Touted OL possibility Fasusi dedicates to Sooners

• Eli Lederman, ESPN Staff WriterAug 21, 2024, 04:31 PM ET

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  Eli Lederman covers college football and recruiting for ESPN.com. He signed up with ESPN in 2024 after covering the University of Oklahoma for Sellout Crowd and the Tulsa World.Brent Venables and

Oklahoma secured a 2025 class foundation Wednesday, edging Texas and Texas A&M for the commitment of luxury offensive tackle Michael Fasusi.With his promise, Fasusi– a 6-foot-6, 295-pound blocker from Lewisville, Texas, who is ESPN’s ninth-ranked possibility in the 2025 cycle– ends up being the Sooners’top-ranked prospect in 2025, the program’s first cycle as a member of the SEC.The No. 2 possibility at his position in 2025, per ESPN rankings, Fasusi is Oklahoma’s highest-rated offensive tackle devote of the ESPN rankings era( given that 2006). If Fasusi inks with the Sooners later on this year, he’ll become the 3rd top-10 signee of the Venables era in Norman, following quarterback Jackson Arnold and defensive take on David Stone.Oklahoma sat at No. 12 in ESPN’s latest team rankings for the cycle prior to Fasusi’s promise. With his late-August dedication, the Sooners dive into their first fall in the brand-new conference with a major recruiting win over SEC foes Texas and Texas A&M, and a dosage of positive, late-cycle energy on the trail.Editor’s Picks 2 Related”Me and my family, we sat down, hoped about it and created the best answer,”Fasusi informed ESPN.

“With Oklahoma,

there was no’but.’It was the only choice that had no’however ‘to it. The process was hard, but it became actually easy for me to make this choice in the end.” With an event inside the auditorium at Lewisville High School, Fasusi wrapped up among 2025’s most fiercely contested recruitments. As Fasusi commemorated alongside family wearing a red Oklahoma hat, the celebration likewise marked a turning point in the Nigerian-born take on’s household story.Wednesday marks 5 years from the day Fasusi and his family got here in the United States from Ondo State, Nigeria, eventually landing in Lewisville, approximately 40 minutes north of Dallas.Fasusi’s moms and dads, Ebenezer and Olayemi, moved their family to the United States in search of educational chances for their kids. Football came later on and after that ended up being a pathway for Fasusi. At the time of his commitment, he held almost 40 scholarship offers from Power 4 programs.” My parents strove to make this happen,” Fasusi stated. “It was a truly unusual experience in the beginning. I didn’t get to see why until now. However this chance is what we came here for.”Fasusi’s football journey started as a freshman at Lewisville High.

The next fall, the Dallas Early morning News called him its 6-6A Offensive Newcomer of the Year after his breakout sophomore season in 2022. Soon, Power 4 programs were circling the towering tackle who demonstrated elite

athleticism and raw capacity still just 3 years into his football career.Nearly two years later, Fasusi took official check outs in the spring to Texas A&M, Oklahoma and Texas, along with LSU and Missouri. By August, Fasusi narrowed his finalists to three.Duke was the second major program to make a deal to Fasusi in the fall of 2022, and Mike Elko maintained a deep relationship with him throughout his relocate to Texas A&M late in 2015. Aggies offending line coach Adam Cushing was greatly associated with Fasusi’s recruitment. At Texas, Fasusi was drawn by the resources the Longhorns offered, and he clicked with Steve Sarkisian and offending line coach Kyle Flood.In-state ties tugged heavily on Fasusi, but in the final weeks of his recruitment, Oklahoma– located just 165 miles from home– separated itself from the pack. Sooners offending line coach Expense Bedenbaugh was main in Fasusi’s recruitment, selling an Oklahoma unit that has actually produced 13 NFL draft picks given that he arrived in 2013, including back-to-back first-round offensive deal with choices in Anton Harrison(2023)and Tyler Guyton( 2024 ). Fasusi also kept in mind Venables’pedigree and vision for the Sooners in the SEC, in addition to the program’s distance to home, as other factors in his decision.”He’s an excellent man,”Fasusi stated of Bedenbaugh.”He’s done an amazing task recruiting me and my family, keeping us reaffirmed each and every single time. Oklahoma is the best location from a development viewpoint– they can get me to where I wish to be as a player and an individual.

“With Fasusi in the fold, Oklahoma now holds 2 top-100 dedications in the 2025 class with four-star in-state defensive end C.J. Nickson(No. 97 in the ESPN 300)likewise bound for the Sooners because cycle. Fasusi is Oklahoma’s 11th ESPN 300 pledge in 2025, and he now headings an offending line class set to include four-star offensive take on Ryan Fodje(No. 206 in the ESPN 300)and three-star guards Darius Afalava and Owen Hollenbeck.Fasusi’s pledge leaves just three uncommitted employees amongst the top 10 potential customers in ESPN’s 2025 rankings.Five-star linebacker Jonah Williams, No. 8 in the ESPN 300, is set to reveal his choice this weekend, with Texas, Oregon, Texas A&M, LSU and USC in the mix. Leading defensive tackles Elijah Griffin (No. 5 in the ESPN 300 )and Justus Terry(No. 7)are expected to take their recruitments into the fall.