All season, the game against the TCU Horned Frogs hon Saturday as been circled as the biggest recruiting event on the calendar for the Oklahoma Sooners.
Oklahoma hosting massive California contingent for TCU contest
It’s pretty much going to be the reverse of Grapes of Wrath in Oklahoma this weekend.
Wesley Hitt
If all the planned visitors make it to campus -- or even most of them -- it should live up to its billing, as the Sooners are set to host a sizable contingent from the state of California.
Headlining the list of West Coast visitors is consensus five-star running back Joe Mixon of Oakley (Calif.) Freedom. A fan of former Sooners running back Adrian Peterson, Mixon is a 6’2, 200-pound all-purpose back ranked as the top player at his position by the services. A standout at The Opening because of his developed skills as a wide receiver, Mixon has already been busy this fall, having taken official visits to Cal, Florida and Washington over the last three weekends, with a trip planned to Wisconsin next week.
Still, his 247Sports Crystal Ball predictions heavily favor Cal, with USC leading Oklahoma despite the termination of head coach Lane Kiffin. Will there be a post-visit bump for the Sooners and a subsequent change in the predictions? If it doesn’t happen, it may end up being a strong sign that Oklahoma just wasn’t able to make up enough ground on the home-state favorites.
The second consensus five-star prospect in attendance is extraordinarily talented in his own right -- Gardena (Calif.) Junipero Serra athlete Adoree’ Jackson, ranked as the No. 2 cornerback nationally. Jackson has a top 12 at the moment and this is the first of his official visits, but USC (53%) and Florida (47%) are thought to be the frontrunners for his services, though there is plenty of time for movement with all of those official visits remaining.
Jackson is bringing along his friend and teammate, four-star linebacker Dwight Williams, a slightly undersized prospect listed at 6’1 and 205 pounds who could end up at Florida with his teammate Jackson. Or more precisely, Jackson could end up at Florida with Williams, as the physically gifted linebacker is thought to be a heavy Gators lean.
An expected visitor with former teammates on the Oklahoma roster is Fresno (Calif.) Central East athlete Michiah Quick, a top-10 athlete nationally who could end up playing on either side of the ball in college. Quick has upcoming official visits scheduled to Notre Dame, Alabama, and USC, but the Trojans and Sooners are thought to be the main contenders for his services. Will the ties to former teammates Hatari Byrd and LJ Moore be enough to lure him to Oklahoma? Sooner fans will certainly be watching and waiting with great interest to find that out.
Quick won’t be the only Central East product in Norman, either. Tashon Smallwood, a 6’1, 280-pound defensive tackle will be joining his teammate Quick. Thought to be an Oklahoma lock, a commitment from Smallwood this weekend or in the near future could be further enticement for Quick to continue making Oklahoma look like Fresno Central East East. Smallwood is a former USC pledge who decommitted less than a month ago.
The other defensive tackle expected to be in attendance is Lompoc (Calif.) defensive tackle Ainuu Taua, an undersized but powerful prospect who has at least 13 offers mostly from West Coast schools, where he’s expected to stay for college, with the industry believing that he will end up at Cal. He’s already taken an official visit to Washington State and has one planned to Ole Miss later this month.
Of course, the in-state class in Oklahoma is a good one in 2014 and one of the top prospects in the Sooner State is Jenks safety Steven Parker. A consensus four-star prospect and top-10 national safety, Parker is a rangy 6’2 and 190 pounds with impressive ball skills. He took a recent visit to Arkansas and has showed some interest in Texas A&M in the past, but the unanimous industry consensus is that he ends up in crimson and cream when he finally decides to officially end his recruitment.
The Sooners will also host several other prospects this weekend. For more on those recruits and Oklahoma football and recruiting, head on over to Crimson and Cream Machine, SB Nation’s fine Sooner blog.
