Oklahoma Sooners Football Recruiting: Oklahoma Flips DE Ron Tatum from Texas

Many Oklahoma Sooners fans were down in the dumps after the Texas Longhorns flipped former OU QB commit Cameron Rising and earned a verbal from Oklahoma City (Putnam City HS) DE Ron Tatum just days apart. However, Oklahoma’s fortunes seem to be turning around, as Tatum has announced that he is now committed to OU.

This is absolutely outstanding news for the Sooners, who now have a commitment from an absolute monster of a defensive end. The 6-4, 270-pounder has great speed from a kid of his size, which has earned him offers from the likes of Alabama, Georgia and Miami during the recruiting process.

All of the doom and gloom that we experienced a few months ago seems to be a distant memory, as OU recently found a quarterback to replace Rising in the 2018 class and has now re-established recruiting dominance in its own backyard. I’m sure Tom Herman won’t take this lying down, however, so this battle likely isn’t completely over.

Oklahoma now has nine commitments for the 2018 class (10 if you include Dillon Faamatau, who actually plans to enroll for 2017). The class is now ranked 10th in the 247 Composite Team Rankings.

The recruiting war between Herman and new OU coach Lincoln Riley is already off to a fun start (though this was reportedly in the works before news about Bob Stoops came to light). So much can happen on the trail with these two programs between now and next February, and you can bet your boots that there is going to be plenty of drama.

This is also a huge victory for Calvin Thibodeaux, who quickly let everyone know how pleased he was.