Oklahoma rises to No. 15 in On3 Industry Team Rankings
Oklahoma went from having an unranked class to a top-15 class in a matter of weeks. That class was boosted again Thursday afternoon with the commitment of Missouri City (Texas) Hightower four-star wide receiver Zion Kearney.
Kearney’s pledge elevated the Sooners’ 2024 recruiting class to No. 15 in the 2024 On3 Industry Team Recruiting Rankings. Oklahoma’s group, which also ranks No. 8 in the SEC, rose two spots from No. 17.
The 6-foot-2, 195-pound wideout is the No. 58 overall prospect and No. 11 wide receiver in the 2024 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He is also the No. 11 player in Texas.
Oklahoma extended an offer to Kearney on Dec. 7 and he’s visited campus twice this year already. He was back on campus on April 22 for the Sooners’ spring game.
“That Air Raid offense coach (Jeff Lebby) showed me (stands out),” Kearney told Billy Embody of The Bengal Tiger on Feb. 20. “He’s down to earth and a man that knows what he wants.”
Zion Kearney currently has an On3 NIL Valuation of $123K. The On3 NIL Valuation is the industry’s leading index that sets high school and college athletes’ projected annual value (PAV). The NIL valuation does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals an athlete has completed to date. It rather signifies an athlete’s value at a certain moment in time.
Sooners excelling on the on the recruiting trail in April
The start of the 2024 recruiting cycle may have been a bit slow for the Sooners but things have picked up significantly over the last month.
Four-star cornerback Jeremiah Newcombe became Oklahoma’s first 2024 pledge with his commitment on March 25.
Newcombe’s commitment was followed up shortly with a commitment from four-star quarterback Michael Hawkins (April 8). The Sooners landed commitments from three-star offensive tackle Isaiah Autry and three-star wide receiver Kelly Daniels a few weeks later.
The Sooners two highest-ranked commitments in the class have come over the last five days in Kearney and four-star safety Jaydan Hardy over the last week.
Brent Venables and his coaching staff have found plenty of success recruiting the top prospects to Norman since he arrived on campus. Their 2023 class finished No. 7 in the country and No. 2 in the Big-12.
That class consisted of three five-star signees in quarterback Jackson Arnold, EDGE Adepoju Adebawore and safety Peyton Bowen.