Texas-based recruits fill up TCU football’s first signing class under Sonny Dykes
TCU football coach Sonny Dykes spent part of his introductory news conference preaching the importance of landing in-state talent, particularly local talent, in building his roster.
He is following through on that with plenty of Texas-based recruits filling up his first recruiting class. With the early signing period for the 2022 class starting Wednesday, TCU has seen a number of in-state players sign national letter of intents.
Eight of the nine commitments announced Wednesday are from Texas with the lone out-of-state player being defensive tackle Damonic Williams out of California.
Rowlett pass rusher Michael Ibukun-Okeyode became the first official signing of TCU’s 2022 class on Wednesday morning. All nine had sent in NLIs when Dykes held his news conference at noon.
Dykes defended the relatively small class size, saying it was intentional on TCU’s behalf. Dykes has been through coaching transitions before and didn’t want to “reach” for players simply to fill up the class.
“The temptation to fill up sometimes is too difficult to pass up,” Dykes said. “We decided to be very thoughtful and very intentional and not sign anybody we didn’t feel like was a difference-maker for our program.
“When you look at the recruiting ratings, these guys are rated very high. I think they compare favorably across the conference. We didn’t sign 25 guys like some people did, but I think we did exactly what we wanted to and showed some restraint.”
Dykes believes the program could add a couple more players before the early signing period ends at midnight Friday. Then he plans on signing four or five additional players on the traditional signing day Feb. 2. That would make the incoming recruiting class around 14 players with potentially as many as 20 transfers joining as well.
“We’ll possibly add as many as 34 players this year depending on scholarship availability,” Dykes said. “There’s some ways that you can add some additional players by managing the roster. A lot is going to have to do with what happens in the spring. We’ll be recruiting guys up until fall camp starts. It’ll be a process.”
Here’s a look at TCU’s 2022 recruiting class with players who put pen to paper on early signing day:
DE Michael Ibukun-Okeyode
Ibukun-Okeyode, who is listed at 6-foot-5, 234 pounds, is rated as the No. 28 edge rusher in the nation, according to 247Sports’ composite rankings. The three-star prospect out of Rowlett also had offers from SMU, Oklahoma State, Baylor, Kansas State, Boston College and Colorado. He earned first-team all-district honors as a junior.
S Chace Biddle
The safety out of Garland is a four-star prospect who is ranked as the No. 11 safety prospect in the country, according to 247Sports’ composite rankings. He was a one-time commit to SMU and also had offers from Alabama, Arkansas and Arizona. Biddle had 33 tackles, including six for a loss, with three interceptions and three pass breakups this season.
QB Josh Hoover
A three-star quarterback out of Rockwall-Heath, Hoover comes from a football family (his dad Alex played linebacker at Colorado State and had a brief stint in the NFL). Hoover is ranked as the No. 39 quarterback in the nation, according to 247Sports’ composite rankings, and threw for 3,252 yards and 40 TDs this season. He was recently named the 2021 Landry Award winner.
DB Kyron Chambers
A three-star prospect out of Dallas South Oak Cliff who may project more as a safety than a cornerback. Chambers, who is listed at 6-foot, 190 pounds, recently flipped his commitment from Arizona to TCU. He is ranked as the No. 44 cornerback prospect in the country, according to 247Sports.
OL Quinton Harris
Harris, the Arlington Seguin offensive lineman who is listed at 6-foot-7, 285 pounds, is ranked as the No. 145 offensive tackle in the nation, according to 247Sports’ composite rankings. He flipped his commitment SMU on Wednesday. Other schools in the mix included Texas Tech and Oklahoma State. Seguin’s offense totaled 2,881 yards rushing and 1,291 yards passing this season.
RB Major Everhart
Everhart was initially recruited by Gary Patterson’s staff and stayed true to TCU through the coaching change. He is a speedster out of Amarillo Tascosa, running a 10.3-second in the 100-meter dash. He is ranked as the No. 37 running back prospect in the country, according to 247Sports, and had offers from Texas Tech and Notre Dame. Everhart rushed for 1,647 yards and 15 TDs, as well as catching two TD passes, as a senior. Dykes said he views Everhart as a slot receiver in his Air Raid offense.
DL Paul Oyewale
Oyewale, a Houston Langham Creek product, is ranked as the No. 74 defensive line prospect, according to 247Sports. He had 56 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, three sacks and five QB hurries this season. Along with TCU, Oyewale also drew interest from schools such as Baylor, Duke and SMU.
WR Jordan Hudson
Hudson, a four-star receiver out of Garland, was once committed to SMU but flipped to TCU shortly after the coaching change to Dykes. He finished this season with 1,141 yards receiving and 22 touchdowns on 67 receptions. TCU offensive analyst Bryan Carrington posted on Twitter that he believed Hudson had the potential to one day win the Biletnikoff Award, which is given to the best receiver in the country.
DL Damonic Williams
Williams was TCU’s only out-of-state signee on Wednesday. He is from Los Angeles’ Bishop Alemany High and is rated as a three-star prospect and the No. 50 defensive tackle in the country, according to 247Sports.
This story was originally published December 15, 2021 at 9:03 AM.
