With the additions of Gibson and Tarber, OU’s class is now up to No. 9 in the 247 Composite Rankings entering signing day.

With the early Signing Period beginning on Wednesday, the Oklahoma Sooners are carrying some serious momentum after securing two more commitments. Four prospects — QB Nick Evers, WR Jayden Gibson, DT Alton Tarber and OLB Kobie McKinzie — visited this past weekend, and now all four are on board with Brent Venables’ program. With the additions of Gibson and Tarber, OU’s class is now up to No. 9 in the 247 Composite Rankings entering signing day, which is a far cry from where the program was in the wake of Lincoln Riley’s departure.

Once the Oklahoma Sooners new staff came into effect, it seemed there was cause for Alton Tarber to decommit from Georgia Tech and make it official with the Sooners shortly therafter.

Miguel Chavis, a former defensive lineman himself, is now coaching the defensive ends at OU and has put the finishing touches on the big man’s recruitment. It was certainly a quick turn of events for Tarber, who was offered, decommitted within hours, and then committed.

Tarber decommitted from Georgia Tech, but also had offers from Penn State, Miami, LSU, Arkansas and several other programs.

Oklahoma is obviously in need of defensive linemen ahead of their move to the SEC, but also just out of necessity after the recent departures of Perrion Winfrey, Isaiah Thomas, and Nik Bonitto. Also, with the amount of times the former staff hit the JUCO ranks for interior defensive linemen, Venables needs to develop his own guys. The Sooners are getting a guy in Tarber that couldn’t be more different than what the previous regime in Norman was recruiting. Tarber is a high school senior with a frame standing at 6’3, 320lbs. Of course Tarber has bad weight to lose and good weight to pack back on, which Schmitty will make sure of– but Oklahoma is preparing for the SEC and mirroring what Venables did best at Clemson: Get massive, disrupting, body-movers in the trenches to create havoc in the backfield. The Sooners won’t just be tough in the trenches, but they’ll also be violent and quite frankly, hard to move around.

With Isaiah Coe, Josh Ellison, and Jordan Kelley slated to be seniors this upcoming season, Oklahoma cannot continue to rely upon JUCO guys despite most working out in favor for the Sooners. The current underclassmen at OU that are interior defensive linemen are Kelvin Gilliam, Kori Roberson, and Jalen Redmond. If Redmond has a big year next season, expect him to be NFL bound as well, so the signing of Tarber is a must. He is certainly a project that the Sooners are working to turn into a playmaker and with his size and frame reminds me of Casey Walker. According to 247Sports Composite rankings, Tarber is rated as the no. 138 DL and the no. 141 player out of Florida. People may scoff at his ratings, but one look at his tape, one would see his pad leverage and size that includes not just how big and tall he is but also how wide Tarber is as well. Venables has a type on the defensive line, and the Sooners are just getting prepared for the SEC grind.

The Sooners’ staff struck again in poaching what’s left from the Florida recruiting class after the firing of Dan Mullen, who still apparently has been playing his scout team since they faced off against Oklahoma in last year’s Cotton Bowl. Jeff Lebby seems to have been able to convince Jayden Gibson to come along with former Florida QB commit Nick Evers as well. Gibson is finding a home in Norman, OK. as the Sooners transition to the SEC amid offers from several other programs such as Arkansas, Cincinnati, Miami, Florida State, Georgia and several others.

As a player, Gibson has a large frame that he needs to fill out– he’s 6’5, but only 185 lbs. at the moment. Of course that’s nothing an offseason and Schmitty cannot fix, but he’ll certainly be over 200 lbs. by the time he’s on the field making plays. Just being 6’5 and likely growing a little more while at OU, Jayden is going to create mismatches for opposing defenses because of his ability to high-point the ball. Not just that, he has the sheer size advantage that would allow QBs to throw the ball up and allow him to go get it considering he’s so long and tall. He will need some coaching up by Cale Gundy as far as his mechanics are concerned, but he’s certainly a player that you stick in the red zone as a threat. I’d say his floor is rotation player, ceiling is WR1 mismatch, I think he will find the field in some capacity.

Gibson is currently Oklahoma’s 16th commitment for the 2022 recruiting cycle and currently the second wide receiver of the class. According to 247Sports Composite, Jayden is the No. 25 QB in the US, the No. 20 player in the State of Florida, and the No. 149 overall prospect in the country. Oklahoma will certainly lose more players to the transfer portal just as much as they may gain transfers and late commitments– it’s just the nature of the business after a head coach leaves. Sooners will grin and bear it, but be more SEC ready after a retooling year in the 2022-23 football season.

With the Early Signing Period beginning this Wednesday, here’s a quick rundown of some recent commits and remaining prospects.

With the Early Signing Period beginning this Wednesday, here’s a quick rundown of recent commits and remaining prospects for the Oklahoma Sooners:

Nick Evers – With Malachi Nelson off-the- board, Brent Venables and assumed offensive coordinator, Jeff Lebby have moved quickly to get a QB a part of this 2022 class. For that, look no further than 4-Star QB, Nick Evers who announced his commitment to the Sooners early Monday morning. There is history between Oklahoma’s new commit and their new staff. Evers was offered by Lebby back in March while he served as offensive coordinator at Ole Miss but soon after committed to the Florida Gators. The emerging dual-threat QB is an ideal fit for Jeff Lebby’s offense with impressive arm strength and ability to hurt opposing defenses on the ground.

