National Signing Day has come and gone and the Oklahoma Sooners finished with another top-10 recruiting class and landed every player they were after. Most recruiting sites have the Sooners listed as the No. 8 ranked class in the country, giving Brent Venables his second-straight top-10 class. According to 247, four of the seven teams ahead of them are in the SEC: Georgia, Alabama, Texas and Auburn. The other teams ahead of OU are Miami, Ohio State and Oregon.
The Sooners signed 28 players, including one five-star, 18 four-stars, and nine three-stars. Here is a look at Oklahoma’s 14 highest-rated recruits. (All player rankings are from 247Sports Composite.)
Recapping Oklahoma’s 2024 Recruiting Class
David Stone (IMG Academy, Bradenton, FL):
Five-star defensive lineman; 6’4, 275 lbs; 9th nationally, 2nd DL
Stone is the poster child of Venables’ newest class of recruits. He is the ninth-overall player in the composite rankings and the second-ranked defensive lineman in the country. He’ll be a cornerstone of the defense as they transition into the SEC, where defensive and offensive line play is king.
Taylor Tatum (Longview HS, Longview, TX):
Four-star running back; 5’10, 205 lbs; 38th nationally, 1st RB
Tatum enters Oklahoma as the highest-ranked running back in his class and the Sooners fended off the likes of USC, Auburn, Alabama, and Georgia to sign him. His commitment continues DeMarco Murray’s impressive run of running back recruits and Tatum should provide immediate depth to OU’s running back room. It might make sense for him to redshirt his freshman year, seeing as he figures to slot in as the fourth or fifth option in the backfield.
Zion Kearney (Hightower HS, Missouri City, TX):
Four-star wide receiver; 6’2, 210 lbs; 72nd nationally, 16th WR
Kearney is one of four receivers in this class for OU and is a promising pass catcher. He has good speed for his size: he ran track in high school and posted a 10.89 100-meter time as a junior.
Davon Mitchell (Los Alamitos HS, Los Alamitos, CA):
Four-star tight end; 6’4, 245 lbs; 94th nationally, 9th TE
The Sooners’ tight end room had subpar production during the 2023 season, but Mitchell may be able to help with that as soon as next year. He is a big target and is physically comparable to Oklahoma great, Mark Andrews. He was a great addition to this class.
Nigel Smith II (Melissa HS, Melissa, TX):
Four-star defensive lineman; 6’5, 260 lbs; 104th nationally, 15th DL
Brent Venables went out of his way to address the defensive line in his press conference last week, and Smith represents another gem for the defense. He has great size and will help OU compete with the giant offensive lines in the SEC.
Danny Okoye (NOAH Homeschool, Tulsa, OK):
Four-star edge defender; 6’4, 241 lbs; 139th nationally, 1st EDGE
The number one recruit in the state of Oklahoma elected to stay home and play for the Sooners, which is great news for Venables and the coaching staff. Maintaining their hold over Oklahoma recruits is a must, and Okoye looks to be a very talented defender on the edge.
Jaydan Hardy (Lewisville HS, Lewisville, TX):
Four-star safety; 5’11, 165 lbs; 192nd nationally, 17th S
Hardy will bring good depth to the secondary as a freshman and will have a lot of good mentors to look up to at that position.
Reggie Powers (Centerville HS, Dayton, OH):
Four-star safety; 6’1, 200 lbs, 227th nationally, 21st S
Powers is another safety, although he is significantly bigger than Hardy, which helps him play effectively against the run.
Ivan Carreon (Odessa HS, Odessa TX):
Four-star wide receiver; 6’6, 196 lbs; 236th nationally, 39th WR
Carreon presents a massive target on the outside, but he’ll probably have to put on some muscle to help him hold up better over a long season. Regardless, his height makes him an immediate redzone threat.
Zion Ragins (Jones County HS, Gray, GA):
Four-star wide receiver; 5’7, 150 lbs; 243rd nationally, 43rd WR
Ragins may be short in stature, but he can fly. He took gold at the GHSA 5A track meet for the 100-meter dash in his freshman and sophomore seasons, with a personal best of 10.37 seconds.
Eddy Pierre-Louis (Tampa Catholic HS, Tampa, FL)
Four-star interior offensive lineman; 6’3, 335 lbs; 256th nationally, 13th IOL
OU is in need of depth everywhere on the offensive line, so Pierre-Louis immediately helps out there.
Jayden Jackson (IMG Academy, Bradenton, FL)
Four-star defensive lineman; 6’2, 300 lbs; 330th nationally, 41st DL
A teammate of OU’s highest-rated recruit, David Stone, Jackson profiles as a defensive tackle with good size. He could anchor the Sooners’ line in the coming years.
Michael Hawkins (Frisco Emerson HS, McKinney, TX)
Four-star quarterback; 6’2, 195 lbs; 361st nationally, 24th QB
Hawkins is the number two dual-threat quarterback in the class. His father, Mike Hawkins, played at OU as a cornerback in the early 2000s.
Jeremiah Newcombe (Casteel HS, Queen Creek, AZ)
Four-star cornerback; 5’11, 175 lbs; 364th nationally, 25th CB
Newcombe has room to add muscle to his frame but is a good athlete with speed and played both ways in high school, so he has the hands to be a ballhawk.
So, how did Oklahoma fare this recruiting cycle?
All things considered, the Sooners did exactly what they set out to do with their 2024 class. Venables prioritized the defensive line and he came away with four prospects who could really help out the defense on that front. David Stone will probably get some looks as a freshman and he will arrive in Norman with sky-high expectations.
Tatum looks to be the heir apparent to Gavin Sawchuk and Jovantae Barnes at the running back position. There are also some intriguing pass-catchers in Mitchell, Kearney, Carreon, and Ragins.
With Oklahoma moving to the SEC next year, they have made it clear that they’ll be able to compete with the teams in their new conference. There have been questions about how well the Sooners will hold up physically once they start playing the more physical Southeastern Conference, but if Brent Venables continues to recruit at this level and then develop his players as he has, Oklahoma should be just fine.
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