The college football season doesn't start for another month, giving the Oklahoma Sooners plenty of time to focus on recruiting. Oklahoma has turned up the heat on the recruiting trail during the offseason, and it's already paid off with 15 commitments - but the Sooners are far from done. Here are the latest news and rumors surrounding Oklahoma football recruiting.
OL commits to Sooners
Three-star offensive guard Marquis Hayes (Maryland Heights, MO) announced his commitment to Oklahoma on Wednesday.
Excited and blessed to announce that I will be committing to the University of Oklahoma !! #BoomerSooner
— Marquis Hayes JR. (@ballgame__) July 20, 2016
pic.twitter.com/5qclzzK7uU
"It was a big-time school to me and I felt that I needed to be there," Hayes said. "I felt OU was the place for me including the coaches and facilities."
Hayes chose the Sooners over Miami, Missouri and Kansas State. The 6'6", 320-pounder is ranked as the No. 16 guard and No. 372 overall prospect in the country.
Longhorns to flip Oklahoma commit?
Three-star wide receiver Jalen Reagor (Waxahachie, TX) flipped his commitment from Texas Tech to Oklahoma in March, but he says Texas is still working hard to recruit him to try to get him to flip again.
“I still communicate,” Reagor said. “They still text me here and there and call me. They just try to stay on me. They’re just trying to see if they’re still on my list. But I don’t see myself going to another school.”
He jokingly said his interest in Texas is "confidential," but that he is still solid on the Sooners.
“I’m 100 percent solid. When I went up there, I fell completely in love. And then just having the people that I’m going in with (other commits), it just feels like family already.”
The 5'11", 182-pounder is ranked as the No. 15 wide receiver and No. 128 overall prospect in the country.
OU commit rises in rankings
Four-star safety Robert Barnes (Southlake, TX) committed to Oklahoma in September, and his performance at The Opening earlier this month has him looking like an excellent get for the Sooners. He jumped 77 spots in 247sports' latest rankings, moving him up to being the No. 43 overall prospect.
“It feels amazing to be recognized after going out to ‘The Opening’ and putting everything that I had on the line to be recognized like that,” Barnes told the recruiting site.. “I go out and perform to the best of my ability and then them showing by the rankings that I did a good job is great.
“Yeah, that's just crazy. That's absurd and I could not believe that when I first saw it. To me rankings don’t mean anything, especially when you get to the college of your choice. Once you get to OU everybody there will be a top dog and all of us will have to scratch all that off and completely forget about it. However, to have that platform (247 Network) and be recognized to see where you are compared to other players in your class is pretty cool.”
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