OU Football Recruiting - Top 10 Showdown Leads To Big Weekend For Visitors

A school only has so many home games to host recruits and few weekends can compare to this one with a No. 5 ranked Notre Dame team coming to Norman. The Sooners have lost some of their steam after suffering a couple high profile cancellations this week, but are still planning to host an impressive list of recruits.

It's also worth noting that almost every one of OU's current verbal commitments are expected to be on campus for this game, but for the purposes of this post we'll focus specifically on those uncommitted (or committed to other schools) players who are expected to be in Norman.

Class of 2013

LB E.J. Levenberry 6'3" 230 lbs (Woodbridge, VA)

Levenberry is a current Florida State verbal commit, but has had this trip planned for some time. There is some debate as to just how serious his interest is in Oklahoma, or any school other than FSU for that matter, but few schools can offer a better opportunity for early playing time.

Levenberry isn't a guy who loves doing interviews, so the information on him is somewhat sparse. However, there have been whispers that Bob Stoops has personally taken on his recruitment and that making a big impact with Levenberry and his family. That said, whatever lack of communication issues there may have been between him and FSU appear to have been resolved. So he seems pretty solid at the moment and thus the realistic chances here for the Sooners are probably not very high.

Levenberry is an overpowering, run stuffing middle linebacker and would fill a huge need in this OU class. He excels when attacking the run down hill and is the kind of MLB this defense has been looking for since the last time Mike Stoops was patrolling the sidelines. On film, he looks to rely on his brute strength often as opposed to actually shedding blocks which is obviously something that won't be quite as easy at the Division I level.

Expect the Sooners to roll out the red carpet for all their visitors this weekend, but especially for Levenberry who possesses five star talent at a position of considerable need in this 2013 Oklahoma class.

CB Cole Luke 6'0" 165 lbs (Chandler, AZ)

Luke is a potentially elite cover corner who displays excellent footwork, fluid hips, and the ability to change direction on a dime. Luke will only get better once he gets into a Division I strength and conditioning program as he can certainly stand to add some bulk to bring a physical aspect to his game that's not quite there yet.

Like Levenberry, Luke is a guy who doesn't do many interviews so it's difficult to really know where OU stands. The Sooners, Notre Dame, and Texas are believed to be at the top of his list. One has to believe the play of the Oklahoma corners this season will be a major selling point on the part of Mike Stoops this weekend.

DT Greg Gilmore 6'4" 285 lbs (Hope Mills, NC)

Gilmore will play all along the defensive line, and offense for that matter, for his high school team but most services project him as a defensive tackle. Pretty raw as an interior prospect, but displays impressive athleticism for a player his size. Could be more consistent and will certainly need to work on his technique, but has the look of a solid D-I defensive lineman.

Gilmore has an impressive list of offers including Alabama, Florida, LSU, Virginia Tech, and USC among others.

CB Lamar Robbins 6'3" 188 lbs (Miami, FL)

It would appear Mike Stoops is a big fan of defensive backs from the state of Florida as he has made a concerted effort to heavily recruit the sunshine state. Robbins is the prototypical defensive back Stoops prefers, big and rangy guys who are very athletic. Shows good make up speed and ball skills. Not overly physical, but that part of his game will develop as his body does once he gets into a Division I S&C program.

Robbins holds offers from Arkansas, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Nebraska, South Carolina, Texas A&M, and West Virginia among others.

OT Josiah St. John 6'6" 305 lbs (Athens, TX)

St. John is a JUCO offensive tackle and it's not surprising the Sooners could look to the junior college ranks after missing on so many of their early offers at the position.

He does not yet have an offer from Oklahoma (though that could certainly change this weekend), but has drawn interest from: Arizona State, Arkansas, Baylor, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and West Virginia among others.

DE Dimarya Mixon 6'3" 265 lbs (Mesquite, TX) - (VIDEO)

Mixon is an Arizona State commit, but has been flirting with the Sooners for some time. He was just at the OU/Texas game a couple weeks ago and will now be taking in another Oklahoma game this weekend. He would continue to visit OU if there wasn't a legitimate interest on his part, but the longer this plays out you can't help but wonder just how serious he is to switching his commitment.

ATH Dominique Alexander 6'2" 195 lbs (Tulsa, OK) - (VIDEO)

Alexander was only just offered by the Sooners last week and is currently committed to Arkansas, but prior to had never been shy in speaking about his affinity for Oklahoma. He admitted in interviews following the news of his offer that he could definitely change some things, but that he wanted to take some time and talk things over with his family. With an on-campus visit for a game with what should be an electric atmosphere, things could get interesting here.

Alexander's offer is as an "athlete", but he told the guys at SoonerScoop.com that the OU coaches told him they see him at their hybrid linebacker/safety position.

Class of 2014

QB Justice Hansen 6'3" 200 lbs (Edmond, OK) - (VIDEO)

Hansen is one of, if not the, top players in the state for the 2014 class and was a very early target on the part of Oklahoma which is not something they typically do at the quarterback position. Josh Heupel generally takes his time during his evaluations and then singles out one, maybe two, guys and makes them his top priority. Clearly he's seen enough of Hansen already to feel comfortable in making him the Sooners primary target and of course Hansen being local only helped speed up the process.

Hansen could prove to be one of the top quarterbacks in the entire 2014 class and as such he's drawing interest from the likes of Alabama, Auburn, Florida State, Ohio State, and Oklahoma State.

DE Deondre Clark 6'4" 250 lbs (Oklahoma City, OK) - (VIDEO)

This one may be up in the air as to whether or not Clark actually makes it to campus. He's had multiple visits set up in recent months only for them to fall through for a variety of reasons. He's the younger brother of noted basketball prospect Stevie Clark and the two have talked in the past about wanted to attend the same school. Which, if true, would not bode well for the Sooners as they are no longer in the running for the elder Clark.

Deondre though is a physical specimen at the defensive end position and will very likely be in a battle with Hansen for the title of the state's best player in this 2014 class. Clark projects as a serious difference maker in college as an edge rusher and has been on the Sooners radar for some time. His attention among the country's elite programs will only continue to grow, but for now along with Oklahoma he's receiving the most interest from LSU and Texas Tech among others.

S Steven Parker 6'2" 185 lbs (Jenks, OK)

Parker is another in seemingly never ending line of talented players coming out of the powerhouse Oklahoma high school program in Jenks. He already holds an offer from Alabama, which goes without saying is quite impressive. Working in the Sooners favor is his friendship with current Sooner and former teammate Alex Ross as well as current teammate and OU commit Jordan Smallwood.

DE Sekou Clark 6'3" 210 lbs (Denton, TX)

Clark was a bit of an unknown until recently, though not because of a lack of talent rather because he was forced to sit behind the No. 1 defensive player in the country last year, former teammate Mario Edwards. Clark is drawing interest from a bunch of schools and has been very open in his desire to take a lot of visits and is keeping all of his options open.