Jayden Gibson – Another recent Florida Gators decommit who took an official visit to Oklahoma this weekend is 2022 4-Star WR, Jayden Gibson out of Winter Garden, FL. Not hard to see what Oklahoma likes in Gibson who stands at a rangey 6’5” with skilled hands and impressive speed for his size. An obvious fit for Lebby’s offense as a guy that can win the 50/50 balls and exploits zone coverages over the middle. With Evers committed to Oklahoma, it’s not inconceivable that Gibson is soon to follow.

Kobie McKinzie – Looking for one of the more rollercoaster recruitments? Kobie McKinzie, who had flipped his commitment from Oklahoma to Texas just over a week ago, has flipped back to the Sooners. McKinzie was close with former Oklahoma linebackers coach Brian Odom, and when it was apparent that he would not be retained by Brent Venables, it threw his recruitment into question. Credit Venables for taking the lead to repair that bridge between McKinzie and Oklahoma and get the highly-touted LB out of Lubbock, TX back on board. (Update: since his commitment yesterday, Kobie McKinzie tweeted out “oh, and I’m not coming back by myself!”, so… that opens up a conversation for another Oklahoma decommit)

Gabe Dindy – Going to go ahead and include this since it’s bound to be a topic. There is some speculation as to what’s happening with 5-Star DL, Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy since Mike Elko’s departure from Texas A&M. Plenty of turmoil here for the Dindy family over the past couple weeks so it stands to reason that Oklahoma fans would be interested in what’s going on. Kobie McKinzie’s tweet will no-doubt lead some to think something is going on there. Is there substance to it or is it simply an attempt to recruit or even re-recruit certain prospects? I tend to lean toward the latter; don’t get too invested.

Jihaad Campbell – Another big name back on the market due to the coaching changes: 4-Star Edge, Jihaad Campbell. The highly sought after pass rusher from IMG Academy had been committed to Clemson since June with his primary recruiter being Brent Venables. Since BV’s departure for Norman, Campbell has lined up visits with Alabama and Texas A&M. This feels like a long shot for Oklahoma, but if Alabama lands 5-Star Edge Marvin Jones Jr., maybe BV can make it a race between the Sooners and Aggies.

Chris McClellan – Maybe one of the more interesting developments since the coaching staff changes is the recruitment of OkPreps 4-Star DL, Chris McClellan. McClellan – who’s communication with the previous staff was dubious at best – has reportedly opened up to the new coaching staff. Venables values position versatility and McClellan offers that along the defensive front. Just based on that aspect alone, he’ll be high up on Venables recruiting priorities. The Sooners will, however, be playing catch-up and even more so with McClellan coming off a visit to Gainesville. Nothing is impossible, but Oklahoma has a hill to climb here.

Ahmad Moten – A “late-riser” in this recruiting cycle is Ahmad Moten, the 6’3”, 290-pound defensive lineman out of Fort Lauderdale, FL. Moten has garnered offers from Oklahoma, LSU, North Carolina, Florida, Tennessee, and Miami over the past few weeks. New Sooners defensive ends coach Miguel Chavis had an in-home visit to meet with Moten and family. However the Oklahoma staff will have their work cutout for the South Florida native who is fresh off an official visit to Iowa State and an emerging Miami program under Mario Christobal will undoubtedly give him something to think about. With all the new offers and expected visits Moten will take, it’s not surprising this recruitment will play out through the new year.

Alton Tarber – A name that Oklahoma was quick to offer is 2022 3-Star DL, Alton Tarber out of Deerfield Beach, FL. Put the rankings aside for a minute… Deerfield Beach has produced college prospects like Jerry Jeudy, Jaylan Knighton, Riley Ridley, and Jason Pierre-Paul – not a bad list of alumni. Tarber received an Oklahoma offer on Dec. 9th, took an OV to Norman this past weekend, and announced his decommitment from Georgia Tech on Sunday. This one isn’t hard to put together, as it seems to be trending the right way for Oklahoma.

DeSean Brown – A name that Oklahoma fans had been waiting to see get an offer was in-state 2022 EDGE DeSean Brown, and it finally happened Saturday. Brown flew under the radar of the previous staff with their efforts focused on Marvin Jones Jr. If you ever got a chance to see Brown play at Choctaw High School or even just seen his film, it’s hard not to get excited about what he could do in a Venables defense. Brown is a big-bodied, explosive and physical pass rusher that has tremendous upside at the next level. When the offer went out, it was hard not to like Oklahoma’s chances here being the in-state powerhouse program with a brillant defensive minded head coach. However, things have cooled down between the two parties since the offer was extended, and a match is seeming less and less likely.

Jaren Kanak – Something to keep an eye on here is Clemson linebacker commit, Jaren Kanak. The 2022 4-Star ATH had been committed to the Tigers since July and has a strong relationship with now Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables. Is that enough to pull Kanak away from Clemson? Is Venables going to recruit against his former school? This is one to watch if only to see how Venables handles this situation.

Jovante Barnes – Throughout the coaching changes, the one major constant has been DeMarco Murray, who has been as active as anyone on the recruiting trail. With that, Oklahoma looks to be the leader for 4-Star RB Jovante Barnes out of Murray’s hometown Las Vegas, Nevada. Oklahoma will have to hold off efforts by Alabama, Florida State, and yes… USC, as all seem to remain in contention for this powerful, between-the-tackles rusher. Oklahoma has the familiarity advantage and now adds the appeal of Jeff Lebby’s running back-friendly offense, which led the SEC in rushing this season. Because of those two factors, this seems to be only a matter of time for Oklahoma.