2023 Rankings – ATH Breakdown
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As the month of June comes to an end this week, we wrap up all of our prospect rankings with an update of the 2023 class. All of the updates began with a new Top 50 in the 2025 Rankings and the 2024 class followed and you can check out that 2024 Top 75 Right Here! Finally, we look at the upcoming senior class as we turn our attention to the 2023 class, which has become incredibly deep. Our latest update features the Top 175 prospects in the 2023 class. You can check out that complete Top 175 Right Here!
In this post, we continue our positional breakdowns with a look at the athlete position. For some prospects, what they project to at the next level is still up in the air. To be honest, several of the prospects on this breakdown, we’re definitely leaning to one position over another but we still have them listed as athletes based on their versatility and ability to play multiple positions at a high level. This group also includes a few top ten overall prospects, including the new #1 prospect in the state’s 2023 class.
*NOTE* Cooper Lai Cooper Lai 6'1" | 180 lbs | DB Cascia Hall | 2023 State OK and Markell Johnson Markell Johnson 6'4" | 190 lbs | ATH Edmond Memorial | 2023 State OK are not on this breakdown because they are featured in the Stock Riser & Newcomer articles respectively.
Bai Jobe
Bai
Jobe
6'5" | DL
Community Christian | 2023
State
OK
– Community Christian
(Ranked #1 Overall – #1 ATH)
Community Christian standout Bai Jobe Bai Jobe 6'5" | DL Community Christian | 2023 State OK , who has only played one full season of football, has emerged as our new #1 prospect in the state’s 2023 class. All you have to do is watch Jobe in person and it doesn’t matter if it’s basketball or football, you see why he’s that special. Jobe is an absolute freak athlete in a day where the term “freak athlete” gets thrown around way more than it should. But there’s no other way to describe Jobe. The growth in his game from the middle of the 2020 season and where he is today is absolutely out of this world. With his size, speed and athleticism, I think it’s safe to say that he will be a defensive end at the next level. And honestly, he could very well be listed in that spot in the next update. But will he hold on to that #1 spot? He’s earned his way there.
Morgan Pearson
Morgan
Pearson
6'2" | 220 lbs | ATH
Plainview | 2023
State
OK
– Plainview
(Ranked #7 Overall – #2 ATH)
Alright, we give up on this prospect. It’s hard to argue anyone should be listed as an athlete more than Plainview’s Morgan Pearson Morgan Pearson 6'2" | 220 lbs | ATH Plainview | 2023 State OK . He has multiple D1 offers in two sports. He has offers in football to play four different positions. What else do you need to know? Pearson might be the most versatile player in the state. For years, really since his freshman season, we were locked in that Pearson was one of the top wide receivers in this class. And that’s what makes him so special. He still is. He’s going to go into this season as one of the best in the state at that position. But now the door is open for him to play defense at the next level. His transformation physically over the last 12 months was something that definitely stood out this offseason and the sky is the limit on his potential.
Jalyn Stanford
Jalyn
Stanford
6'0" | 180 lbs | DB
Jenks | 2023
State
OK
– Jenks
(Ranked #13 Overall – #3 ATH)
Jenks standout Jalyn Stanford Jalyn Stanford 6'0" | 180 lbs | DB Jenks | 2023 State OK first got on our radar a little over a year ago when he absolutely dominated in a team camp setting. It was mainly at running back and we got very excited about his potential in that spot. Then Jaiden Carroll Jaiden Carroll 5'10" | 180 lbs | RB Jenks | 2023 State OK moved into the district and became the main running back in the offense but that opened things up for Stanford to emerge as one of the best safeties in 6A-1 football. And he still got plenty of run at the running back position and became more of a “lightning” to Carroll’s “thunder”. Stanford was a big play running back and his yard per carry showed just that. We like him to continue that this fall and maybe we’ll get a better idea of what he’s going to be at the next level. Because right now, we like him on both sides of the ball.
Sedrick Frazier
Sedrick
Frazier
5'10" | 155 lbs | ATH
Edmond North | 2023
State
OK
– Edmond North
(Ranked #40 Overall – #6 ATH)
Another 2023 prospect that we’ve had the benefit of watching in multiple offseasons while he played for Sooner 7 is Edmond North’s Sedrick Frazier Sedrick Frazier 5'10" | 155 lbs | ATH Edmond North | 2023 State OK . While we think he’s more of a slot receiver at the next level, we can’t overlook the fact that he can be a solid defensive back prospect and he’s shown that over the last few years while suited up for the Huskies. A big reason we like Frazier on the offensive side of the ball is just how electric he is with the ball in his hands. Frazier is very fast and so twitchy with his quickness and can get in and out of cuts faster than most other wide receivers. Frazier is definitely a prospect that should be considered one of the better overall athletes in the state and we’re looking forward to seeing what he does this fall for Edmond North.
