Oklahoma held it's first Junior Day almost one week ago and is scheduled to be hosting a second the first weekend in March. As you've likely surmised, the college football recruiting cycle never really ends. Heck, it only even slows down during NCAA mandated silent periods. So as we close out the 2012 recruiting calendar, we simultaneously turn the first page of 2013. The Sooners took a full class of 25 commits in 2012, so this 2013 class projects to be a little smaller. Probably more in the 17-22 range depending of course on possible transfers or NFL early entrants. It's also a class that should feature many more players on the defensive side of the ball after a very heavy offensive class in 2012.

With that, we're going to give you a ridiculously early breakdown of some early targets on OU's 2013 radar as well as some projections as to how many players at each position the Sooners could be looking to take.

Defensive End: 2-3

Targets: D.J. Ward (Lawton, OK), Dalton Rodriguez (Tulsa, OK), Joe Mathis (Upland, CA), Kylie Fitts (Redlands, CA)

Breakdown: Oklahoma is facing the difficult of having to replace both starting defensive ends for the second consecutive year. Both Frank Alexander and Ronnell Lewis left after this most recent season and projected starters David King and R.J. Washington enter 2012 as seniors. While the Sooners have several talented youngsters behind them, defensive end will still need to be a primary focus in this 2013 class to ensure that cupboard stays stocked.

Ward, the #1 overall player in the Sooner State, is the obvious target both because he's in OU's backyard and for his considerable talent. The Sooners offered Ward before his junior season had even started, which is something they very rarely ever do, and the Lawton product attended multiple games in Norman last season. It wouldn't be accurate to label him as a "sure thing" for Oklahoma, but they appear to have an early lead and I do think it's fair to say he is OU's to lose.

Rodriguez is another in-state guy, from local powerhouse program Union, who the Sooners will likely keep an eye one and could receive an offer as well. In what has become a recurring theme, Oklahoma has taken a more national approach with their early offers mostly focusing on west coast players. Mathis and Fitts are just some of the more recent players who have received offers and it would appear the Sooners are looking to capitalize on the time Tim Kish and Mike Stoops spent out west.

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Oklahoma held it's first Junior Day almost one week ago and is scheduled to be hosting a second the first weekend in March. As you've likely surmised, the college football recruiting cycle never really ends. Heck, it only even slows down during NCAA mandated silent periods. So as we close out the 2012 recruiting calendar, we simultaneously turn the first page of 2013. The Sooners took a full class of 25 commits in 2012, so this 2013 class projects to be a little smaller. Probably more in the 17-22 range depending of course on possible transfers or NFL early entrants. It's also a class that should feature many more players on the defensive side of the ball after a very heavy offensive class in 2012.

With that, we're going to give you a ridiculously early breakdown of some early targets on OU's 2013 radar as well as some projections as to how many players at each position the Sooners could be looking to take.

Quarterback: 1

Targets: Tyrone Swoopes (Whitewright, TX), Kelly Hilinski (Sherman Oaks, CA), Max Browne (Sammamish, WA), Brayden Scott (Tahlequah, OK)

Breakdown: Honestly, with Drew Allen, Blake Bell, Kendal Thompson, and Trevor Knight the Sooners could probably afford not to take a quarterback in this 2013 class. But the general rule for most schools and one that Bob Stoops has adopted is that you generally take at least one QB in every class. Oklahoma has yet to make an offer to a quarterback and based on the early names being mentioned as possible candidates for said offer, the Sooners are setting their sights pretty high. Browne and Swoopes are #8 & #11 respectively in the recently released Rivals Top 100 for 2013, while Hilinski is also highly regarded. Scott is the wild card in the sense that if OU offers, based on some of his recent comments, seems like a commitment waiting to happen.

With the expectation of the Sooners only taking one quarterback, it's highly likely they take their time and are very selective with who they choose to offer at the position. Especially with what looks like it could be a sure thing with Brayden Scott.

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There has been talk for several days that Oklahoma had been eliminated from consideration for the 2012 commitment of highly regarded Arizona athlete Davonte Neal. For whatever reason, the general consensus towards the initial reports was one of slight hesitation as OU fans held out hope that Neal's relationship with new OU LB coach Tim Kish could have kept them in the game.

