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In 2010 Oklahoma landed three recruits from the state of California. As Brennan Clay, Tony Jefferson and Kenny Stills became famous as the "Cali-Trio" they helped pave the way for the Sooner coaching staff to turn California into a pipeline state for recruiting. Flamboyant and edgy in their play, the trio excelled on the field and opened the eyes of future west coast recruits to the tradition rich football being played in Norman.
Oklahoma's 2013 Football Recruiting Class
The state of Texas always has been, and always will be, a vital part of Oklahoma football recruiting. There isn't a school in the country that doesn't want to have their foot in the door there. However, a look inside the numbers of OU's most recent recruiting class shows that the Sooners now have solid footing in two of the most fertile college football recruiting grounds in America.
Since landing that first group in 2010 the Sooners have signed seven other players from the Golden Bear State, highlighted by four in this year's class. While the roster will show the state of Texas as the number one home state for our current Sooners, there's no denying the fact that the biggest bang for their buck in recruiting is coming from California.
2013 Oklahoma Football Recruiting Class, Average Ranking By State
With an average ranking of 3.25 stars per recruit (according to Rivals.com), the state of California was a gold mine of riches for Oklahoma this season. In fact, the state of Texas was the third best recruiting ground, as far as rankings go, for OU this season with the state of Oklahoma coming in second.
Oklahoma's 2013 Football Recruiting Class, Positions By State
College football is a numbers game. You've got to fill your roster with good talent and seeing as there isn't a state that produces more high school talent than the state of Texas its easy to understand why Oklahoma landed players from there in seven of the nine positions they landed commitments from.
Texas was a major player in two critical offensive positions for Oklahoma as the Sooners landed 4-star running back Keith Ford and quarterback Cody Thomas. OU will continue to look south for talent and keep the state of Texas as a "must have" in their recruiting plan.
That said, the ability to continue pinpointing and landing top talent in the state of California is a growing trend that will also keep Oklahoma's coaching staff looking to the west as a vital part of their recruiting plan as well.