Clint Campbell
Clint
Campbell
6'0" | 205 lbs | ATH
McLoud | 2023
State
OK
– McLoud
(Ranked #46 Overall – #7 ATH)
Similar to Stanford at Jenks, we began covering McLoud’s Clint Campbell Clint Campbell 6'0" | 205 lbs | ATH McLoud | 2023 State OK and thought he belonged as a running back prospect and would be considered a top ten prospect at that position as well. However, before last season, Campbell also started working at the linebacker spot and it opened our eyes that he could very well be one of the top linebackers in Oklahoma’s 2023 class. So just like Stanford, it doesn’t matter where we have Campbell, we like him as a top prospect. Whether it’s at running back, linebacker or just as a general athlete, we think he’s one of the best in the state. McLoud has a new coach this fall and there’s no doubt that Campbell will be a big part of what the Redskins do this fall and he’ll be making that impact on both sides of the ball.
Taylor Heim
Taylor
Heim
6'4" | 185 lbs | ATH
Bethany | 2023
State
OK
– Bethany
(Ranked #73 Overall – #8 ATH)
Our 2022 preseason rankings come out this evening and as you’ll see in our Class 4A preseason rankings, we really like Bethany coming into this season. Despite losing some pretty big names, they also return a prospect like Taylor Heim Taylor Heim 6'4" | 185 lbs | ATH Bethany | 2023 State OK , who can do so many different things on both sides of the ball. Heim will be at his best on Fridays this fall at the quarterback position where he’s going to be picking apart defenses in several different ways. But Heim has established himself as a versatile athlete that can do several things that project in a major way to the next level. We like Heim moving forward and he made quite a move up our rankings during this update. Class 4A seems to be very wide open as we get closer to the season and Heim and Bethany could be one of the top contenders.
River Faulkner
River
Faulkner
5'11" | 205 lbs | ATH
Heritage Hall | 2023
State
OK
– Heritage Hall
(Ranked #76 Overall – #9 ATH)
We cannot wait to see what kind of season that River Faulkner River Faulkner 5'11" | 205 lbs | ATH Heritage Hall | 2023 State OK has this fall for Heritage Hall. The Chargers lose one of the best playmakers in the state with Gavin Freeman graduating and Faulkner has a chance to step into that role this fall. He’s not a wide receiver but we see him having a really big year at the running back position. HIs sophomore and junior seasons were setting up what could be a very special senior season. And then you flip the script to the defensive side of the ball and Faulkner is a stout prospect there as well. He’ll be one of Heritage Hall’s leading tacklers and join other former Heritage Hall standouts who have starred at running back and linebacker. Faulkner and the Chargers are determined to return to the state championship game this season.
Tias McClarty
Tias
McClarty
5'9" | 160 lbs | ATH
Norman | 2023
State
OK
– Norman
(Ranked #77 Overall – #10 ATH)
Norman standout Tias McClarty Tias McClarty 5'9" | 160 lbs | ATH Norman | 2023 State OK was probably the toughest prospect to project when it comes to the next level. Because over the last two season, McClarty has been an outstanding quarterback to watch in 6A-1 football. He’s put up some serious numbers in the passing and running game. We’ve watched him in person both in games and at camps and we think that he’s one of the more underrated players in 6A-1. But what is his natural position at the next level? We still don’t know. Is he a quarterback or will he be moving to another spot? If he’s a quarterback, he joins a group in the 2023 class that is absolutely loaded. Nevertheless, we do know that McClarty is one of the better athletes in 6A-1 this fall and he’s going to have the Tigers in the hunt for a playoff spot.
Retsel Shaw
Retsel
Shaw
5'11" | ATH
Central | 2023
State
OK
– Central
(Ranked #79 Overall – #11 ATH)
Central’s Retsel Shaw Retsel Shaw 5'11" | ATH Central | 2023 State OK first got on our radar at the very first showcase camp that we ran in the summer of 2021. He ran the fastest 40-yard dash that day and it was clear that speed would be one of the top attributes to his game. Our fellow writer and coach Tony Daniels wrote about Shaw as well earlier this year during his “Under The Hood” series in May when he broke down some of the top Central prospects. Shaw is an electric playmaker and we like him to be one of the breakout stars for this fall. They play different positions, but look for Shaw to have the same type of impact that Macuric Demry had for Will Rogers last season. Shaw should have the Braves as a competitive team that could surprise some opponents this fall. It’s looking like Shaw will be a wide receiver at the next level.
Cam Dooley
Cam
Dooley
6'1" | 185 lbs | WR
Lincoln Christian | 2023
State
OK
– Lincoln Christian
(Ranked #89 Overall – #12 ATH)
Continuing the wide receiver theme, we finish things off with Lincoln Christian standout Cam Dooley Cam Dooley 6'1" | 185 lbs | WR Lincoln Christian | 2023 State OK . Another honesty moment here, we should probably have Dooley listed as a wide receiver but we’re stubborn and we’re have seen Dooley perform well at the defensive back position and specifically at safety. But it’s becoming more and more clear that Dooley is a wide receiver at the next level and he’s only gotten better and better at that position. Just to play out the theory, if Dooley was ranked as a wide receiver prospect, he would probably be either in the top ten or very close for that position. He had an outstanding junior season for the Bulldogs and has been great throughout this offseason so he should be one of the top receiving playmakers in 3A football this fall.