Oklahoma Sooners Football Recruiting: Oklahoma set to host defensive visitors Jacob Mangum-Farrar and Leonard Taylor

We all know how eventful the month of June was for the Oklahoma Sooners. Bob Stoops retired as head coach, offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley took the reigns, and a slew of commitments followed shortly thereafter. OKC defensive end Ron Tatum’s flip from the Texas Longhorns got the Riley era off to a great start, but of the six 2018 prospects to commit after the coaching change, he was the only one on the defensive side of the ball. At this time, only two of Oklahoma’s 14 commitments are along the defensive line (a serious area of need), and the Sooners don’t currently have a commitment at linebacker. Luckily there’s still plenty of time to bring in a nice defensive class, and this weekend could prove to be a positive step in that direction.

Outside linebacker Jacob Mangum-Farrar of Sugar Land, Texas, will be in Norman this weekend for an unofficial visit.

While he may still be flying a bit under the radar at this point in the process, he’s been opening some eyes since winning the linebacker MVP at The Opening’s Houston Regional. Cal, Utah, Ole Miss, Purdue and Vanderbilt all came in with scholarship offers during a four-day period in the month of May. About a week later, Oklahoma followed.

Mangum-Farrar is a guy who pursues the ball pretty well but also demonstrates an ability to plug up holes. With his size and frame, I could just as easily see him having a future on the inside as I could the outside.

Also visiting Oklahoma this weekend according to 247Sports is Leonard Taylor, a DE/TE from Springfield, Ohio. The versatile athlete is listed as a tight end by recruiting services, but the prevailing opinion is that he’d play defensive end for the Crimson & Cream. When checking out his film, that certainly seems like the right call (even though I think he would make a fine TE at the next level).

Taylor, who included Oklahoma among his most recent top schools along with Alabama, Ohio State, Michigan and Tennessee, is high on the Kentucky Wildcats, who are of course coached by Mark Stoops. Can Oklahoma challenge the long list of schools that are located closer to home? A strong weekend visit can certainly do a lot to put them right in the thick of things.