As Oklahoma, particular under head coach Lincoln Riley, has made the east coast more of a recruiting priority, there have been notable critics about what Riley has done on home turf.
Or put more accurately, what OU hasn’t done in the land of OKPreps. The harsh reality is OU simply hasn’t seen that many OU-worthy prospects, in their opinion, for the last couple of cycles.
Hey, it happens. So when you look at 2019 and 2020, all you see is running back Marcus Major (2019), linebacker Brynden Walker (2020) and offensive lineman Andrew Raym (2020) for in-state high school representation.
Things, though, appear differently for the 2021 and 2022 classes. The 2022 group already has four offers (Tulsa Booker T. Washington defensive back Gentry Williams, Broken Arrow defensive back Maurion Horn, Edmond Deer Creek offensive tackle Jacob Sexton and Edmond Santa Fe wide receiver Talyn Shettron).
The 2021 crop had three and added No. 4 on Tuesday afternoon when Choctaw defensive back Jordan Mukes announced he’s the latest in-state OU offer.
The Mukes offer is intriguing for a number of different reasons. No. 1, it once again shows that if OU invites you to a junior day, you’re considered for an offer.
Mukes was a name that jumped off the page following his OU junior day visit. He didn’t get an offer at that time, with the prevailing thought being the Sooners staff was going to need to evaluate him in person.
That leads up to No. 2 and the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Because of the uncertainty of if there will be any sort of spring ball, both college and high school, it’s forcing the hand of recruits and schools because the usual recruiting process has been thrown all out of whack.
No doubt OU would have loved to have seen Mukes in person. And the staff will get that chance down the road in fall 2020. But if you truly like what you see, you have to jump in now.
Now a three-star recruit, Mukes’ offer sheet has become impressive in the last couple of months, highlighted by the OU offer Tuesday.
Nothing is a sure thing in recruiting, but it’s going to be pretty tough to imagine Mukes not being a Sooner by the time #LincUp21 is all said and done.
It’s too early to gauge the 2022 offers, but let’s take a minute to examine the rest of the in-state 2021 offers and where OU stands.
Start with the easy one. Downs committed to OU the week of the Red River Showdown, and he hasn’t looked back. There should be absolutely zero drama regarding the rest of his recruitment. The staff likes him. His dream school is OU. He’s been a vocal OU recruiter on social media.
You want a name to watch? Daniels is that. OU offered a long time ago. It’s almost as if people have forgotten that fact as a who’s who is now coming after the Beggs star. When the likes of Notre Dame come through, it gets real. His dream offer was LSU, and he got that one. Just days after being ranked No. 1 by SoonerScoop.com recruiting editor Josh McCuistion, Daniels earned a Clemson offer. Daniels said he will release his top 10 on Sunday. OU will certainly make that cut.
Green wasn’t bashful to say OU was his dream school when he got the offer last spring. But his situation has changed dramatically. Offered as a defensive back, Green had a solid junior season at running back where you can tell he’d rather play offense instead of defense. He’s backed down from saying only running back, but it could be he only picks a school that sees him on offense. Green has not had a lot of contact with OU recently. He’s set to release a top eight Friday, so we’ll have a much better idea of where the two stand when that list is revealed.
