Oklahoma Football Recruiting: Power Ranking the Last 5 Recruiting Seasons

With the 2012 recruiting class signed and spring practice underway, it's time to analyze the job Bob Stoops has done bringing in the top recruits over the past five years.

Which recruiting classes were overrated? Which were underrated? Did all the big time recruits pan out and stick around?

The class of 2012 featured some notable recruits including 5-star wide receiver Trey Metoyer. Where does that place the 2012 class?

The pursuit for the class of 2013 is already underway with a number of the top targets still available.

Let's take a deeper look back over the previous five recruiting classes and rank where the coaching staff succeeded and where they misfired.

5. 2011 Class

Notable Recruits: RB Brandon Williams, DE Nathan Hughes, DT Jordan Phillips, MLB Kellen Jones and WR Kameel Jackson

The 2011 class had all the makings to be one of the best recruiting classes in Bob Stoops' era.

Unfortunately, this class was all about the ones that got away.

Five-star recruit Trey Metoyer had originally signed to be apart of the 2011 class, but because of ineligibility issues was unable to enroll at Oklahoma for the 2011 school year.

Brandon Williams, another 5-star recruit, joined the team and saw limited playing time at running back throughout the 2011 as a true freshman. Ultimately he decided to transfer to Texas A&M during the offseason.

Linebacker Kellen Jones also saw limited time in the 2011 season, but decided Oklahoma was not the place for him and left the program as well.

Defensive linemen Nathan Hughes and Jordan Phillips both red-shirted during the 2011 season and look to work their way into the rotation during 2012 and beyond.

Wide receiver Kameel Jackson saw a burst in playing time towards the end of the 2011 season as injuries and other issues began to spread the Sooners wide receiver corps thin.

Missing out on three of your top recruits lands this recruiting class in the fifth spot among the recruiting classes over the past five years.

5-star Recruits: 2
4-star Recruits: 7
3-star Recruits: 8

(Courtesy of Rivals.com)

4. 2012 Class

Notable Recruits: WR Trey Metoyer, WR Courtney Gardner, WR Durron Neal, OL Will Latu and C Ty Darlington

The 2012 class could easily be referred to as the year of the wide receiver.

The Sooners made no secret that they were in need of some top level wide receivers and went out and got them.

Five-star wide receiver Trey Metoyer was able get his academics in order to officially join the team as part of the 2012 class and has already been turning heads during spring practice.

Junior college stand-out Courtney Gardner also joins the wide receiver ranks and looks poised to jump right into the starting rotation.

Durron Neal is another explosive wide receiver coming in hoping to crack the rotation. He is a top 10 receiver coming out of the 2012 class and will definitely add to the much needed depth the Sooners were lacking.

Offensive lineman Will Latu is another major junior college coup for the Sooners as he ranked as one of the top linemen in the nation. Latu will be competing for for a starting job on the offensive line and is most likely to land in at right tackle.

The Sooners only signed one center in the 2012 class, but they made sure it was a good one. Ty Darlington ranked in as the second best center in the land out of the 2012 class. With the center position currently filled with upperclassmen, Darlington will have a real chance at starting in the next year or two.

5-star Recruits: 1
4-star Recruits: 11
3-star Recruits: 13

(Courtesy of Rivals.com)

3. 2009 Class

Notable Recruits: LB Ronnell Lewis, DT Jamarkus McFarland, LB Tom Wort, DB Demontre Hurst and CB Gabe Lynn

The 2009 class featured a number of impact players on the defensive side of the ball.

Ronnell Lewis was recruited as a linebacker, but ended up spending the majority of his time as a defensive end. One of the biggest impact players on the 2011 Sooner squad, Lewis decided to forgo his senior year and enter the NFL draft.

Jamarkus McFarland finally got his chance to shine in 2011 and looks to be the anchor of the defensive line heading into 2012.

Linebackers Tom Wort and Jaydan Bird were also part of the 2009 class. Wort had the daunting task of trying to fill the shoes of the late Austin Box in 2011 and stepped up tremendously. Wort will return for his junior season and looks to build off the breakout season he had last year.

Defensive backs Demontre Hurst, Javon Harris and Gabe Lynne were all brought in to beef up the Sooners secondary. Each saw noticeable playing time last season, while Hurst emerged as a lockdown cornerback.

