Top 10 OU WR Signees of Rivals Era

Bob Stoops brought with him Mike Leach and the "Air Raid" revolution immediately upon his arrival in Oklahoma. What has followed is a continuing evolution of high-octane offensive systems that routinely include prolific pass-catchers.

Below, the 10 highest ranked wide receiver Oklahoma signees since 2002 are listed in empirical order of their Rivals.com rankings. This aggregation only includes prospects listed specifically under the wide receiver categorization and unfortunately excludes any pass-catchers designated with the "athlete" distinction.

This also means the school's most productive receiver of all-time, Ryan Broyles, fails to qualify for the list as he was categorized by Rivals as a cornerback out of Norman High School in 2007. Even so, his 238 ranking would have only put him at No. 14 on this list - still missing the cut.

In total, 22 four-star or higher wide receivers have signed with the University of Oklahoma - that's an average of about 1.4 per recruiting class. On three separate occasions (2005, 2008, 2012), the Sooners brought in a class with at least three wide receivers possessing a four-star distinction or higher and the class of 2008 remains the only one to contain multiple Rivals100 receivers (Jameel Owens and Josh Jarboe). Sterling Shepard is the shortest four-star wide receiver signee in school history and is actually the only Rivals250 wideout under six-feet tall to sign with the Sooners.

If the current Oklahoma class of 2017 remains intact and with their current ranking through signing day, Charleston Rambo would pass Kenny Stills at No. 10 on this list.

Richmond (Texas) Foster Rivals250 wide receiver Cedarian Lamb is expected to announce his commitment tonight and if the nation's No. 167 overall player chooses to re-commit back to Oklahoma, it would give the Sooners their fourth recruiting class with at least three four-star wide receivers, joining the aforementioned Rambo and Waxahachie's Jalen Reagor.

Breakdown: Stills was a member of the class of 2010's famed "Cali Trio" that included fellow Rivals250 San Diego-area recruits Brennan Clay and Tony Jefferson, who also signed with Oklahoma. Despite being the lowest ranked member of the Trio, Stills would become a freshman All-American, two-time second-team All-Big 12 receiver, and tie a school record with four touchdown receptions in a single game (West Virginia, 2012). Stills would also be the only Cali Trio member taken in the NFL Draft and has already found success as a professional. As a rookie with the New Orleans Saints, Stills lead the NFL with 20.0 yards per reception and in his second season he tallied nearly 1,000 yards (931) in just 15 games. The 24-year-old already has more NFL touchdown receptions (11) than former Sooner great Eddie Hinton had in his entire career (10) and is just three shy of another former Bob Stoops star receiver, Mark Clayton (14).

Breakdown: Shepard was often overshadowed during his recruiting cycle. Whether it was by his own high school teammate, Barry Sanders Jr., or more highly ranked Oklahoma receiver targets like Dorial Green-Beckham and Durron Neal, the Heritage Hall star never seemed to have the limelight to himself. However, the son of the late former Sooner receiver great Derrick Shepard, would end up making a name for himself as one of the all-time great pass-catchers during his career in Norman. Sterling Shepard leaves the University of Oklahoma as the school's No. 2 all-time receiver in receptions (233) and receiving yards (3,482). He was taken in the second round by the New York Giants in last April's draft and is expected to have a large role early in Eli Manning's offense.

Breakdown: Jones became the eighth Rivals100 Oklahoma wide receiver when he signed his letter of intent in February. The word around campus is that the young Louisiana-native is already turning heads in his short time in Norman. During Big 12 Media Days, his quarterback Baker Mayfield singled Jones out as someone who would "help out this year." With the loss of Sterling Shepard and Durron Neal to the Sooners receiving corps, the talented former four-star may be called upon to be a playmaker early in his Oklahoma tenure.

Breakdown: The first commitment for the Sooners' class of 2005 didn't come from Oklahoma or Texas. Instead, it came 1,200 miles away from Conway, South Carolina's Eric Huggins, who remained a steadfast commitment to Bob Stoops and then wide receiver coach Darrell Wyatt, despite the pressure from every regional SEC and ACC powerhouse to stay closer to home. Unfortunately, the Rivals100 receiver failed to record a statistic during his time in Norman and transferred to Newberry College back in The Palmetto State.

Breakdown: Jarboe gave Oklahoma fans a shot in the arm with his commitment on live television during the Under-Armour game, where the nation's No. 69 overall player hid his Sooners hat beneath caps for LSU, Florida, and Georgia - spurning the SEC powerhouses to play for Bob Stoops. Alas, Jarboe would be arrested for gun charges in high school, which put him on a very short leash before arriving in Norman. After just a short time in the 405, the receiver's reckless rap was a wrap for OU's involvement with the former four-star. Jarboe would transfer to the University of Troy before being dismissed for violating team rules, before ultimately finishing his career at Arkansas State.

Breakdown: After years of watching Antwone Savage, Curtis Fagan, and Mark Clayton dominate the wideout position for Oklahoma, Malcolm Kelly brought an imposing yet graceful style to the Sooner receiving corps. Kelly made a habit of producing huge games and timely catches in the biggest of moments against schools such as Miami, Texas, or in the Big 12 Championship Game versus Nebraska - the latter of which resulted in a much more popular and positive freestyle session by an OU wide receiver. Despite struggling with injuries his final season, Kelly would still become a second round draft pick by the Washington Redskins, but could never seem to stay healthy long enough in the NFL to make an impact and was released after two seasons..

Breakdown: Neal shared the "Show-Me State" with the nation's No. 1 player, Dorial Green-Beckham, but was a completely different type of receiver. While DGB's freakish blend of size and athleticism made him the top target as a prospect, Neal dominated with versatility as an excellent high school receiver, running back, returner, and at times even quarterback. The former St. Louis star never ascended to superstar status in Norman, but Neal did have a very solid career in Oklahoma before earning his degree and being signed as an un-drafted free agent by the Denver Broncos.

Breakdown: Owens is the highest ranked receiver from Oklahoma to sign with the Sooners under Bob Stoops and was seen as the heir to follow Malcolm Kelly as the school's big-bodied, athletic target on the outside. After hauling in two receptions in his first game as a true freshman, Owens only caught two more passes the rest of the season. The former Rougher never was able to make an impact on the field and eventually transferred closer to home at The University of Tulsa, where he was actually able to record six touchdown receptions in 2010 before leaving the program.

Breaking: Adron "Pooh" Tennell was the highest ranked Oklahoma wide receiver signee at the time and was expected to be Kelly's counterpart on the opposite side catching passes from Rhett Bomar. Those plans never came to fruition, as Bomar was infamously kicked off the team and Tennell's talents never seemed to materialize, despite Sam Bradford's prodigious takeover of the offense. After flashing just once for a 61-yard touchdown reception in garbage time against Miami in 2007, it appeared 2009 would be the breakout opportunity Tennell had been waiting for with the graduation of veteran receivers Juaquin Iglesias and Manny Johnson. Yet, Bradford's early injury against BYU derailed the offense quickly and the reality finally began to set in that Tennell was just never going to live up to the lofty expectations placed upon him in high school.

Breakdown: It was a long road for Metoyer to get to Oklahoma that involved a year at the Virginia Military Academy and a reclassification to the class of 2012. The highest ranked wide receiver signee in Sooners history flashed elite hands in practice, but it was the flashing of other body parts that ended the former five-star receiver's stint in Norman ahead of schedule. After a pedestrian freshman season and an arrest/dismissal early in his sophomore year, Metoyer was exposed both on the field and off as an ill-equipped college football wideout.