NSD Preview: What signees will make contributions in Year 1?

With National Signing Day a mere two days away, the anticipation is at an all-time high to see which recruits could make an impact on day one. While not all recruits will be signing their letter of intent on Wednesday, recruits share a similar goal for year one: help the team win.

Let's take a dive into what rooms could be impacted by the incoming freshman as soon as August.

Jackson Arnold’s season is here. He’s taking the helm as QB1 with Dillon Gabriel's move to Eugene. The Sooners will need to find Arnold’s backup entering the 2024 season. Legacy commit and former-Frisco Emerson quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. can fill this void. The 6-foot-2 quarterback rose in the Rivals rankings all year, finishing as the No.2 Dual-Threat quarterback in the nation. Hawkins could emerge as QB2 this fall with the Sooners’ quarterback room being thin; don’t be surprised if that happens.

Running backs coach DeMarco Murray has an interesting off-season ahead of him with the new faces that he and staff brought in for the 2024 season. The biggest name of them all is Rival’s No.1 running back, Taylor Tatum. The 5-foot-10 back out of Longview, Texas, has displayed elite explosive ability as well as the potential of being a three-down back. Joining him in this class is Carl Albert’s bruiser at running back, Xavier Robinson. Robinson ranks as Rivals' No. 35 running back. It’s hard to imagine Robinson getting many carries in 2024 because the Sooners also brought in UT-Martin transfer Samuel Franklin. However, don’t be shocked if we see the Longview standout get some action in the rotation. His explosiveness will make it hard to keep him off the field.

If you were to ask me what positional group I have the most confidence in going into 2024, wide receiver would be my answer without any hesitation. Despite the loss of fan-favorite Drake Stoops, Oklahoma will have Andrel Anthony returning from injury in 2024 as well as Purdue transfer Deion Burks joining the team. Even with an already loaded group returning to Norman, Emmett Jones still cleaned up on the recruiting trail. Kelly Daniels was the first commit at wideout for Jones, with the commitment being back in April. Daniels is a three-star from Franklinton, Louisiana.. The biggest (literally) commit was from 6-foot-6 four-star Ivan Carreon. The Odessa, Texas native has fans amazed by his size and excited to see how the staff will take advantage of the clear mismatch Carreon possesses on the outside. Zion Kearney, the other Texan wideout, is the highest-rated recruit out of the group and is also quickly becoming a fan-favorite. He’s a 6-foot-3 star from Missouri City, Texas and ranks as the No. 25 player in his position and No. 121 in the nation. Kearney has been a Sooner commit for a while with his commitment announcement being eight months ago. The final commit in this group is my personal favorite, Zion Ragins. The 5-foot-8 and 155-pound wideout does nothing boring. Whether it is running the ball north-to-south or east-to-west, Ragins has one speed… very, very fast. Despite being undersized, Ragins has the tools to see some play-time early in the season. Look for Ragins to leave fans and coaches in shock with his speed and shiftiness.

Under Jeff Lebby, the lack of tight end production was evident, and questions started to be brought up over simply ‘why? Was it the personnel? Was it play-calling?’ Sadly, we do not have those answers, but what we do have is the answers for the future. Davon Mitchell is choosing the Sooners at the perfect time with offensive coordinator Seth Littrell’s system starting in Norman. The 6-foot-4 four-star tight end was ranked No. 1 at his position in 2025 before reclassifying. Mitchell is a phenomenal prospect and one of the most highly-anticipated players in this class. After talking with Parker Thune, he and I agreed Mitchell is the offensive recruit with the best shot at seeing the field year one.

While it did not always look pretty at times, the 2024 offensive line class ended up as a very solid one and is headlined by December commit, Eddy Pierre-Louis. Pierre-Louis, known as EPL, is ranked as the No.1 guard and No. 29 overall recruit in the nation. With his size and speed, it is easy to see why the Tampa, Florida product is loved by scouts and viewed as an elite prospect. Joining him will be Edmond’s three-star Josh Aisosa and Chatsworth, California’s Eugene Brooks. Brooks is the No. 11 guard in the nation and will be the second-highest rated lineman in the Sooners class. It’s hard to rule out the potential of EPL or Brooks playing as true freshmen because of all of the current and future moves from the offensive linemen room, and the decision could rely heavily on future Transfer Portal acquisitions.

Despite the concerns from fans with recruitment of offensive linemen, coach Bill Bedenbaugh has had his future tackles locked in for months now. The first was somebody familiar with OU, Isaiah Autry. The Fulton, Mississippi product is a three-star who has deep ties to Norman with his cousin, 1980s superstar, Marcus Dupree. The tackle joining him in Norman is Daniel Akinkunmi, flying in from across the pond. Akinkunmi, from London, heads into National Signing Day as the No.1 European in the 2024 class. While both players are coming in with great talent, it is hard to imagine any offensive lineman playing without more clarity on the depth of the position.

Following a year of ups-and-downs, it is easy to say the defense needs a “game-wrecker” on the defensive line… insert David Stone. The IMG Academy product will head to Norman as the No.7 player in the nation, No.1 defensive tackle and the highest-rated defensive tackle to sign with Oklahoma since Gerald McCoy in 2006. Despite both Parker and I believing Stone is the most likely defensive recruit to play year one, Stone has been quick to say he isn’t the best lineman in the nation. IMG Academy teammate and Sooner commit Jayden Jackson has quickly become one of the most talked about commits in this class. Jackson ranks as the No. 11 defensive tackle in the country, but Stone has made it clear that is too low. Just days ago, Stone took to X saying: “No joke I’m taking him over any D-Lineman in the country, he’s that good.” Joining those two is Oklahoma City’s own Ace Hodges. If I were a betting man, I would guess Stone takes over as a starter by October.

The class will lack no shortage of players at edge, with Bates and co. bringing in five players. Headlining this class will be Melissa, Texas’ Nigel Smith and Tulsa’s Danny Okoye. Both players are coming in at 6-foot-5, four-stars and top-7 players at their position. Also joining them will be three-star Wyatt Gilmore, and Edmond’s Bergin Kysar. This is a very exciting class with multiple players having the potential to play early and often. I am very excited to see how Nigel Smith does this season - he is coming in at roughly 35 pounds heavier than Okoye, while both have shown great lateral quickness and movement.

At Linebacker, you should not expect any change in rotation for who will play. With Danny Stutsman returning, the linebacker corps quickly shifted from a massive concern to arguably the strength of the defense again in 2024. The lone Linebacker that Venables took this season was 6-foot-5 three-star James Nesta. Nesta has shown good vision and overall high potential, but it would be a shock to see him get any play-time in 2024.

The highest-rated corner that coach Jay Valai and co. recruited is Arizona’s Jeremiah Newcombe. The 5-foot-11 corner has been committed to Valai and Oklahoma since March and is now the No. 25 corner in the nation. Additionally accompanying him will be Union High School’s Devon Jordan and Peyton Bowen’s younger brother, Eli Bowen. With the secondary being very experienced going into the SEC, it is likely that true-freshman will not be seeing the field much next season.

It is now back-to-back years where Brandon Hall dominated at safety during recruiting. The team will be introducing Reggie Powers, Jaydan Hardy, Michael Boganowski and Mykel Patterson-McDonald to the already loaded safety room. All four of these guys will be competing for 2nd-or-3rd-string spots as soon as year one. Hardy is the highest ranked player in the group, as the Lewisville star sits as the No. 13 ranked safety in the nation. MPM, a close friend to David Stone, is joining the Sooners ranked as the No. 2 player in Oklahoma. As for Boganowski and Powers, they are ranked respectively 22nd and 30th among safeties in the nation.

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