Oklahoma’s 2023 recruiting class beginning to dissolve in wake of Riley departure

While the more pressing news for Oklahoma’s recruiting efforts is likely centered on the 2022 class, their 2023 class has taken a major hit. The Sooners under Lincoln Riley had positioned themselves to be major players on the recruiting trail with what was at the time the number one ranked recruiting class in the country.

With Riley departing for the sun, glitz, and glamour of USC, the Sooners quickly began to lose prized recruits. Some remain, possibly looking at the coming days to see who takes the helm as Sooners head coach before making their next move.

We’ll be tracking every 2023 commit as they announce their intentions in the meantime.

Brandon Inniss, WR

This loss is going to sting tremendously if it does indeed mean the end of Oklahoma’s chance for talented blue-chip wide receiver prospect Brandon Inniss. Inniss had a phenomenal junior season playing QB due to attrition on his American Heritage squad in Florida. He committed to Oklahoma this summer and is the number one ranked receiver in the country for 2023. We shared thoughts about the caliber of player he was earlier this year.

Representatives of 247 Sports reached out to him in regards to his decomittment and he had this to say:

“Lincoln Riley was a big reason why I committed to Oklahoma,” Inniss told 247Sports when reached by phone. “So, I feel like going forward this is the best decision for me and my family.”

By all accounts, it looks like Inniss’ recruiting is wide open with him citing Alabama, Miami, Georgia, Ohio State, Florida, and Florida State as places he’d like to visit and interact with.

Malachi Nelson, QB

Make no mistake about it, this is the single biggest domino falling for the Sooners 2023 recruiting class. Malachi Nelson is a consensus top 10 recruit across the board and on top of that he represented your future at QB behind Caleb Williams. He’s the number two quarterback prospect behind Arch Manning and his rapport with teammates Makai Lemon and DeAndre Moore Jr helped the Sooners land them as well.

Lemon has not formally recommitted but being he is a native California kid and his best friend is Nelson, it’s all but a foregone conclusion that wherever Nelson ends up is where Lemon will too.

Moore dropped a post that let the world know that he is still committed to DeMarco Murray, his primary recruiter to Oklahoma. Murray is still on staff and Moore’s reaffirmation is major because it means the Sooners will still have a shot with 2022 running back Jovontae Barnes. Barnes and Moore are close friends and are both from Nevada, which is where Murray is from.

Greg Biggins and Steve Wiltfong of 247 sports both have put in crystal balls for Nelson to in-state USC. It’s completely clear that ultimately Nelson’s relationship with Riley and the allure of being the hometown hero for a program that needs resurrecting may just be too much to pass up.

Treyaun Webb, RB

This running back commit for the Sooners 2023 class hailed from the Sunshine State. Treyaun Webb is a blue-chip prospect from Jacksonville Trinity Christian Academy. He’s a Top247 running back Treyaun Webb and he announced his recruitment was back open on Sunday evening.

For Webb, this is decommitment number two as he was once a Georgia Bulldog pledge. Webb was recruited heavily by Murray and Riley and it might be that without Riley at the help he was unsure of what would happen to his usage and so forth. Webb had taken visits to other schools over the months since he’s committed. Notably, those visits were to Penn State and UGA. There’s a real chance he ends back up at UGA but it may too early to tell.

Webb joins a growing line of elite skill talent to bail on Oklahoma since Sunday afternoon.

It’s an unfortunate turn of events for a team that started the 2021 season as national title contenders. As the 2023 recruiting class is on standby to see who is brought in, stay tuned here at the Sooners Wire for further updates as the situation unfolds.

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