Oklahoma Recruiting Report (Feb. 8th)
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It might be the offseason in Oklahoma and not much is going on across the state in football. But there’s always something to cover and we’re starting a new series every single Wednesday for the next few months. Recruiting is in full swing across the state for the 2024, 2025 and 2026 classes. Each week, we’ll take a look at some of the top stories happening in recruiting across Oklahoma. In our first post today, we put a spotlight on UNLV and how their new staff that has deep Oklahoma ties is trying to bring more Oklahoma kids to the desert.
Two months ago, Oklahoma native Barry Odom was named the next head coach at UNLV. He went to the desert after being the defensive coordinator for Arkansas since 2020. This is Odom’s second crack at being a head coach after being the man in charge at Missouri from 2016-2019 and he’s returning to his Oklahoma roots to make the most of the opportunity. Odom hired former Tulsa standout Brennan Marion to be his offensive coordinator. Marion came to UNLV from Texas and is believed to be an up and coming coach in the profession. It feels like the next job Marion takes will be to run his own program. He also added Brad Odom to his staff as director of player personnel.
Odom and UNLV is already having success recruiting Oklahoma. They were able to flip Midwest City standout DeAngelo Irvin Jr DeAngelo Irvin Jr 5'8" | QB Midwest City | 2023 State OK from Air Force and he would sign on the dotted line with the Rebels. And over the last few weeks, the UNLV staff has been in hot pursuit of more Oklahoma standouts. We might be missing a name or two, but in the last few weeks, the following prospects have reported offers from UNLV.
Blake Cherry
Blake
Cherry
6'6" | 290 lbs | OL
Owasso | 2025
State
OK
– 2025 Offensive Lineman – Owasso
Brody Duffel
Brody
Duffel
6'6" | 270 lbs | OL
Bixby | 2024
State
OK
– 2024 Offensive Lineman – Bixby
Caden Knighten
Caden
Knighten
6'1" | 180 lbs | RB
Wynnewood | 2025
State
OK
– 2025 Running Back – Wynnewood
Conner Quintero
Conner
Quintero
6'0" | 180 lbs | QB
Oklahoma | 2026
State
OK
– 2026 Quarterback – Stillwater
Cooper Alexander
Cooper
Alexander
6'4" | 205 lbs | TE
Washington | 2024
State
OK
– 2024 Tight End – Washington
Corey Rowland
Corey
Rowland
6'1" | 175 lbs | WR
Thomas Edison Preparatory | 2024
State
OK
– 2024 Wide Receiver – Edison
Ezra Ballinger
Ezra
Ballinger
6'5" | 270 lbs | OL
NOAH | 2024
State
OK
– 2024 Offensive Lineman – NOAH
Harrison Utley
Harrison
Utley
6'4" | 285 lbs | OL
Norman North | 2024
State
OK
– 2024 Offensive Lineman – Norman North
Jamarian Ficklin
Jamarian
Ficklin
6'1" | 180 lbs | QB
Muskogee | 2025
State
OK
– 2025 Quarterback – Muskogee
Mykel Patterson-McDonald
Mykel
Patterson-McDonald
6'0" | DB
Westmoore | 2024
State
OK
– 2024 Athlete – Westmoore
Ryker Haff
Ryker
Haff
6'6" | 290 lbs | OL
Owasso | 2025
State
OK
– 2025 Offensive Lineman – Owasso
Xavier Robinson
Xavier
Robinson
6'2" | 225 lbs | RB
Carl Albert | 2024
State
OK
– 2024 Running Back – Carl Albert
In addition to all of those offers rolling out, UNLV has also hosted at least one other standout prospect from Oklahoma in the last month. Piedmont 2024 two-way star Cannon Wood Cannon Wood 6'1" | 215 lbs | ATH Piedmont | 2024 State OK , who was an All State selection in 2022, took an unofficial visit to UNLV just a few weeks ago. It will be very interesting to see how much of an impact UNLV’s new staff has in terms of signing Oklahoma prospects moving forward. There have always been a few programs around the country that extend a bunch of offers but they haven’t been able to get the signature on the letter of intent. UNLV is off to a good start already and they’ll look to keep that momentum going.
Keep it locked into Prep Redzone Oklahoma every Wednesday throughout the next several months as we give updates on recruiting across the state. Next week, we’ll take a look at several prospects who have recently picked up their first D1 offers and it could be the first of many as we get closer to the spring and summer months.