This coming weekend will be the final opportunity for schools to host recruits before National Signing Day on February 1st, so most schools are putting an emphasis on getting their remaining targets on campus while they still can. Oklahoma is no exception as they are scheduled to host four recruits this weekend and could receive multiple commitments based on some of the talk out there.
The Sooners will be hosting two of the Top 12 (per Rivals) JUCO prospects in the country as well as two high school targets they are very high on. It's going to be a big recruiting weekend for the Sooners and we're here to give you a glimpse into who will be in Norman.
WR Courtney Gardner - 6'3" 215, Sierra C.C.
Garner is currently a soft commit to Arkansas, but has kept his options open and continued to take visits. He had cancelled his last two scheduled visits (to Florida & Florida State), so there was some concern that he might do the same this weekend with the Sooners. However he put that fear to rest in the last couple days and stated he still has ever intention of making the trip to Norman this weekend.
Gardner is #12 overall JUCO prospect for this class and an immediate impact type wide receiver looking for an opportunity to play early and often. Most JUCO prospects, with usually two years of eligibility, are frequently looking for opportunities that give them the best chance to get on the field early and Oklahoma is selling him on the fact he'd have that chance next year.
Gardner is a four star prospect (per Rivals) and currently holds offers from Arkansas, Auburn, Cal, Florida, Florida State, Pitt, Utah, and Washington among others.
OT Will Latu - 6'5" 315, College of the Canyons
Simply put, Latu is a freaking monster. He's is an absolute mauler on the o-line, but don't take that to mean he just relies on strength to dominate his opponents. The film above is brief, but you can tell for a guy his size he's got above average footwork. Latu is the #7 overall JUCO prospect and would fill a big need for the Sooners who could very much use a tackle capable of coming in and starting from day one.
Obviously in his film he's at left tackle for his team, but the prevailing thought were he to commit to Oklahoma is he'd likely play at right tackle. His style would be an absolute perfect fit for this Sooners offensive line, which has been missing that kind of nasty, plays with a mean streak type of player who excels in the run game.
Latu has been extremely complimentary of Oklahoma in interviews leading up to this visit and there has already been some talk of a possible commitment this weekend. He's make a perfect bookend for Oklahoma who could slide Daryl Williams over to left tackle and move Latu in on the right side.
Latu is a four star prospect (per Rivals) and currently holds offers from Arizona State, Arkansas State, Auburn, Florida State, Utah, and West Virginia among others.
DE Michael Onuoha - 6'5" 225, Edmond Santa Fe H.S.
We introduced you to Onuoha a couple weeks ago when the news first broke that he had scheduled an official visit to Oklahoma. He wound up rescheduling that visit for this coming weekend so that he could get a better feel for the campus (his previous visit was scheduled during a time most students were away from campus).
Onuoha is very similar to a player the Sooners took a couple years ago in Chuka Ndulue. Very raw as a prospect, but incredibly athletic and a player the coaches believe they can mold into a dynamic defensive end. Ndulue used a redshirt year and actually played his way into the rotation late in games as a second year freshman and it's fair to assume the goals would be something similar for the Santa Fe product. Onuoha is probably more athletic than Ndulue with a higher ceiling as well, so it's pretty easy to see why Oklahoma would be after the talented DE.
Onuoha visited his presumed "favorite" last weekend in Missouri, but there has been some talk that his family may like the idea of him staying closer to home which would obviously give the Sooners an advantage. His family is reportedly joining him on the trip to Norman this weekend, so expect the coaches to be selling the family on OU as much as the player.
Onuoha is a three star prospect and the #34 overall DE (both per Rivals) who holds offers from both Missouri and Oklahoma.
DB Zack Sanchez, 6'0' 175, Keller Central H.S.
You can check out some film on Sanchez here. Sanchez is a soft Baylor commit and is a guy the Sooners only got in on after Mike Stoops returned to the Oklahom staff. And despite their late arrival, the Sooners have made a big impact on the young corner backs mind who was recently quoted as saying that he had "Oklahoma as a 60-40 favorite" before even setting foot on campus. Obviously there needs to be some caution in putting substantial weight on one quote from an 18-year old, but when you're the reported "favorite" before he even makes a visit and you've only been recruiting him a few weeks, well I'll just say it probably bodes in your favor.
Sachez is very much in the mold of what many believe Mike Stoops is looking for in his defensive backs. He's excels at attacking the ball, both in the air as well as coming up in run support. At 175 pounds, he'll clearly need to add some bulk, but the Sooners are pretty much set at CB for 2012 so that would allow Sanchez to redshirt and add that good weight to be ready to go in 2013.
As we mentioned, Sanchez is currently a soft commit to Baylor but also hold offers from Boise State, Houston, Kansas, and Kansas State among others.