Shortly after Oklahoma’s spring game, a fifth set of eyeballs appeared on our Twitter timeline. Oklahoma fans have come to know what that means, but most were unsure of what it meant specifically.
As it turns out, the fifth eyeball emoji represents the commitment of 2019 defensive tackle and official visitor Derek Green, who backed away from his previous commitment to the Oklahoma Sooners back in February due to a family health issue. Green previously released a top 3 that also included the Georgia Bulldogs and Tennessee Volunteers.
I just wanted to say thanks for the thoughts and prayers to everyone that's supporting me but I know what's best for me and I can feel it...so I'm going back home see you in a few Norman cuz I'm coming @LincolnRiley @RuffinMcNeill @UncleGreenSWO @SWO_Stallions1 @kravekenz pic.twitter.com/VWLghdEuZE
— HoneyBear (@derekgreenn) April 14, 2018
Oklahoma now has eight commitments in the 2019 class, and Green joins Jamal Morris and Kori Roberson as Oklahoma’s third commitment on the defensive side of the ball. Additionally, Green is Oklahoma’s fourth 2019 commitment of the weekend and fifth overall, proving once again that Lincoln Riley’s staff is a force to be reckoned with on the recruiting trail. The class now ranks second nationally in the 247Composite and FIRST in the Rivals team rankings.
Green, who is listed as a three-star recruit by the services, represents a pretty big win for his primary recruiter — Ruffin McNeill. In an interview with Rivals.com, Green cited McNeill as the primary reason for Oklahoma still being in the race in spite of the family matter, which had made distance a bit of an issue for the Jacksonville, N.C. native.