It’s pretty understood at this point that the summer camp is no longer the No. 1 time for recruits to earn offers, especially for any rising senior.
Start talking about underclassmen, though, and the chances increase. Oklahoma held its second OL/DL Academy event Tuesday afternoon, and three offers were doled out in the evening to 2023 prospects.
The Sooners were able to land one signee from the first Academy two years ago in defensive lineman Ethan Downs, so it will be intriguing to see if we look back in two years and say the same thing for any of the prospects in attendance Tuesday with offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh and defensive line coaches Jamar Cain and Calvin Thibodeaux.
2023 Durango (Colo.) High C Joshua Bates
The story: It’s always tough to project the need for a center in each recruiting class, but Bates might simply be too good to ignore. The Sooners already have their center for the 2022 group, but the power Bates showed in the camp setting was incredibly impressive. The Colorado ties are strong and might be tough to overcome, but the Sooners have put themselves in the hunt and you could tell Bedenbaugh was liking what he was seeing and made the offer.
2023 Fort Worth (Texas) Nolan Catholic DE Kaleb James
The story: A lot of the focus was on the offensive line as Bedenbaugh had some good young kids in, but if there was a name defensively, it was definitely James. Already with mid-major offers and some Power 5 schools in the mix, it’s going to be tough to deny James of a higher ranking going forward when he performs as well as he did in Norman. The one-on-one time with Thibodeaux was icing on the cake in making the offer official.
2023 San Antonio Smithson Valley OT Colton Thomasson
The story: It doesn’t take long to find out who Thomasson is. What stands out more than his height, though, is the way he has put in the work to lose a lot of bad weight and make himself a factor in the 2023 class. As he gets out to more schools, the offer total is going to shoot up, no question, and Thomasson showed he’s more than just that height during the one-on-one portion of the camp. He was also offered following the event.
Others to Watch
2023 Tulsa (Okla.) Union DL De’Marion Thomas
The story: There is a lot to like in Thomas’ game, already offered by Iowa State and Baylor. He was the best interior defensive lineman at the event and is poised to be one of the better in-state prospects for the 2023 class. The question will be if that’s enough to entice OU going forward. A strong day Tuesday helps, and his development will be interesting to watch.
2024 Lewisville (Texas) High OL Devin Love
The story: You never know with such a young prospect whether he’s going to grow to be an unquestioned tackle or stay in that guard/tackle range. What is known is that Love and the Sooners have developed a nice early bond, and Bedenbaugh will certainly be paying attention to Love this season to see what strides he is going to be making.