Wide receivers Jaz Reynolds and junior college transfer Cameron Kenney also joined the Sooners in 2009. Kenney was instrumental down the stretch in 2010 having big games against Oklahoma State, Nebraska and Connecticut. Reynolds returns as a starter from last season and hopes to continue to improve in 2012.

5-star Recruits: 0
4-star Recruits: 11
3-star Recruits: 11

(Courtesy of Rivals.com)

2. 2008 Class

Notable Recruits: QB Landry Jones, DE R.J. Washington, RB Jermie Calhoun, DT Stacey McGee and DE David King

The 2008 class featured three of the four projected starters on the 2012 defensive line.

Oh, there was also that Landry Jones guy, too.

Landry Jones came in as a highly touted quarterback prospect and red-shirted during the 2008 season which saw Sam Bradford claim the Heisman Trophy as just a sophomore. Jones was thrust into the first game of the year in 2009 after Bradford went down with an injury and has been the starter ever since (outside of Bradford's short-lived comeback attempt against Texas later that year). He returns in 2012 for his final year with a number of Sooners passing records already to his name.

Five-star running back Jermie Calhoun came to Oklahoma with high expectations, but never really panned out. He saw action sparingly during his first two seasons, but ended up transferring at the beginning of the 2011 season after walk-on Dominique Whaley emerged as the starter.

Defensive linemen R.J. Washington, Stacey McGee, David King and Casey Walker all came in together and are all looking forward to dominant senior seasons.

Center Ben Habern was also part of the 2008 class and has been a staple on the offensive line over the years and looks to anchor a veteran unit up front in 2012.

Rounding out the class of 2008 was former wide receiver Dejuan Miller and current punter Tress Way.

5-star Recruits: 3
4-star Recruits: 12
3-star Recruits: 5

(Courtesy of Rivals.com)

1. 2010 Class

Notable Recruits: QB Blake Bell, DB Tony Jefferson, WR Kenny Stills, RB Brennan Clay and RB Roy Finch

2010 was a pivotal year in Sooner nation that featured one of the best incoming freshman classes the school had ever seen.

Despite Rivals.com refusing to name any of the recruits in the Sooners 2010 class with the coveted "5-star" tag, the coaching staff had done their homework and knew who they wanted.

The "Cali Trio" consisting of Tony Jefferson, Kenny Stills and Brennan Clay were all highly recruited prospects from the state of California that banded together and signed with Oklahoma.

With each seeing varying levels of playing time as true freshmen, they have all been very vocal in their roles as leaders on the team heading in 2012. While Clay is stuck in the thick of a position battle at running back, Jefferson and Stills are both at the top of the ladder at their respective positions.

Blake Bell, now famous as the driving force behind the "Belldozer" short yardage package, was also a huge coup among the class of 2010 recruits. His signing was praised as the next great Sooners quarterback arriving in Norman, but with Landry Jones returning in 2012, we will have to wait at least one more year to see if Bell is able to fully take over the Sooner offense.

Roy Finch also came into Norman in 2010 and immediately saw extended playing time as a true freshman behind DeMarco Murray. He displayed some incredible balance during multiple runs in his freshman year exciting Sooner nation for his return in 2011. Dominique Whaley ended up beating out Finch for the starting job in 2011, but Finch took over as the starter mid-way through the season after Whaley went down with an injury. Look for Finch to resume his positional battle with Whaley in 2012.

Those are the most notable recruits, but we haven't even begun to scratch the surface on the sheer amount of depth this 2010 class provided.

Linebacker Corey Nelson is targeted to be the the starting weakside linebacker in 2012 with another 2010 recruit, Aaron Franklin, set to back him up.

Aaron Colvin is poised to return as one of the starting safeties in the Sooners secondary alongside Tony Jefferson.

Trey Millard transitioned from a high school tight end to a stand-out fullback for the Sooners.

Offensive linemen Bronson Irwin, Tyrus Thompson, Adam Shead and Daryll Williams all provided a great deal of depth on the line and could easily see increased amount of playing time in 2012.

Defensive back Quentin Hayes hopes to crack into the rotation at safety in 2012 while defensive ends Chuka Ndulue and Geneo Grissom are poised to do the same on the D-line.

While there are still a handful of other recruits part of the 2010 class who contributed to the Sooners at some point already during their collegiate careers, I think it's safe to say that the class of 2010 was the best over the course of the last five years.

5-star Recruits: 0
4-star Recruits: 16
3-star Recruits: 13

(Courtesy of Rivals.com)