Oklahoma beats out Notre Dame for highly-touted RB out of California
Published:
Oklahoma is still very much focused on this season on the field as it chases a College Football Playoff spot, but the Sooners got a huge win for the 2027 recruiting cycle on Friday afternoon with the commitment from 3-star running back Jaxsen Stokes.
Stokes told On3 on Friday of his plans to head to Norman to play in 2 years. He’ll be coming from a long way, too, with Stokes being from Thousand Oaks, Calif. He’s a 5-foot-9, 190-pound phenom who chose Oklahoma over a list of other big-time programs that is headlined by Notre Dame. Stokes also picked OU over SEC rival Tennessee, and Oregon was in the mix for his services, too.
Oklahoma is getting a spiritual force in addition to a football talent. Stokes had this message for Oklahoma fans on Friday: “Thank you Jesus, Sooner Nation I’m home!!!”
According to the 247Sports Composite rankings, Stokes is rated as the 519th-ranked player in the Class of 2027. Stokes is also currently the 42nd-ranked running back in the class and the 54th-ranked player from the talent-rich state of California.
Stokes’ commitment gives Oklahoma 6 hard commits in its 2027 recruiting class. He’s the only running back commit so far in OU’s 2027 class, which is currently the top-ranked 2027 class in the country, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
