Oklahoma has had two great recruiting classes the past two years, finishing 8th in 2022 and 6th in 2023, according to Rivals, under Brent Venables. Shifting the focus to the home front here in Oklahoma and securing the state against rivals, a slew of recruits in the Sooner State have committed to the University in the past two years.
Of the recruits from within the home state, one athlete has stood out amongst his peers. Robert Spears-Jennings, coming into his Junior year in the program, showed monumental potential and glimpses of greatness in his performance last while only being a sophomore behind two veteran players on the defensive side of the ball.
Per John E. Hoover of Sports Illustrated, who reported on the words of Senior Safety Billy Bowman, the unequivocal leader of the Sooner Secondary, “He’s definitely grown a lot”. Spears-Jennings played for 240 snaps in 12 games and according to Pro Football Focus, the 6 -foot-1, 219-pound athlete had a 66.7 overall, with a coverage grade of 62.1, run-defense of 75.0, and a tackling of 77.8.
Spears-Jennings, having played at Broken Arrow High School, in Tulsa, OK, in the premiere scene for elite Oklahoma football he is used to playing in front of big crowds and fighting for a spot on the roster. Being a child of a military family, he had only played two years at Broken Arrow showing tremendous promise to the Oklahoma staff at the time who recruited him during that time. Being a 3-star and two-way athlete, the program at the time had a different plan for him, this all changed once Brent Venables was named head coach.
Under Venables, Spears-Jennings has developed into a star on the rise, Senior Safety Billy Bowman had exciting words to say about the heavy hitter in the press conference during the Sooners portion of SEC Media Days. “He was the guy who went into last season, his sophomore season, thinking like, ‘I might not play too much,’ ” Bowman said. “Halfway through the season, towards the end of the season, he got his opportunity and I told him, ‘You gotta run with it. This is your time.’ And that’s exactly what he did.”
Spears-Jennings was electric in his snaps, delivering brutal tackles, and a threat to any run-game. He, alongside Billy Bowman and Peyton Bowen, will be one of the athletes in the spotlight of this improved defense, with the potential to start from day one of the 2024 season, offenses will have multiple threats to worry about when prepping to play the Sooners. With the addition of Zac Alley in the Co-Defensive Coordinator position this could be one of the most complete and elite defenses Oklahoma has had in years.
The Oklahoma Sooners are coming off a 10-3 season, after a great start to the season with a record of 5-0 and a huge win over then No.3 Texas the team mis stepped and racked up losses to Kansas and Oklahoma State keeping them out of the Big 12 Conference Championship and ended their season in a heartbreaking loss to Arizona in the Alamo Bowl. As of July 1st, the football program began its partnership with the South Eastern Conference and begins its 2024 season on August 30th against the Temple Owls at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium where they look to begin their campaign with a dominant win.
