The Red River Rivalry between Texas and Oklahoma went back and forth this past season, both on the field and on the recruiting trail.
Texas won the first meeting 48-45 during the season and Oklahoma won 39-27 in the Big 12 championship to eventually go on for a spot in the College Football Playoff. The two teams had similar outcomes in recruiting, as well, with Oklahoma starting out the 2019 class ranked ahead of Texas at No. 2 and the Longhorns ranked at No. 11.
Texas and coach Tom Herman eventually regained the lead and passed the Sooners in November, jockeying back and forth in the rankings until Oklahoma finally finished the class ranked one spot ahead of its rival at No. 4.
The repositioning throughout the recruiting cycle and the final rankings, with both teams finishing in the top five, are an indication of how well these two programs are recruiting and the upward trajectory both are experiencing.
“I don’t know in all the year recruiting … that if we’ve ever honestly had a day like this where so many things went in our favor,” Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley said in the early signing period. “Had a few recruits here that went down to the wire and really proud of our staff, our recruiting staff.”
There was plenty for Riley to be proud of as his team finished with 11 ESPN 300 commitments, including six ranked in the top 150. The Sooners have landed 34 ESPN 300 recruits in the past three classes after signing only six in 2016.
Not just adding talent into the program, but quite a few of these recruits have potential to help Oklahoma early. The biggest name being the No. 1 ranked receiver in the country, Jadon Haselwood.