The Oklahoma Sooners’ 2024 season begins in less than two weeks. Talking season is almost over, and fall camps are wrapping up across the country.
However, before the season began, ESPN announced their true freshmen All-America team (ESPN+). All of the athletes were high students last year and are part of the 2024 Recruiting Class.
Two Oklahoma players made the team: offensive lineman Eugene Brooks and defensive tackle Jayden Jackson.
Brooks was the No. 145 player in ESPN’s 300 rankings coming out of high school. Here’s what ESPN staff writer Tom Luginbill had to say about the young offensive lineman.
Brooks is currently running with the second team at guard. The former Under Armour All-American has had his ups and downs during training camp, but he has also shed close to 60 pounds off his frame to help aid his quickness and agility. With that type of discipline and work ethic, clearly Brooks is serious about getting on the field this fall. – Luginbill, ESPN
Brooks was a great addition to offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh’s most recent recruiting class from Sierra Canyon High School in California. 247Sports rated him as a four-star prospect and the third-best interior offensive tackle.
Brooks isn’t expected to start in 2024, but he is part of the offensive line’s future, which has been a significant topic of discussion this offseason. While the Sooners have to rebuild the whole unit with some minor acquisitions this offseason for 2024, it will be critical to recruit and develop offensive line players, especially as they enter the Southeastern Conference.
Jackson was a three-star prospect coming out of high school, according to ESPN, but he has the potential to be spectacular in Norman.
Jackson started the Oklahoma spring game but likely will be in the rotation at defensive tackle with fellow freshman David Stone, among others. With the move to the SEC, Oklahoma needs upgraded defensive front personnel, and Jackson has impressed. He will need to grow up quickly as the rise in the level of competition in the trenches from the Big 12 to the SEC will be steep. – Luginbill, ESPN
Jackson was part of a great 2024 defensive line haul compiled by defensive tackles coach Todd Bates and defensive ends coach Miguel Chavis. He attended IMG Academy and was ranked as the 23rd-best talent in Florida by 247Sports. He was really outstanding in the spring, and while he, like Brooks on the other side of the ball, will not start right away, he represents a potential member of the defensive line.
He’s been one of the standouts in spring and fall camp, and his size, agility, and strength should allow him to win playing time early and often.
With the arrival of Damonic Williams, defensive tackle improved considerably in the post-spring portal window, but Jackson, Stone, and others must be prepared to take up the mantle of leadership inside shortly.
As third-year head coach Brent Venables and the Sooners enter a conference where games are won and lost in the trenches, they appear to be well-prepared with their 2024 class on both sides of the ball.