Jordan Hicks Just Dropped His Top 8, And Oklahoma Fans Need to See How Far Back They Are

The Oklahoma Sooners snagged a spot in the top eight for four-star safety Jordan Hicks, a 2028 recruit out of Mission Viejo, California. That sounds good on paper, right? But here’s the kicker: USC and UCLA are running away with this thing, leaving the Sooners with a seriously steep hill to climb. Hicks, who’s a top-150 player nationally and the No. 17 safety in his class, just dropped his final eight schools: Texas A&M, Miami, USC, UCLA, Alabama, Oregon, Ole Miss, and Oklahoma.

USC and UCLA Are Miles Ahead in This Race

Let’s be real, the two schools absolutely crushing it in Hicks’ recruitment are USC and UCLA. Makes sense, they’re both right there in his home state. This kid has already stacked up five visits, and get this: four of them were to USC, with one going to UCLA. That visit disparity tells you everything you need to know about where his head’s at right now. Oregon might get a look given its relative closeness to Southern California, but those in-state programs have a massive head start. Rivals even has USC leading predictions at 47.2%, with UCLA second at 11.8%. Oklahoma? Their chances are sitting under 1% in the Rivals industry rankings. That’s a brutal reality for the Sooners and a deep hole to dig out of.

Oklahoma’s California Pipeline Needs to Deliver

So, how do the Sooners even get back in this? They’ve been good at pulling talent from California over the last few years, nabbing three players from the state in the 2027 recruiting class alone. That pipeline is huge, showing guys like Hicks that Oklahoma is serious about recruiting out west and that California players can thrive in Norman. But the big problem is glaring: Hicks hasn’t even stepped foot on Oklahoma’s campus yet, while he’s been to USC four times! When a recruit visits a school that many times, it screams strong mutual interest. If the coaching staff truly wants this dude, they gotta get him to Norman ASAP so he can see the program firsthand. Hicks has the size, speed, and length you want in an SEC safety, offering that positional versatility in the secondary that would be a huge win for Oklahoma’s roster.

The Sooners have got their work cut out for them, but getting Hicks on campus is the absolute next step if they want any shot at this top-150 prospect.

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