A commit from four-star QB Jackson Arnold may get the Sooners rolling for their 2023 recruiting efforts

Oklahoma has finally gotten the much-needed stabilization they needed following the upheaval that occurred at the core of their program when Lincoln Riley left following their loss to their in-state rivals in Oklahoma State.

Initially, the most important focus outside of getting a new head coach and a new staff in place was that of securing their 2022 recruiting class. Some commits left and didn’t come back while others left and came back. Some of their 2022 commits never wavered and remained committed.

The 2023 class was not nearly as forgiving. At the time, the Sooners boasted the nation’s number one class for 2023 led by a slew of talented offensive playmakers. Malachi Nelson, Brandon Inniss, Makai Lemon, Treyaun Webb, and Luke Hasz all were in the boat so to speak.

Recruited by Lincoln Riley, these 2023 recruits decommitted when news of Riley’s departure and eventual hiring at USC went final. Some like Nelson and Lemon followed him to USC. The rest are still going through the recruiting process looking for new homes.

Oklahoma has reset their 2023 board under Brent Venables and his coordinators in Jeff Lebby (offense) and Ted Roof (defense). Plus, the rest of the coaching staff have begun attacking the recruiting trail swiftly.

The centerpiece for almost every college football recruiting class is the quarterback. The Sooners plan to cast a wider net for quarterbacks than they ever did under Riley’s guidance. Riley would hone in on one or two quarterbacks, find his quarterback and that would be it.

He would also recruit quarterbacks every other year as opposed to taking one every year. Lebby doesn’t plan to do that as he already has signed a 2022 quarterback named Nick Evers and is hot on the trail for his first 2023 commit and quarterback in four-star Jackson Arnold.

Arnold received two predictions in favor of the Sooners recently with one being from the national director of football recruiting for 247Sports in Steve Wiltfong. On top of that, the prediction is a 7/10, indicating Wiltfong feels pretty strongly that Arnold and the Sooners have a strong relationship and that a commitment seems all but a formality.

It’s a massive deal for the Sooners for a myriad of reasons. The most important one is this: The Sooners need to start their 2023 recruiting under Brent Venables with a bang. They need to show the rest of the college football world that the show doesn’t stop because Riley isn’t here. A top-50 recruit being the Sooners’ first commit of the new era of Sooners football would galvanize the class and get the momentum rolling for them to get back into the top 10 of recruiting rankings.

A top-50 recruit that happens to be a quarterback? Well, that’s just even sweeter. Classes are way easier to build around when you have a quarterback to help you recruit. Players always flock to the quarterbacks because of the natural leadership position they are put in. Arnold is a Texas kid and could lend a major hand in helping some of the Sooners’ targets who are also from the state of Texas in hopping on board too.

There’s a major domino effect waiting to happen if somehow the Sooners can get a commitment from Arnold. Sometimes all recruits need is a reason to believe and a commitment could show them that they too could be in good hands if they commit to Oklahoma under this staff.

There’s no timetable for Arnold’s decision but with multiple 247Sports crystal balls and Rivals FutureCasts in for him already, it’s very obvious Oklahoma is putting itself in a prime spot.

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