Makari Vickers will ultimately go down as one of the biggest recruiting wins for Oklahoma in the 2023 cycle. Vickers hails from Tallahassee, Florida, a place that the Sooners have struggled mightily to recruit over the past several years. In 2023 that completely flipped on its head. Oklahoma signed five different players from the state of Florida, which was more than they signed from any other state. On Wednesday, I had the opportunity to interview Makari Vickers, and get to know why he chose Oklahoma.
What Led Makari Vickers to Oklahoma?
When I asked Makari about why he chose Oklahoma, he credited the relationship he had with Coach Venables and Coach Valai, as well as the SOUL mission. “[The SOUL mission] played a big factor… I know when I step on campus I’ll be getting on the field lessons and off the field lessons,” Vickers stated. “I’ll be built both as a football player, and as a person.” The SOUL mission is already making dividends in recruiting, as well as in current and former players’ lives, helping them with life after football.
Makari showed some gratitude to the fans as well, saying that he is proud of how influential his father, Ron Vickers, is inside of OU twitter circles. “It shows how committed the OU fanbase is… I’m definitely proud that the OU fans are embracing him, as well as me and my family.”
Oklahoma has had their struggles this year. Finishing with a 6-7 record and one of the worst total defense rankings in the country, there has definitely been some cause for concern. However, Makari seemed relatively unfazed by the lack of production. When I asked him how he felt about it he told me, “As a fan it was worrying because the offense would put up points sometimes and the defense wouldn’t stop them, so we ended up getting outscored. As a future Sooner, it was definitely a bright area for me because I’ll have the opportunity to come in and work and get the playbook down and stuff, and hopefully compete for a starting position.”
Makari Vickers very well may see some early playing time in the 2023 season. From what I’ve seen from him so far this week at the All-American Bowl in San Antonio, he has looked like an elite prospect that is ready for the college level. His position coach for the week had extremely high praise for him, telling me that he was one of the best defensive backs that he was coaching at the event. During the team drills today, Vickers had multiple deflections, one of those almost an interception.
Continuing to raise his stock, Makari Vickers is showing a high IQ from off or press man, aggression, hand placement, foot speed, and a nack for getting his hands on the ball. Have yourself a day Mr. Vickers . #BoomerSooner pic.twitter.com/p2LCdoj84x
— KaosSportsPerformance (@MrTNT21) January 4, 2023
If he keeps it up over the course of the week, the future Sooner could see a rise in the rankings after the final update. Will he start from day one? No, probably not, but I think that Makari Vickers will carve out a role for himself and get some reps in year one, even in what looks to be a loaded Sooner secondary this year.
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