Oklahoma locks down 3 best players in historically good OKPreps class

The Oklahoma Sooners have built quite the 2027 recruiting class over the last few months, and it continues to grow even stronger. OU currently has 23 commitments for this cycle, with 12 coming on the offensive side of the ball, and 11 coming on the defensive side of the ball.

>Furthermore, those that follow high school football recruiting closely were excited about the state of Oklahoma's crop of high school players in the 2027 class. Many have called it a historically good cycle for the state, perhaps even the best ever. Both Rivals and 247Sports back those claims up. Both sites have three players from the state in the top 50 of their national player rankings, something that has never happened before for the state of Oklahoma.

>Each of those three players, Fort Gibson's Cooper Hackett, Bixby's Kaeden Penny, and Mustang's Gabriel Osborne Jr., are committed to the Sooners, meaning that OU head coach Brent Venables and general manager Jim Nagy not only swept the consensus top three players in the state, they swept the consensus top three players in the state in possibly the state's best class ever.

>Hackett stands at 6-foot-7, and weighs 260 pounds. He is ranked as the nation's No. 17 player by Rivals and the No. 14 player nationally by 247Sports Composite. The offensive lineman has an extremely high athletic ceiling and he moves well for his size. He is a player that the Sooners are pinning their future hopes at offensive tackle on.

>Penny checks in at 6-foot-4 and weighs 265 pounds. Rivals ranks him as No. 32 player in the country, with 247Sports Composite ranking him at No. 37. The offensive lineman displays strong footwork and body control, especially when it comes to pass protection. He's capable of playing both offensive tackle or lining up in the interior of the offensive line.

>Osborne is Rivals' No. 42 player in the nation, and checks in at No. 40 for 247Sports Composite. He stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 180 pounds, excellent size for a defensive back. His physical gifts and ball skills make him a force at cornerback, and he's the most recent pledge in the class for the Sooners.

>Former OU head coach Lincoln Riley was at times criticized by Sooner Nation for failing to lock down the state of Oklahoma. While Venables hasn't always had the strong success at home that he's had this year, he's certainly made it more of a priority than his predecessor did, landing in-state stars like Robert Spears-Jennings, Jacobe Johnson, Danny Okoye, Xavier Robinson, and Elijah Thomas.

>Most importantly, Venables has helped to make sure that a historically great crop of players in OU's backyard in this cycle won't need to leave their home state to start their college football careers.

>Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Aaron on X@Aaron_Gelvin.

>This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Oklahoma locking down hometown talent from historic OKPreps cycle