Ugwoegbu rounds out Sooners' class
NORMAN — David Ugwoegbu was considering Oklahoma before Alex Grinch came aboard as the Sooners' defensive coordinator in January.
But when the Katy, Texas, product met Grinch, he was quickly sold on the program, picking Oklahoma over Texas A&M.
“What really struck me is how this was a big expectation for him and how he's up to the challenge,” Ugwoegbu said Wednesday after signing with the Sooners. “That's what intrigued me the most about it.”
Ugwoegbu, who will play outside linebacker in college, was Oklahoma's lone signee Wednesday. The Sooners signed 22 during the December signing period and then added five-star receiver Jadon Haselwood in early January after Haselwood signed financial aid paperwork and immediately enrolled.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Oklahoma was No. 5 in Rivals' team rankings for the 2019 class and No. 6 in 247Sports' rankings. It's the third consecutive year the Sooners have posted a top-10 class.
“We're very happy to add David to this historic OU class,” Sooners coach Lincoln Riley said in a release. “It's a class that a lot of people worked really hard to put together and I think this is going to be a championship group that will help us continue to tackle all of the goals that we have here as a program.” Ugwoegbu said he expected to play the “jack” linebacker spot as an edge-rushing outside linebacker. Defensive line coach Calvin Thibodeaux was Ugwoegbu's primary recruiter, but Grinch's role was big.
Ugwoegbu decided to wait in December to make sure he wound up in the place that was the best fit for him and it was that decision to wait that helped push Ugwoegbu toward Norman.
“He's steady and stable and his composure — whether things are going really good or really poor, he's going to have the same composure,” Ugwoegbu said. “When we were talking about more serious things or more lighthearted things he pretty much had the same composure and I could tell that he's a guy that's confident in himself and what he's doing,”
The 6-foot-4, 220-pound Ugwoegbu is a four-star recruit according to Rivals and the No. 38 player overall in Texas. The Sooners signed six of the top 40 prospects out of Texas according to their Rivals rankings.
“We targeted him pretty early in the recruiting process,” Riley said. “He has exceptional length and athleticism that is difficult to coach. You just see his burst on film, which is rare for a guy with his kind of length.
“He's been a great kid to recruit and has the kind of frame that we're looking to add defensively. We think he fits in well with what Coach Grinch wants to get done.”
Ugwoegbu plans on contributing immediately.
“The first year you'll see me on the field a lot,” he said. “I don't want to talk much, just be about it (though).”