Oklahoma Recruiting: 7 Things Sooners Are Hoping for on National Signing Day

National Signing Day is only a few days away, but for most schools, it still seems like an eternity. Every coaching staff is frantically jet-setting around the country making last-minute visits to recruits, hoping their efforts aren't in vein.

The Oklahoma Sooners are no different. Things have been extra wacky around Norman due to the poorly-timed coaching change that saw Brent Venables and Willie Martinez go while Mike Stoops and Tim Kish arrived, all within the final two weeks of the recruiting period.

Despite the relatively strong list of verbal commitments so far, the Sooners' staff will have their fingers crossed come Feb. 1, hoping for a little well-earned luck.

No More Bad Apples

After a tumultuous season that saw numerous players quit the team, head coach Bob Stoops and his new-look staff are hoping they got rid of all the bad apples in the group.

The revolt left the team painfully thin at key positions like running back and tight end, only aiding in keeping the team from reaching their lofty preseason expectations.

Now that it seems all the bad attitudes have been snuffed out (no new transfers in weeks!), the staff will be extra cautious to not bring anymore cancerous players into the locker room.

I imagine it is next to impossible to get to know an 18-year-old kid that well through a few home visits and phone calls, but hopefully, the Sooners have learned a thing or two in the process and can avoid costly mishaps like this in the future.

More West Coast Flavor

In an attempt to take advantage of the national brand they have built in Norman, the Sooners have been casting their recruiting net over a much broader area the last few seasons.

Their efforts have been paying big dividends on the West Coast, as the Sooners have landed several big names over the years. The pipeline opened a few years back in Nevada with Ryan Reynolds, Demarco Murray and Quinton Carter.

The 2010 class brought a trio of So-Cal stars in Kenny Stills, Tony Jefferson and Brennan Clay, all expected to make a big impact on next year's squad.

The Sooners have continued the trend this year, landing verbal commitments from two California guys, WR Derrick Woods and TE Taylor McNamara, while being right in the mix with other top West Coast recruits like OT Zach Bannon, CB Brandon Beaver and RB Damien Williams.

Oklahoma's newest member of the coaching staff, former Arizona defensive coach Tim Kish, greatly increases OU's presence out west. McNamara followed him to Norman from Arizona, and Kish already has the eigth-ranked player in the country, ATH Davonte Neal, considering Oklahoma over the likes of Notre Dame and Ohio State. 

Instant Impact

The defense's two-deep is pretty much wrapped up for next year, but the makeup of the skill positions for the offense next season is as wide open as it has been in a long time.

The six offensive transfers last season (three RB, two WR, one TE) and the lack of production after Dom Whaley and Ryan Broyles went down means the Sooners have both the opportunity and the need for some of the 2012 recruits to make an instant impact next year.

Trey Metoyer, Durron Neal and Sterling Shepard are all receivers who have the ability to work their way into the mix in 2012, while running backs Alex Ross and Damien Williams will provide much needed competition at a very thin position.

Given the fact that there is currently only one tight end on the roster, the three tight-end recruits, Taylor McNamara, Laith Harlow and JUCO transfer Brannon Green, will likely all see action next season and impact the team.

The Big Fish

Oklahoma, being one of the top football programs in the country, has always had the prestige to bring in the best of the best. Last year, it was Brandon Williams (No. 35 overall), in 2010, it was Tony Jefferson (No. 22 overall) and in 2008 it was Jermie Calhoun (No. 7 overall).

Bringing in highly-touted players like these not only bolsters your roster with big-time talent (unless, of course, they transfer), but it also sends a message to future recruits that this is a program worth committing to.

The 2012 class is fairly strong from top to bottom, but is lacking a real difference-maker. The Sooners have been going hard at 6'6" wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham, considered the nation's top undecided recruit, for well over a year now, but it looks like Stoops is going to come up just short. 

Davonte Neal (No. 8 overall) recently added OU to his short list, but when a school comes into the race this late, it rarely wins. Oklahoma is hoping for a big surprise on Wednesday, but might be left out in the cold.

Losing out on top guys hurts a program far beyond the roster, however. The top recruits often require much more attention from the coaching staff, and if those efforts aren't met with a letter of intent, valuable time has been wasted that could have been spent on other recruits.

No More Decommitts

Any time there is a coaching change in college football, recruiting is always affected. Coaches spend time getting to know recruits for years and are often the main reason a kid decides on a school.

So you can imagine that if that coach decides (or is told) to leave, you might not be so interested anymore.

When Brent Venables and Willie Martinez left OU this month, the Sooners lost two valuable defensive backs in their 2012 class. Kevin Peterson and DaVonte Harris both decommitted, citing the coaching change as the main reason. This forced the Sooners to replace them with lower-rated recruits.

It seems most of the turmoil is over with, but the Sooners will be hoping no one else decides to jump ship on the big day and they can put this recruiting season behind them.

More Defensive Depth

If the recruiting process were to end today, only four of the 18 commitments for the Sooners play defense, and none of them are rated higher than three stars. Considering the fact that 15 senior defenders graduate after next season, this class is far too short in that department.

The coaching staff has been putting in overtime trying to find more defensive recruits, especially since Mike Stoops and Tim Kish arrived in Norman within the last couple weeks.

Reports have them making some headway with a few new guys, but the Sooners will have their fingers crossed on National Signing Day that they win several close recruiting battles in an effort to avoid any drop-offs in the near future.

A High Ranking

Ranking recruiting classes the day after National Signing Day is about as arbitrary as it gets, but that darn number is still important—especially for Oklahoma's 2012 class.

After the most disappointing 10-win season of all-time, a slew of transfers and a small dose of turmoil within the coaching staff, the last thing the Sooners need is a "bad" recruiting class.

With seemingly all the momentum headed in the wrong direction, a class ranked outside the top 10 would only make things worse, giving off the impression that Bob Stoops still doesn't have things straightened out.

A class with that all-important "Top 10" moniker, however, could be just what the program needs to sweep last season under the rug and get back to owning the Big 12.