Sooners make another splash with Gibson
It’s said repeatedly about recruiting being a marathon and not a sprint. But that old adage hasn’t ever met the coaching carousel of 2021.
Names that meant nothing to Oklahoma fans as recent as last week are now guys expected to be pillars of the 2022 class.
A lot to ask, but no OU fans are disappointed with Winter Garden (Fla.) West Orange wide receiver Jayden Gibson becoming the latest commitment to the Sooners.
Gibson, the one-time Florida commit, picked OU on Tuesday evening and will sign with new head coach Brent Venables and the Sooners on Wednesday.
Wide receiver recruiting for 2022 could be a book for OU fans. The Sooners, once upon a time, had three of the best in the entire class. One-by-one, the trio left OU and so, too, did coaches Lincoln Riley and Dennis Simmons to USC.
All that turmoil, but OU is gonna end up with a solid receiver class for the early signing period with Gibson and Katy (Texas) High’s Nicholas Anderson.
Gibson wasn’t even a blip on the OU radar at this time last week, but it became readily apparent that a lot of Florida commits weren’t on the same page with new coach Billy Napier.
Included in that was Gibson and Flower Mound (Texas) High quarterback Nick Evers. It took a couple of days for the duo to be Gator class members and turn into high priority OU targets and new offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby.
Gibson and Evers both made official visits to OU over the weekend. Evers made his call first, announcing early Monday morning. OU fans had every reason to be confident about Gibson, though, because he knew during his official visit that he was ready to make his choice.
You rarely see someone do that and go against the school they were visiting at that moment. This instance was no exception, calling Norman home.
The Sooners have made a living using speed at the receiver, but rarely has there been size to go with it. That’s where Gibson can absolutely break the mold
It’s been a two-week whirlwind for all involved. A week of a coaching search and a week of Venables going from coast-to-coast to find the best for 2022, including Gibson.
Gibson makes it four commits for OU since Monday, joining Evers, Lubbock (Texas) Cooper linebacker Kobie McKinzie and Deerfield Beach (Fla.) High defensive tackle Alton Tarber. Tarber, Evers and Gibson all made official visits last weekend, while McKinzie made an unofficial trip.
Four-for-four, two offense and two defense. The OU machine is rolling again.