Adebawore is Special

After two straight days of offensive line commitments, on Sunday Oklahoma landed it's first defensive lineman of the 2023 class and it's a big one in North Kansas City, Mo. defensive end Adepoju Adebawore. The 6-foot-4, 240-pound pass rusher was an early focus for the Sooners, led by first-year assistant Miguel Chavis, now it's time to take a look at the film that made him such a key for the Sooners first full class under Brent Venables.

SoonerScoop.com Recruiting Editor Josh McCuistion: I'm just going to be honest, there are few highlight reels I've enjoyed breaking down more than Adebawore's.

From the very first clip you can see the range of athleticism that makes him a rare prospect. When you consider that this is the first time he'd played defensive end it makes what he puts on the reel all the more impressive.

And on the referenced first clip Adebawore (Add-uh-Bar-ay) shows great burst off the line of scrimmage before quickly exploding to his left and wrapping up the ball carrier for a loss. It's that sort of twitchiness that is the hallmark of just about every elite pass rusher.

On the second clip, yes, it's just clip after clip of strong work, he not only shows the burst but the ability to dip his inside shoulder and turn the corner in pass rush scenarios.

And like so many great pass rushers he flashes elite closing speed to help create the big behind the line of scrimmage plays that the Sooners will help for from their edge players.

What you typically see from raw defensive ends with great length and overall tools is a real ability as a pass rusher but they struggle in the run game. While Adebawore has plenty of work in front of him he isn't sheepish in the run game and will set the edge and shed the block when the time is right.

As he continues to fill out his frame and gets even better with pad level, hand placement, and the like he's got a chance to turn into an absolutely elite player at the college level.

Player Comparison: He reminds me quite a bit of former Missouri star, and NFL first round pick Aldon Smith.