It had been almost 20 months to the day since the last time Oklahoma had a high school running back commitment.

If you’re going to go that long, better make sure that next back is a splash. This one? Definitely in that category as Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei star Raleek Brown announced his commitment to the Sooners on Friday evening.

Brown, a borderline five-star prospect, had offers from all over, but it really felt like OU was beating out USC and Alabama as the two biggest threats to secure his verbal pledge.

Listed as an all-purpose back, it’s OK for OU fans to get a little excited thinking about what head coach Lincoln Riley could be able to do with someone like Brown in this offense.

Brown has speed for days, like speed the Sooners haven’t seen at that spot in a long time, and the OU staff got to see that in person back when Brown camped at OU’s one-day event in June 2019.

The Sooners were involved with Brown before then, but things went to an entirely different level after that weekend. Despite the fact OU has never had any real success at Mater Dei, this was one that felt like was headed in OU’s direction.

There was a potential bump in the road when OU made a running backs coach switch following the 2019 season. Out was Jay Boulware and in came DeMarco Murray, who obviously could tell Brown a thing or two about being a star in Norman.

Once it became clear that Murray and Brown had made a solid connection, OU remained in the driver’s seat. Other school came and went and made their pitch, but it never felt like the Sooners had fallen out of favor.

Brown is classified as a running back but that might be too simplistic for what the Sooners could end up doing with him in terms of being an all-around threat as a runner and receiver.

Add him to an impressive list of offensive skill commits so far, to go with five-star receiver Luther Burden (No. 7), Edmond (Okla.) Santa Fe receiver Talyn Shettron (No. 55) and Garland (Texas) High receiver Jordan Hudson (No. 197).

Seth McGowan was the last OU running back commit from the high school ranks back on June 6, 2019. OU didn’t sign a running back for the 2021 class, although it did pick up former Tennessee running back Eric Gray last month via the transfer portal.

There are a lot of quality options for OU to pursue in the 2022 class at the position, but no priority was bigger or more important than Brown.

With Brown onboard, it’s a big win for OU, but it’s a battle that will be far from over. That’s what you expect, though, when you’re recruiting the best of the best. OU knows that and everybody knows Brown is that type of special talent.