If you haven’t seen it by now, the Oklahoma Sooners are red hot on the recruiting trail. It’s a far cry from the grave that the national media and rival fans wanted to bury OU in back in May.
Before June 1, the Sooners had just four players committed to their 2023 recruiting class. Joshua Bates, Jackson Arnold, Erik McCarty, and Kaleb Spencer. On the surface, and according to some, the Sooners were struggling to recruit. Appearances can often be deceiving.
The reality was that Brent Venables and his coaching staff were playing the long game. Preaching patience to players who were interested in committing to Oklahoma and encouraging those prospects to finish their recruiting process before making a commitment.
The main message is, “know that you know that you know that you know.” Venables doesn’t want players making a commitment and then continuing to shop around. That’s what changed with Ashton Cozart and that’s something Lincoln Riley is dealing with now as Malachi Nelson, Makai Lemon, and Zachariah Branch (there top three 2023 commits) are visiting Texas A&M this weekend after being committed to the Trojans for quite some time. Nelson and Lemon have been committed since Riley left for USC back in November.
If a player that’s committed to a school is going on visits to another, they’re not committed. Committed individuals don’t look elsewhere. In their career, in their marriage, in their relationships, or in college football.
For years, the idea of a commitment has been softened in college football. By coaches and by players. Coaches will be committed to a player and a program one day and find a better opportunity the next. A player might be considered a “hard commit” by a recruiting service can flip at a moment’s notice. Throw in the new world order of name, image, and likeness, and nothing seems certain until a player is signed.
That’s why Brent Venables is so passionate about his philosophy. He wants players to take their visits….
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