However, very soon to be guest of the CCM podcast Bob Przybylo has now confirmed ($) the initial reports after exchanging text messages with Neal's father (Luke). As the earlier reports had stated, evidently OU just entered the picture a little too late.

And with that, the book can now be officially closed on OU's 2012 recruiting class.

Grading a recruiting class before most players ever step on campus, let alone play a snap, is kind of like grading an NFL team's draft the day after. But it's the off season and we always look for any reason, no matter how irrelevant, to keep talking football. So why not attach some ultimately meaningless grades to the Sooners most recent recruiting class?

So now you're really excited to read this aren't ya?

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Just when you thought all the recruiting talk was over. Only a couple days after the craziness that is National Signing Day, it's already time to move on to the 2013 class as the Oklahoma Sooners will be hosting their first junior day camp this weekend. And there is expected to be no shortage of star power in Norman as several top prospects have either been confirmed to be attending or barring some last minute change are expected to be making the trip.

The two big names expected to be in attendance are two of elite 2013 QB recruits, Tyrone Swoopes (TX) and Kelly Hilinski (CA). The two couldn't be more different as prospects with Hilinski being much more in the mold of a Sam Bradford or Landry Jones, your prototypical pocket passer, and Swoopes who has already drawn comparisons to Vince Young and Cam Newton. The Sooners currently have about 30 offers already out to 2013 recruits, but not one of those offers is at the quarterback position. OU is expected to be very selective with who they choose to offer at QB in the 2013 class and given the run of success they've had at the position, it's sure to be a highly coveted offer. So it will be interesting to see (1) who that first offer is and (2) based on who it is if they continue to go the direction of recent offers (i.e. a more mobile QB) or revert back to the more traditional pocket passer.

After the jump, we'll give you a list of those expected to attend and a quick breakdown on each.

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Well now that the ink is barely dry on all those LOIs, might as well get to the way too early analysis of all the newest members of Sooner Nation. We thought it would be a good conversation starter to breakdown OU's 2012 class to see who could be potential impact players next year, who could possibly contribute, and who might redshirt. As always, we'll give you our thoughts on things but your opinion is always wanted. So if you've got a different take on things, let your voice be heard in the comments.

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It's been a good, but long day and we've got at least one more update for you.

You may remember our story introducing you to four star Arizona athlete Davonte Neal and his connection with OU coach Tim Kish. Neal had decided that he wasn't going to announce his decision today like most recruits and had hoped to take at least one more visit before choosing his college destination.

So at some point today in all the craziness that is National Signing Day, a story got out that Neal was very likely to sign with Ohio State. Several hours later, the same source of the original story (Mike Farrell of Rivals) reversed course and stated that Ohio State would in fact not be signing Neal.

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If you spent any time on Crimson and Cream Machine in the days leading up to National Signing Day, then JUCO studs WR Courtney Gardner and RB Damien Williams commitment to Oklahoma Wednesday afternoon came as no surprise. But that shouldn't take anything away from the excitement OU fans should be feeling about the two prospects. The two are arguably the top JUCO skill position players in the 2012 class and now both are Oklahoma Sooners!

Gardner had previously been committed to Arkansas, but after an official visit to Norman and hitting it off with both his fellow visitors and future teammates the speculation was it would just be a matter of time before he flipped to Oklahoma. At his announcement ceremony Wednesday afternoon the elite JUCO WR confirmed the speculation as officially signed with the Sooners.

Williams is criminally underrated, in my opinion, as being just a three star recruit according to Rivals. I believe when he arrives on campus this summer he will immediately become Okahoma's best running back. He can be that good.

I think both these guys are legit NFL good and I know I read one quote from a coach recruiting Gardner something to the effect of "If we get this guy, we better use him a lot because we'll only have him for one year." Now that's not a prediction on my or that coach's part that he's only here for one year, but more that he's that talented and could have such a big year he shoots up NFL draft charts.

Video of both the two new Sooners after the jump.

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