Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables said you can’t miss what you never had in the first place when he was talking about recruiting and commitment/decommitments a few weeks ago

The Sooners took some lumps in the last couple of months, but Venables and staff just kept plugging away. Because if there’s one thing you trust about Venables, his track record says he certainly knows how to evaluate talent.

Nolensville (Tenn.) defensive end Taylor Wein was largely under the radar just three weeks ago. A lot can change, has changed and now he’s committed to the Sooners.

Wein made his announcement Monday afternoon, coming off the heels of an unofficial visit to Norman last weekend for the Bedlam victory against Oklahoma State.

Wein becomes the second defensive lineman commitment in as many days, joining Los Angeles Cathedral defensive tackle Ashton Sanders, who did the same Sunday evening.

Recruiting has been a blur for Wein, who entered the month an unranked national prospect. One-by-one, the big boys started to come, with OU among the first ones to extend the offer.

Unknown no longer, Wein is knocking on the door to four-star status, and it was clear that OU had made a massive impression on him even without the visit.

The visit just sealed the deal as OU’s defense put on the performance of its season against its in-state rival. Thirteen points on 102 plays, 19 possessions with six sacks, seven pass breakups, 12 quarterback hurries, 13 tackles for loss and four interceptions.

A night the defense will never forget, and a sign to all defensive recruits about what can happen and what can be expected from Venables and his staff moving forward.

Wein becomes OU’s 22nd commitment for the 2023 class, but all OU fans are hoping the Sooners aren’t even close to being done just yet from Bedlam weekend. The Sooners delivered on the field, and now it’s time to do the same closing on the trail.