Oklahoma had a strong weekend to get its 2023 class started, first earning the commitment of Jacksonville (Fla.) Trinity Christian Academy four-star athlete Treyaun Webb on July 17, then adding to it with the commitment of Los Alamitos, Calif. five-star quarterback Malachi Nelson the next day. Both players included Ohio State among their top finalists.
Webb had included Ohio State in his top three schools, along with Georgia and the Sooners, on June 23. He had also previously stated that those would be the three schools he would choose from for a future decision in August before ultimately making it official in mid-July.
The 6-0, 188-pound Webb, who is likely to play running back at the next level, is ranked as the third-best athlete and No. 34 overall prospect in the class. He has an 11.26-second 100-meter dash time and has also shined in track at high school, becoming a Jacksonville.com All First-Coast honorable mention last year.
Nelson had included Ohio State in his top seven schools one week prior to his commitment, along with Alabama, Florida State, LSU, Notre Dame, USC and the winning Sooners.
The 6-3, 180-pound signal caller is ranked as the second-best quarterback and No. 5 overall prospect in the 2023 class. Nelson was compared to a familiar face for Ohio State fans by 247Sports’s Greg Biggins: Current Chicago Bears quarterback and former Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields.
“Nelson has all the physical tools you could want in a next level signal caller. At 6-3, 180 pounds, he has an athletic body with plenty of room to grow pack on good weight. He’s a very fluid athlete in everything he does. He has a smooth, effortless release and the ball jumps out of his hand. He has a downfield arm, is accurate to all three levels of the field and can throw with touch and change speeds,” Biggins wrote. “He’s a mature quarterback and already shows a high football IQ in terms of his decision making and how well he processes the position. He’s a plus-athlete for a quarterback as well and shows the ability to extend plays and get out and pick up yards in the running game. He made a big jump this off-season and needs to show he can put it together with the pads on as a sophomore but no quarterback in the class has a higher ceiling right now then Nelson.”
Ohio State has not yet sealed a commitment at any position for the 2023 class to this point. Of course, the Buckeyes have also done well at both the quarterback and the running back positions in the past few classes. In 2021, Ohio State signed five-star running back TreVeyon Henderson, five-star quarterback Kyle McCord an four-star running back Evan Pryor. In 2022, the Buckeyes have commitments from Southlake (Texas) Carroll five-star quarterback Quinn Ewers, the No. 1 overall prospect in the class, as well as Memphis (Tenn.) Chrisitan Brothers four-star running back Dallan Hayden.
Nelson and Webb are Oklahoma’s first two commitments for the 2023 class, and they put the Sooners at No. 2 in the class rankings behind only Georgia.
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