Reactions to Sooners' early signing day haul
If the early returns for the 2018 class are any indication, Oklahoma truly has reinvigorated its reputation on the recruiting trail.
With 17 of the Sooners' 20 verbal commitments opting to hop in the boat this week, OU has the No. 7 recruiting class of 2018, per Rivals. If that holds up through the end of the 2018 recruiting period, it will make two straight years that OU has finished seventh overall in the country. Prior to last year, the Sooners hadn't finished in the top 10 nationally since 2010.
In fairness, it's not like OU's recruiting was languishing from 2011 to 2016. The Sooners were consistently landing groups that ranked around 15th overall - good enough to continue churning out double-digit wins almost every year.
Yet, to jump from 15ish to seventh on the regular would put OU back among the elite of the elite in terms of roster depth and quality. The drop-off between the teams OU fielded back in the early 2000s and most of the teams donning the Crimson and Cream in this decade has been noticeable in that regard.
With time still remaining to plug a few holes in the class, plenty of reasons for optimism. A few other notes:
*Add me to the list of people who thought recruiting staff knocked it out of the park with OU's signing announcement videos.
*You have every right to feel antsy about what OU is doing to fill up its numbers at linebacker. Position coach Tim Kish inked just one player yesterday, Brian Asamoah out of Ohio.
That should be priorities one, two and three between now and February.
*On the other hand, offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh and defensive line coaches Calvin Thibodeaux and Ruffin McNeill are making sure the Sooners stay rock solid in the trenches. OU added some studs along the lines in guys like defensive end Ronnie Perkins and offensive tackle Brey Walker.
*Hell of a year in OU's home state. In particular, Oklahoma preps produced a number of quality prospects along the lines, which helped in a year in which the state of Texas was sorely lacking big-time beef.
*Not often that OU snags a player out of Memphis, but receivers coach Dennis Simmons got a good one in KunDarrius Taylor. Taylor is flying a little under the radar as of now, but he's my pick to make the biggest impact among the wideouts who have signed with OU so far.