach. The two may not have had much to say but Okoye admits there is an aura to ‘Schmitty’ that resonates with him.

“I’m never going to be one to say no to a good workout. Meeting Schmitty, I met him on gameday for a little bit. The time we did have, you can tell he is definitely intense, you can feel the vibes emanating off of him. He’s not big in stature but he’s big in presence,” Okoye said. “I can respect that man who just demands respect by being in space. He’s got a cool vibe, he’s not too mean, when he’s just being chill. I like that type of tough case.”

How Okoye Got Here with Sooners

After Venables arrived in Norman it was safe to assume that Okoye might become a focus of his recruiting efforts. However, the Sooners were playing a bit of catch up even if only a few knew about it.

“Me and (Chavis), when I first started being recruited by him, I thought he was a little crazy – thought he was one of the crazy coaches,” he laughed. “I was like ‘you haven’t shown me nothing and you’re applying so much pressure’.

“(And) the last time I’d been there was when (Lincoln) Riley was still head coach and that visit wasn’t too amzing for me. I mean, it was ok but I’d been on better trips.

“When I went back and that’s when I started to open back up to Oklahoma, you just noticed how different the energy was. It really set a tone with the energy from when I was there before.”

Even though he felt a new energy he admits there was a time that Oklahoma was playing catch-up. In fact, according to Okoye he wavered a bit on taking the Sooners visit back in the spring. The visit that started to set everything in motion for Oklahoma was the same visit that the Vols didn’t want him to take.

“Tennessee had been the favorite for a while, I had been planning to go there for a long time, that was the one that I was predisposed to. Going into the visit, I was kind of hesitant. The Tennessee coaches didn’t want me going – I was trying to keep them happy,” Okoye relived. “Tennessee was still looking nice after the visit. But I started talking to Chav and (Robert Spears-Jennings) and some of the players, people who had been recruited or people who are still being recruited by OU and how they feel about OU.

“I just really became more comfortable.”

Okoye is Familiar with Numerous Future Teammates

From a guy who made a previously unthinkable move from powerhouse Jenks to little known Tulsa NOAH it’s no surprise that Okoye is comfortable marching to his own beat. Throughout his recruiting process he says that in spite of all of Oklahoma’s success recruiting, he kept that from impacting his own thoughts.

“I know a couple [of guys in the class], I know (David) Stone, I know (Jaden) Nickens, Ace Hodges, Bergin (Kysar). I met a lot of the guys at Party at the Palace and got to see a lot of new faces,” he said. “Usually I stay in my own zone really. I’m not too big on finding out what other people are thinking. I usually just make my decision based on me.”

His focus on his own circle is something he admits can be to his own detriment as his reaction to good news – including some that Oklahoma fans were unhappy about – delayed a positive move for the Sooners.

“I am low-key bad at noticing some things. It’s good and bad. Sometimes it’s something important and I won’t even pay attention to it. And a second later you’re like ‘that was low key important to pay attention to’. When Williams (Nwaneri) went to Mizzou and I was like ‘wait a minute, that’s a big deal’. That partially played into it, I was like shoot, that (makes Oklahoma) a better spot for me.”