It’s understood that the early signing period has taken away from a lot of the drama and excitement of the first Wednesday of February and the traditional signing day.

Oklahoma has been one of several schools that has made December the primary focus and looked for just the final pieces in February.

Except this time around, there were no final pieces. All Lincoln Riley and the Sooners did last week was make official the signing of two quality four-star defenders, but two defenders everybody knew were Sooners in defensive lineman Reggie Grimes and defensive back Joshua Eaton.

After loading up with the five-star offensive prospects for the 2019 class, #20Deep right now is known for having just one Rivals 100 member in offensive lineman Aaryn Parks.

A class that filled a lot of needs but didn’t wow OU fans who were hoping to capitalize on a huge 2019 class, the Sooners finished No. 15 in Rivals rankings.

So we turn the page to 2021, and that attitude from 2019? Yea, it’s back. As Rivals released the current five-star crop Monday, you can definitely legitimately see this trio in the crimson and cream when December rolls around.

Nothing is more calculated in recruiting than the quarterback position. You could argue that if Spencer Rattler wasn’t on campus, then the Sooners would have landed 2020 five-star quarterback Bryce Young.

But Rattler is expected to be the next big thing, and there needs to be at least a two-year gap. Funny enough, because of the gap, OU has a better chance.

Williams’ current avatar on Twitter is him wearing a Clemson helmet, but the Tigers picking up a five-star quarterback for 2020 in D.J. Uiagaleilei might actually help the Sooners.

LSU looked like the early leader, but the national champions are in limbo after the departure of offensive guru Joe Brady.

Williams could have been Georgia, but did we just see a quasi-trade? UGA gets Brock Vandagriff from OU, and the Sooners get Williams?

That’s stretching the truth a little too much, but it’s obvious that with Vandagriff backing off OU and staying home with the Dawgs, Williams becomes a player again in Norman.

Williams visited OU last summer, and the plan is for him to be back this spring. What now seems clear is that OU is ready to put on the full-court press for Williams and get back to landing five-star quarterbacks.

Because this is what DeMarco Murray was brought in to do. After losing top-100 running back Jase McClellan at the last second to Alabama for the 2020 class, OU seems fired up to make sure that never happens again.

OU has a little advantage, obviously, being that Wheaton is from the state of Texas. OU has also had Wheaton on campus multiple times.

With OU potentially losing as many as three of its six running backs following the 2020 season, it’s imperative the Sooners and Murray strike gold.

What kind of message would it be to the rest of the running back recruiters if Murray could walk in Norman and less than a year and land a five-star back? Well, that’s OU’s plan.

This could be the biggest longshot of the three five-star targets. Not because OU hasn’t done a great job with Foster and not because offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh can’t close, but you cannot ignore Foster’s connections to Texas A&M.

Even on an event like last weekend when Foster visits Norman and loves it one day, he ends up in College Station and seeing the Aggies the next day.

Bedenbaugh identified Foster a long time ago, and it’s hard to believe there’s another lineman that OU won’t pursue more aggressively the rest of this cycle.

OU has made Foster’s final five, and the Sooners have to feel good about getting an official visit from Foster down the road. But will it be enough?

*Note: Rivals will release the Rivals 100 and Rivals 250 throughout this week.