It had been almost two months since Oklahoma had earned a commitment, but the Sooners announced their return in a big way.

Carthage (Texas) High linebacker Kip Lewis became the fifth recruit from the state of Texas to commit to the Sooners, announcing Friday morning.

Lewis becomes the second four-star inside linebacker from the state of Texas to pick OU, joining Lubbock Cooper’s Kobie McKinzie.

Once a sore spot in recruiting, the inside linebacker position has slowly become a position of strength under inside backers coach Brian Odom.

“I love Coach Odom,” Lewis told Rivals earlier this spring. “He's a real, true guy and he tells me the real about Oklahoma and about football and really about life itself.”

OU has been in the running for Lewis for a while, but the Sooners took that massive leap with Lewis opting to visit Norman last weekend for a self-guided visit for the spring game.

Competing against Oklahoma State, Texas and Texas A&M to get a visit for the weekend, it was a great sign that things could potentially work out rather quickly.

Lewis announced earlier this week that a big announcement was coming down. No, it wasn’t for a top schools list. It was to let it be known he wants to be a Sooner.

The Sooners and Odom might not be done just yet at inside linebacker, but you could not ask for a better start with McKinzie and Lewis.

With the addition of Lewis, the Sooners are up to eight commitments for #ChampU22 and ranked No. 5 overall for the 2022 class rankings by Rivals.