On300 EDGE Colton Vasek commits to Oklahoma

One of the biggest developments over an action-packed recruiting weekend was the Sooners’ surge with one of the nation’s top EDGE defenders.

Come Monday, there was a new cornerstone in Brent Venables’ 2023 class.

Colton Vasek, a top-200 EDGE in the nation out of powerhouse Austin (Texas) Westlake, committed to Oklahoma on Monday. Oregon and Texas were other finalists for the nation’s No. 23-ranked EDGE, who selected the Sooners primarily due to longstanding relationships with not only the coaches but the other members of the 2023 recruiting class, which already ranks among the Consensus top 10.

“I love Coach V,” Vasek previously told On3 of his relationship with first-year Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables.

“Coach V, coming from that Clemson style, it’s a real family feel. Also, the coaches around them have chemistry with their players and I like how they care about them outside of football is big there.”

Equally as important have been assistants Miguel Chavis and Todd Bates, who like Venables came to Norman and brought a similar tenacity for defensive football and similar Clemson-esque culture.

“Coach Chavis and Coach Bates, I love both of them,” Vasek added. “When I was up there, I hung out with the players and they had nothing but good things to say about the new staff.”

The 6-foot-6, 240-pounder and Longhorns legacy captured Defensive MVP honors after Westlake captured a third consecutive Class 6A Texas state championship last December. In an ironic twist, Vasek’s breakout performance, which included a trio of sacks again fellow Sooners commitment Jackson Arnold, who quarterbacked Denton (Texas) Guyer on the opposing side.

After official visits around the country in June, Texas, Oregon and Oklahoma emerged as top landing spots midway through the summer. The Sooners began to pull away as Vasek’s recruitment continued into July and ultimately came to a head in this most recent trip back to Norman.

“There were many things stand out to me about Oklahoma. The relationships with Coach V, with Coach Chavis and Coach Bates were very strong and they have been pouring into me since January and the trust and level of comfort with them is second to none,” Vasek expounded. “Next would probably be the relationships created with the current defensive line at Oklahoma. Coach Venables has coached in eight national championships and the new culture he is creating at Oklahoma is something I want to be a part of. At the end of the day, when I removed school colors, and mascots, it was a very tough decision but this felt right to me.”

“Every visit I had up there went great,” he added. “I really enjoyed getting to be around some commits and other recruits. Originally, I didn’t think that I would commit on this trip, but once I got there I knew this was where I was supposed to be. The interaction was great, everyone was super happy.”

Vasek is tabbed as the No. 24-rated EDGE on the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.