Zion Ragins ready to race into Norman: "We coming... You can't beat speed"
It hasn't even been a full year since Emmett Jones joined the Oklahoma staff as wide receivers coach, but in the short time he's spent as a member of the Sooner football family, he's made his presence felt on the recruiting trail across the Mid-South.
He's got a pair of homegrown studs locked down early in four-star 2025 receiver commits Elijah Thomas and Jaden Nickens. Blue-chip 2025 speedster Gracen Harris, a native of the DFW area, is also pledged to the Sooners. Two weeks ago, Jones wrapped the 2024 cycle with signatures from a Houston phenom in Zion Kearney, a towering West Texas standout in Ivan Carreon, and a criminally under-exposed dynamo from small-town Louisiana in KJ Daniels.
But despite the apparent geographical concentration of Jones' efforts, there is an outlier in the mix. Four-star Georgia native Zion Ragins also inked with the Sooners last month as a member of the 2024 class, and come June, he'll travel nearly a thousand miles to begin the next chapter of his football journey in Norman.
As he recruited Ragins, Jones had to clear a major hurdle — and an immutable one, at that — in overcoming the distance factor. Florida State, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee all expressed major interest in Ragins' services. But for an athlete of his caliber, those hurdles were worth the effort to clear.
There are very few prep football players in the nation that can hold a candle to Ragins in terms of sheer speed. Just how fast is the Peach State product?
"In Georgia, my ninth and 10th grade year, I won state in the 100 and 200 [meters]," reported Ragins. "My times? In the 100, I run a 10.35. In the 200, I run a 21.2."
Throughout his high school career, Ragins has quite literally done it all for Jones County High School, and he's been a cornerstone for the program since his freshman year. In addition to his work as a wideout, he's seen copious snaps at running back, and it should come as no surprise that he's electric in the return game as well. Even as an underclassman, his talents were evident enough that Oklahoma originally offered him in the fall of 2021, before his sophomore year concluded. Ragins and Jaydan Hardy are the only two members of the Sooners' 2024 signing class whose Oklahoma offers actually precede Brent Venables' arrival. But though that particular seed was sown early, Oklahoma didn't emerge as a major player for Ragins' services until Jones joined the staff and began to press for the 5-foot-8, 155-pound playmaker.
"It was really just the love from Coach Jones," Ragins explained. "He's a really loving person. He's honest. At the same time, Coach Venables, he's a good dude. I love him. I think that place really fits me."
Ragins took his official visit to Oklahoma in early June, and although Georgia and FSU hosted him later in the month for additional OV's, the promise of playing SEC ball in a high-octane offense was something from which neither the Bulldogs nor the Seminoles could coax him away. Though he'd acknowledged in the spring that the distance from home was a concern for him regarding Oklahoma, Ragins' official visit helped break down any remaining inhibitions he had about a football future in Norman.
The Sooners' tradition of excellence at the wide receiver position is well established, and the Oklahoma offense has remained prolific throughout the years, even as coaches and playcallers have come and gone. In Jones, the Sooners have a highly qualified and knowledgeable receivers coach (Drake Stoops referred to him as "a technician" in a July interview) who doesn't perceive his job as a launching pad to another destination or role. He's earned rave reviews from staffers, players and recruits alike, and it didn't take long for him to sell Ragins on a fit in the Oklahoma scheme.
"Coach Jones said I'll fit in pretty good because of my speed and stuff," Ragins recalled. "He said they have a lot of plays where they can move me around, spread the defense out, send me deep. If they play me man-on-man, that's over with. You can't beat speed."
Jones' pitch resonated. In mid-July, after evaluating his options thoroughly and rendering a final judgment, Ragins announced his commitment to Oklahoma.
The last time the Sooners rostered a receiver with track-star speed from the Southeast, the experiment paid dividends for both parties. Oklahoma got consecutive 1,000-yard seasons from a Floridian speed demon who became notorious enough to earn the mononym "Hollywood." And for his part, Marquise Brown parlayed that success into a first-round draft slot.
During a December in-home visit, Jones made sure that Ragins became fully acquainted with the legend of Hollywood. The two watched Brown's film together, and though Ragins certainly sees himself as capable of having a similar impact in Norman, he likens his play style to another current NFL wideout.
"Probably DeVonta [Smith]," he said.
Though Ragins' relationship with Jones is rock solid, it didn't stop rumors from swirling when the Oklahoma staff experienced some turnover in late November. Given the speedy wideout's roots in the Southeast, some speculated that he might follow Jeff Lebby to Mississippi State when the Sooners' former offensive coordinator took the Bulldogs' vacant head coaching job. Nevertheless, Jones moved quickly and proactively to ensure that Ragins remained locked in with the Sooners, and Ragins himself is adamant that the changing of the guard never shook his faith in Oklahoma. He's still of the firm belief that Seth Littrell's offensive scheme will showcase his skills in the SEC.
"It was really not a big deal," Ragins said of Lebby's departure. "Me and Coach Lebby were close. He came to visit me a couple times when school was going on, probably around October and November. We had a close connection, [but] it really didn't do nothing... I haven't gotten to talk to [Littrell] at all recently, but when I go back to school next week, I'll be able to get on a call with him. At the same time, I really don't think there'll be a difference. It'll still be playing fast, fast, fast. Get the defense tired quick."
Ragins is one of two Oklahoma signees repping the program this weekend at the 2024 All-American Bowl in San Antonio, joining linebacker James Nesta. Though he's the only Georgia product in the Sooners' 2024 class, Ragins has already built a strong bond with OU quarterback signee Michael Hawkins, and he's looking forward to arriving in Norman for summer workouts and continuing to cultivate camaraderie with his future teammates. The mission of bringing a national championship back to Oklahoma is one that each of the Sooners' 27 signees share, and the program's relationally driven culture has helped lay an early foundation for that very effort.
"Me personally, the highlight really is making connections," said Ragins. "I'm very excited. I can't wait to make new connections with my brothers there and the Sooner fans. I can't wait for the fans on Saturdays... All I gotta say really, is the defense, they're gonna have trouble. There's gonna be real trouble.
"Boy, we coming. The 2024 class is coming."
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