Inside 4-star RB Taylor Tatum’s commitment to Oklahoma

When it comes to Taylor Tatum, there were very few parts of the script that fell under the category of “typical.”

The nation’s No. 1 running back out of East Texas admitted as much as he reached the finish line of his recruitment.

All roads led to Oklahoma, in the end, but the Sooners didn’t enter the picture until this spring.

As an underclassman, the elite running back from Longview (Texas) High School caught games at Baylor, Texas A&M and went out to the Coliseum for USC’s resounding win over Cal. When the calendar flipped over to the new year, Tatum made his way to Texas, to Duke, and to Big Ten country with check out both Penn State and Michigan.

After landing an offer from the two-time defending champs in the spring, Tatum visited Georgia. He also made his way back to USC to soak up the spring game for a multi-day trip and also to Ohio State to give the Buckeyes a look.

By the end of the spring, Kiel McDonald and Lincoln Riley were in the driver’s seat with the No. 35 player in the On3 Industry Ranking. McDonald had been recruiting Tatum for years dating back to his run at Utah and Riley was familiar with the Texas native from his time at Oklahoma, and the back was buzzing about his fit in Hollywood on and off the field.

DeMarco Murray was a staple at Longview this spring

Tatum spared little time over the course of this past spring as the blue-chip football standout also balanced a deep Longview playoff run on the diamond with coaches stopping by the high school.

While USC was among the main teams garnering momentum with Tatum behind the scenes, there was also optimism in Ann Arbor and Athens, at times, about their chances with the elite running back. Yet one program that continued to make some noise was Oklahoma.

Running backs coach DeMarco Murray was a “fixture” at Longview High School this spring, according to people in and around the football program, and his presence was well-noticed by Tatum as well as key members of his circle.

By the time summer arrived, Tatum had plotted out a busy summer stretch of official visits that began with a trip back to the West Coast to see USC followed by officials to Oklahoma and then Michigan to close out June.

After more time around Riley and McDonald, the Trojans had even more reason for optimism. By the time he arrived back home in East Texas, Tatum already beginning to see the finish line of his recruitment. The RPM reflected as much.

Norman delivers East Texas vibes

Tatum was a notable headliner for the Sooners’ biggest recruiting function of the summer — the ChampU BBQ — which also included priority blue-chipper targets like Caden Durham, Nigel Smith II, David Stone, Dominick McKinley and Terry Bussey.

His time in Oklahoma was memorable for several reasons.

The nation’s top back spent more time around Murray, who made a concerted effort to get him to campus on this particular weekend; he was the focal point of head football coach Brent Venables as well as head baseball coach Skip Johnson; and the more time immersed in Norman, the more it struck a chord with the small-town superstar.

“Getting out to Oklahoma, I got an East Texas vibe,” Tatum told On3. “It’s a good college town, it’s not a lot but a good experience with the people and you can tell it’s a good college town.”

Longview football has a long, storied history with Oklahoma with notable alum that includes Malcolm Kelley and Trent Williams.

The bright lights of L.A. were attractive to Tatum. Norman was more of his speed.

“If you go to Longview and you go to Norman, it looks exactly the same,” he said. “It’s East Texas vibes.”

Oklahoma allows Taylor to be “different”

The nation’s top back had his pick of schools — from the defending champs and Big Ten heavyweights — but he knew he was bound to take a “different” path.

Tatum emphasized multiple factors in his decision: offensive fit and opportunities; relationships within the coaching staff; fit in life away from football. Additionally, the opportunity to compete in two sports also loomed large.

“Being a two-sport athlete — a competitive one at that — I made sure to go somewhere where I had the opportunity to play baseball and compete in football. Being the top running back in the nation, I’m blessed to have the ability to thrive in two sports,” the On300 RB said.

“Going there and playing two sports is a big reason for me.”

Both Venables and Johnson shared the role of closers for the Sooners.

Venables, who intends to plug in a home-run threat to his backfield, shared the workload with Johnson, who coached former No. 1 overall pick Kyler Murray during his run in Norman. The path to the SEC was a factor for both programs.

“He talked about his plans for the future, getting to the SEC and how that’s gonna change the college football world,” Tatum said of a conversation with Venables. “More than football, Oklahoma going to the SEC and competing in the SEC in baseball is really what set them over the top.”

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