That Oklahoma is wrapping up its worst season in virtually 25 years could also be deterrent to some recruits.
To others, it’s incentive.
Makari Vickers, for instance, sees alternative forward. The Sooners head to the Cheez-It Bowl to play Florida State on Dec. 29 with a 6-6 file. It’s a testomony to OU’s startling inconsistency this 12 months.
Vickers — who will formally signal with Oklahoma on Wednesday, the primary day of the early signing interval — is amongst OU’s class of 2023 who imagine they will are available and switch this factor round instantly.
“It definitely does light a fire under me,” Vickers instructed AllSooners. “Because … a lot of games were lost on a couple possessions where, you know, somebody missed an assignment or something. So I feel like when our class comes in … we’re definitely excited for sure to get to work and meet the guys and learn the system and pretty much just change the whole outlook on the program.”
OU’s class at the moment ranks No. 8 nationally, in line with the 247 Sports group rankings. That rating may climb into the highest 5 if the Sooners land two or three extra targets this week.
Recruiting rankings might be deceptive, however faculty soccer groups usually don’t win at a excessive charge with out top-five courses.
“I’m definitely excited,” Vickers mentioned. “Coming in with this good class that we have, coming in with guys like Jackson Arnold, Hollywood Smothers, all these transfers we got coming in. I’m definitely excited.”
Vickers is a 6-foot-1, 180-pound defensive again from Munroe Day School in Tallahassee, FL. A 4-star prospect, he’s the No. 6 security within the nation and the No. 89 general recruit, per 247 Sports. He selected OU over Alabama and Michigan.
Vickers prefers cornerback however has extra expertise at security. He’s the type of bodily DB that Brent Venables seeks out.
“I’m a bigger, physical guy,” Vickers mentioned. “So I like to get my hands on and kind of deter the route, deter the wide receivers’ route before they actually start running it. If you press and get a good enough jam, you can pretty much take them out of the equation before they even start the route. So I definitely like how physical and aggressive I can be at corner.”
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Vickers graduated from highschool final week and can attend courses at OU in January. He’ll get a probability to place his lockdown abilities on show — that’s how he received the nickname “Seatbelt” — when spring observe begins.
Vickers can’t wait to get to work and contribute what he can as a result of he’s keen to point out 2022 is an anomaly. He desires to point out everybody that Venables is the appropriate man for the job.
“Because a lot of people are already doubting, even though it’s just his first year, they already got in that ‘How valid was coach Venables for the job,’ “ he said. “So it definitely does light a fire in me to pretty much silence all the haters and all the doubters and stuff.”
Vickers first met Venables by way of video name whereas he was visiting with OU corners coach Jay Valai. Vickers and Valai had a relationship from when Valai was the cornerbacks coach at Alabama, and Valai known as to supply him a scholarship from Oklahoma.
“He was definitely a big factor,” Vickers mentioned. “Because he was recruiting me heavily at Alabama. We had a pretty solid relationship at Alabama. But when he transferred to Oklahoma, our relationship kind of — it just kind of expanded and grew as days passed. Because at Alabama, he was a little more laid back. But at Oklahoma, he kind of showed a little bit more of his personality. He’s a really funny guy. Really energetic guy, his energy is infectious. So who want to be coached by that?”
Vickers mentioned he was strongly contemplating Alabama due to Valai.
“I was definitely excited because I was locked in with Coach Valai when he was at Alabama,” Vickers mentioned. “And I’ve always heard that Oklahoma was one of the most winningest programs in all of college football. So when Coach Valai went up there — and I know his defensive mind, along with Coach Venables — I knew that they would change the defensive culture up there at Oklahoma. So when he extended the offer, it definitely got me excited and fired up.
“So it was actually gonna be Alabama at first. But when we started making our rounds as far as visits and things of that nature, Oklahoma grew on me. Because you can tell that they — coach Venables and his staff — were changing the culture there. You know, I’m a defensive player. Oklahoma was always known for the offense, but the defense is kind of a little edgy at times. So you know, with him bringing in his defensive mindset, it’ll definitely change a lot of things around for that defense.”
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