When four-star LB Adam Balogoun-Ali got off the phone with Oklahoma linebackers coach Nate Dreiling, he could check an item off his bucket list.

Although Balogoun-Ali currently lives and plays in suburban Miami, he's a native of the Sooner State. He was born just north of Norman in the south OKC suburb of Moore, and lived most of his childhood in the west OKC suburb of Mustang. Thus, when Dreiling offered him the chance to play college football in the crimson and cream, Balogoun-Ali immediately started hatching plans to visit Oklahoma.

“It was surreal, for sure," the blue-chip linebacker remarked. "It was definitely a realization that the work’s been paying off. Ever since I was eight and started playing football, that was always one of my dreams. It was definitely a dream school... It’s definitely an offer I’ve been trying to get.”

Though he moved to Florida in the sixth grade, Balogoun-Ali can recall many a Saturday spent watching the Sooners during his early years.

“Baker Mayfield, mostly," he laughed. "I remember him planting the flag at the [Ohio State] game; he’s definitely one of the key players. And then, like, [Dede] Westbrook and a whole bunch of random guys.”