Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley was back addressing the media on early signing day to talk about the Sooners 2020 class. Here are the biggest takeaways from the session.

Take No. 1: Defensive tackle the story of class

OU had to hit it big at defensive tackle, and the Sooners absolutely did just that in landing arguably the two best junior college prospects in Perrion Winfrey and Joshua Ellison.

Winfrey had been committed since the spring, and Ellison joined the group earlier this week. Check and check in that department.

“The graduation is going to hit us hard there,” Riley said. “Losing Neville, Kenny Mann, Q, Dillon, all those guys, it’s going to be a big part of this class. We felt like we needed some immediate help there, some guys who had some experience. I’m glad we were able to add guys at different points in their careers, different times in their eligibility and being able to space them out. We really felt like we got quality guys.

“There’s going and signing a junior college player because you think you have to. Then there’s finding the right guy or guys that you feel like can come in and make a difference. We felt like we found that. We targeted those guys. Perrion was early and he jumped on and got us started. Then we were able to add a couple of key pieces late.”

Ellison will be a true sophomore, meaning he’ll have four years to play three seasons’ worth of eligibility. When you add in the fact OU has had defections such as Ron Tatum (2018) and Derek Green (2019), there was no spot to circle more than thing.

Defensive line coach Calvin Thibodeaux was able to figure it all out. Add in Kori Roberson and a healthy Jordan Kelley, panic mode is eliminated.

Take No. 2: Bedenbaugh with a boss of a class

Switching to offense, and the offensive line is borderline ridiculous as offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh has once again delivered in spades.

All five (Andrew Raym, Noah Nelson, Nate Anderson, Anton Harrison, A.J. Parks) are at least four-star prospects.

“I like the makeup of this class. I like the kind of kids we’re bringing in,” Riley said. “These are five really solid – good students, very straight up good guys. Unique abilities all over, think there are multiple guys in this class that can play multiple positions, both inside and tackle.

“It’s important to us, almost in the model of a Cody Ford, who was able to play inside early in his career and then kick outside and play tackle and gave us that flexibility. Continuing to have pieces like that that can potentially play multiple spots was a key factor as well.”

It wasn’t graduation that made this spot tough, but early defections. The Sooners have seen some key pieces leave early in recent years and could again with Creed Humphrey. It was imperative to find versatile guys, and Bedenbaugh did just that.

And of course, add in Raym to the recommitment process. OU has done it again. CeeDee Lamb, Theo Wease and Raym, some big-time names.

“He’s one of the better prospects we’ve seen in the state of Oklahoma in our time here at any position,” Riley said. “He was extremely important to getting him here. We have a great relationship with him and his family, and I think that was a big part of it.”

Take No. 3: #DareToBeDifferent

OU’s recruiting team had been talking about the #20Deep takeover it was about to perform for signing day, and the crew delivered.

Whether it was the personalized logos, the social media videos for each kid or each recruit having their own page or the “phases” of taking over cities, it was another hit for the Sooners.

“Not surprised with our group because I think we’ve really done some groundbreaking things the last couple signing days,” Riley said. “But I think we went above and beyond. The idea started several months ago. For our Oklahoma brand, we’re always going to try to recruit the very best in the state no question. But we’re never going to have a team completely full of players from the state of Oklahoma just with the size of our state. We’ve always been a national brand. We’ve always nationally recruited.

“And so the thought was of organizing almost a takeover of some of the major cities all across the country. I thought our group did an awesome job. They came to us, put the idea in front. Give a lot of credit to our people for the creative chance we took there, a lot of credit to our administration for getting behind this because something like this doesn’t just happen overnight. It’s not easy. It takes a lot of people and a lot of commitment. And we did.

“Right now, everybody across the country is seeing something and they have never seen anything like it before. That’s pretty special.”

It was trading cards two years ago. It was record albums last year. Now taking over cities. #LincUp21 ideas already on the clock.

Plus One: No quarterback, no problem

For the first time in Riley’s tenure, the Sooners do not have a quarterback signed for the class. Just sort of the way it worked out.

Perception is usually the quarterback is the face of the class, so did it make it any more difficult for the Sooners this class?

“That’s a good question,” Riley said. “I think we have a lot leaders in this class that made up for that. We had some guys that really jumped on early that were really prime-time players, but also those kind of guys. And they made a big difference. Had we not had those leaders, I think it would have been maybe more of a factor than it probably was.”

The interesting part is OU doesn’t have a quarterback for this period but will absolutely be in the running for Highland Park quarterback Chandler Morris.

Morris, the son of now-Auburn offensive coordinator Chad Morris, decommitted from Arkansas and became a highly sought-after commodity in the last month. OU will definitely continue making its push.