OU: Linebacker help coming

During his signing day press conference in February, Bob Stoops made a plea.

Even though the Sooners had just signed freshman linebacker Daniel Franklin and junior-college linebackers Mike Balogun and J.R. Bryant, in Stoops' eyes OU remained thin at the position, prompting the Sooner coach to say "Those young guys listening out there, we still need some linebackers.”

Not anymore.

Last week, OU received commitments from highly touted Texans Brandon Mahoney and Tom Wort, who join Jaydan Bird and Ronnell Lewis on OU's 2009 commitment list of linebackers.

And it's still April.

While wide receiver was the best recruited position in 2008 — OU signed three 4-star wideouts — it appears that linebacker will highlight the 2009 class.

Bird, Lewis, Mahoney and Wort all have a chance to be among the nation's top 20 linebackers when final recruiting rankings are released in the winter.

And though OU also got a commitment last week from 4-star defensive end Justin Chaisson of Las Vegas, the 6-foot-3, 220-pound Lewis, out of tiny Dewar High School, could prove to be the gem of the 2009 class.

Lewis, who has played 8-man football during his high school career, led the Dragons to the Class B state championship game last year as a running back and safety.

On offense, Lewis rushed for more than 2,300 yards and scored 40 touchdowns; on defense, he had more than 100 tackles and intercepted 11 passes.

Next year, when Dewar bumps up to 11-man ball, Lewis will move to linebacker, where he is projected to play in college.

But Lewis is not alone in this class.

Wort (6-1, 210), out of New Braunfels, Texas, had scholarship offers from the likes of LSU, Florida and USC.

Mahoney (6-2, 210), from Keller, Texas, visited LSU two weekends ago but decided to follow former Fossil Ridge High School teammate R.J. Washington, a defensive end, who was the Sooners' top-rated signee for 2008. Mahoney and Washington attended the Red-White spring game together.

Bird, finally, could end up being the No. 2 overall recruit in the 2009 class from the state of Kansas, behind Wichita running back Bryce Brown, who has committed to Miami.

While Lewis, Wort and Mahoney likely will end up on the outside, Bird (6-2, 215) is probably the top candidate to play middle linebacker.

Snagging four top-flight linebackers was critical for the OU coaching staff, which missed out on a couple of their top targets from the last class, including Lynn Katoa, who chose Colorado, and Bryce Brown's older brother, Arthur Brown, who went to Miami.

Now, with none of OU's top nine linebackers being seniors next season, the Sooners will have the luxury of bringing Bird, Lewis, Mahoney and Wort along slowly by redshirting them during the 2009 season.

And with current redshirt freshmen Austin Box and Travis Lewis already showing promise, the Sooners shouldn't be thin at linebacker again for at least the next five years.