Oklahoma Sooners Football Recruiting: 4-star WR Jalil Farooq has signed with Oklahoma

Shane Beamer — recently named the head coach at South Carolina — opened a lot of doors for the Oklahoma Sooners in the DMV (DC-Maryland-Virginia) area and Mid-Atlantic region. Now that he’s headed to Columbia, task of keeping those doors open (albeit in a much different form) will largely fall on a slew of 2021 signees, including four-star Upper Marlboro, Md. WR Jalil Farooq.

Farooq received offers from Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Texas A&M and others, but the Sooners won out largely because of the Caleb Williams factor. The five-star QB will have plenty of quality targets once his time comes, but this guy could end up being as well-rounded as any of them.

How he fits

At 6’1” and 200, Farooq has the size and arm length to out-muscle physical corners on the outside and make contested catches. He’s not necessarily a burner like fellow 2021 WR classmates Cody Jackson and Billy Bowman, but his strong route-running ability will mitigate any deficiency (not that his speed is a deficiency by any stretch). Lincoln Riley and Dennis Simmons recruit receivers who have the skill sets to play both inside and outside, and Farooq is no exception. Having said that, expect to see him on the outside more often than not.