Stokes Jr. saw what he needed before committing
Oklahoma was his dream school, but LaRon Stokes Jr. needed better justification before such a big decision.
After taking official visits to Oklahoma State and Oregon, the junior college defensive lineman from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M committed to OU on Sunday night following a weekend trip to Norman.
“I was just making sure it was everything I thought it was,” Stokes told The Oklahoman.
“And it was.”
Stokes, 6-foot-4 and 245 pounds, will enroll at OU in January and
be with the Sooners for spring football. He has two years of eligibility left after playing two seasons at NEO.
The Tulsa native recorded 76 tackles this season and led NEO with seven sacks.
Stokes was homeschooled in high school and played football for Tulsa NOAH. He had offers from Texas Southern and Stephen F. Austin after his senior year.
“I wasn’t sure if I was going to be a qualifier or not dealing with the eligibility center,” Stokes said. “There’s a lot more paperwork because I was homeschooled.”
He ultimately spent another year in high school to build up credits before NEO offered him a scholarship. Stokes said he maintained a 3.0 GPA in junior college. That, coupled with his dominant play, re-energized his recruitment.
OU, OSU and Tulsa were among his 11 reported FBS offers.
Oklahoma didn’t reach out to Stokes until Nov. 30. The scholarship offer didn’t come until Dec. 6. The last two weeks have been a whirlwind for Stokes, who had to sandwich his official visits around final exams.
Oklahoma defensive line coach Calvin Thibodeaux was his primary recruiter.
Despite Mike Stoops’ midseason dismissal as defensive coordinator and not knowing what next year’s defensive staff will look like, Stokes said Thibodeaux reassured him that his job was safe.
“Coach (Thibodeaux) was pretty proactive setting the record straight and clearing the air,” Stokes said. “He was letting me know that Coach Riley wants to keep him there.”
Stokes could be an immediate contributor on Oklahoma’s defensive line next season.
“I think the biggest thing about me is that I’m disciplined,” he said. “I’m always gonna be in the right spot, in the right gap and athletic enough to make plays in the backfield.”
Though Stokes always hoped for an Oklahoma offer, his chances to play for the Sooners began to dim after high school.
“It was fading away a little bit,” Stokes said. “But then everything started happening. And then boom — I got an OU offer.”