As the calendar turns from June to July, the Sooners have well over two-thirds of their 2025 recruiting class already on board. 19 total commits, of which 15 are blue-chip prospects, comprise Oklahoma’s haul on the trail. As of this exact moment in time, OU boasts the No. 4 class in the nation. And though fluctuation in the rankings is natural and expected, it’s safe to conclude that Oklahoma’s class will maintain a spot in the national top 10 come signing day.
The Sooners are waiting on forthcoming decisions from several elite targets, including WR Cortez Mills, OL Lamont Rogers, DE Smith Orogbo and DB Omarion Robinson. The class may fly higher as soon as Monday, when Orogbo and Mills are set to announce their commitments. But for the moment, it’s time to focus on the Sooners’ 19 existing verbal pledges. Members had plenty of questions on the OUInsider premium message board, and I’m here to answer all of those questions in today’s mailbag. So let's dig in.
That's hard to say because in order to answer this question, you essentially have to project a full year ahead with regard to the roster picture. There may be early NFL departures, breakout performers, portal casualties and other developments that sideswipe any current projection of the 2025 roster. And I think as a general principle moving forward, the expectation shouldn't be that any freshmen make a substantial impact in Year 1. To that point, how many members of the 2024 class are expected to have a major role with the Sooners this fall? David Stone and Jayden Jackson, certainly, but beyond that... maybe Eli Bowen? Maybe Davon Mitchell or Taylor Tatum? The Sooners have plenty of veteran depth across the board, and that's a great thing. It enables most members of the freshman class to develop at their own pace. But if I had to answer this question right now, my answers would be: 1) Trent Wilson, 2) Elijah Thomas, 3) Maliek Hawkins, 4) Courtland Guillory and 5) Marcus Wimberly.
The "most underrated" question was a popular one in this mailbag, and that's no surprise. The answer for me — and it's an easy one — is Emmanuel Choice. I find it incredibly hard to believe that he wraps the cycle as a three-star. He's tall (6-foot-4), he's got great ball skills and he's incredibly quick on his feet for a receiver of that size. I'm a huge fan of Choice's game, and I think after a year or two of working with Emmett Jones, he'll have Nic Anderson-esque potential in the Oklahoma offense. As many of you will recall, I was on the Anderson hype train long before it left the station. I'd advise all of you to jump on the Emmanuel Choice hype train with me. And to answer the first of your two questions, Sushi Sucks, I would say that the most surprising commit was definitely Marcus Harris given how quickly everything came together between him and Oklahoma.
Trent Wilson could be a Day 2 draft pick. He is a behemoth of a human being, especially in the upper body; I made the comment at the Rivals Five-Star that he has Christmas hams for biceps. In looking over his frame, it's very clear that he's going to be able to carry 300-plus pounds at the collegiate level and be a major problem on the interior with his quickness. He'll clog holes in the run game and he'll put heat on the quarterback as a pass rusher. I don't watch a ton of NFL football these days, so maybe it's not the most nuanced comparison, but I see some baseline similarities between Wilson's game and that of Detroit Lions DT Alim McNeill (who himself was a Day 2 draft pick). That's not to say Wilson ends up being an NFL starter like McNeill; he'll still have to develop and improve his craft while at Oklahoma. But he owns that type of potential.
