According to multiple reports (Oklahoma 247 & ESPN's Sooner Nation), the Sooners have landed their 11th verbal commitment for the 2013 class in Manvel (TX) wide receiver Austin Bennett. At one time Bennett had been committed to Arkansas, but after the Bobby Petrino debacle chose to open things back up with his recruitment. Assuming the verbal commitment sticks, it would be the second consecutive year Oklahoma has flipped a wide receiver from the Hogs after stealing JUCO stud Courtney Gardner late last year.
Unfortunately, there is not a ton of film out there on Bennett and of the little there is it's split between offense and defense (he also plays corner). As a receiver, which is where he is expected to play in college, Bennett projects as a slot/underneath guy who excels at making defenders miss in the open field. He is probably one of those guys who is more quick than fast, but still has more than enough speed to pull away from most defenders. At 5'11" 170 pounds, he clearly has some work to do in the weight room to be able to hold up at the D-I level but that can be said about a lot of high school (soon-to-be) seniors.
This marks the second wide receiver commitment for the Sooners (Jenks' Jordan Smallwood being the other) in this 2013 class. After the very late signing of Lacolton Bester and the transfer of Jalen Saunders, it remains to be seen just how many more receivers the OU coaches would be willing to take in 2013. You would have to believe they will hold a spot for Laquon Treadwell and probably Sebastian Larue, but the available spots appear to be dwindling rapidly. Clearly Bennett capitalized on his opportunity to snag one of the remaining available.
Welcome to Sooner Nation Austin!