Breaking down the Red River Rivalry rosters
One of the best rivalries in all of sports will be played Saturday when Texas meets Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry. The Sooners have won four-straight and seven of the last 10 in this matchup but the Longhorns are favored by about a touchdown heading into the weekend.
Here is a breakdown by star ranking of each roster.
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CLASS OF 2023 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
CLASS OF 2024 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
CLASS OF 2025 RANKINGS: Rivals100
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FIVE-STARS
OKLAHOMA: 2 | TEXAS: 4
Overview: Bijan Robinson is one of the best players in college football and has more than backed up his ranking in the Longhorns’ backfield. So far this season, the No. 1 all-purpose back in the 2020 class has rushed for eight touchdowns in five games. Quinn Ewers was the top-ranked prospect in the 2021 class and after transferring from Ohio State to Texas earned the starting job and could return from injury this weekend. Ja'Tavion Sanders was the No. 1 athlete in the 2021 class and someone who could’ve played tight end or defensive end. For the Longhorns this season, Sanders has caught 20 passes for 212 yards and tied for a team-high with three scores.
After missing nearly the entire 2021 season because of injury, Theo Wease is back and an important target in Oklahoma’s offense so far. The No. 3 receiver in the 2019 class, Wease is second on the Sooners with 11 catches for 195 yards and two scores this season. Ranked as the second-best outside linebacker in the 2021 class behind Alabama’s Dallas Turner, Clayton Smith has yet to make a major impact in Oklahoma’s defense yet.
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FOUR-STARS
OKLAHOMA: 46 | TEXAS: 46
Overview: The amount of four-stars making huge impacts on both Texas and Oklahoma is pretty extraordinary. From quarterback Hudson Card to receivers Jordan Whittington and Xavier Worthy to offensive lineman Kelvin Banks to Demarion Overshown, Jerrin Thompson and Anthony Cook on defense, the Longhorns have many four-star contributors.
There has clearly been a debate about Kelvin Banks losing his fifth star following a poor performance at the Under Armour game before he came to Austin and whether it was an overreaction to one unsteady week, especially since he has already earned a starting job on the offensive line, but that can only be determined which side was right in the coming years.
Oklahoma’s top three running backs – Eric Gray, Jovantae Barnes and Marcus Major – were all four-star recruits. In the 2020 class, Marvin Mims was a fringe Rivals250 receiver who finished No. 47 in the position rankings, which was clearly far too low considering his output in Norman. Leading tackler David Ugwoegbu was a four-star athlete outside the Rivals250 in the 2019 class.
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THREE-STARS
OKLAHOMA: 31 | TEXAS: 28
Overview: Texas’ Jaylan Ford was a low three-star linebacker from Frisco (Texas) Lone Star who didn’t receive offers from Oklahoma or Oklahoma State but is now the top tackler by far on the Longhorns’ defense. For the Sooners, tight end Brayden Willis, who also had only a handful of other Power Five offers, leads the team with four receiving touchdowns. Former three-star linebacker Danny Stutsman out of Winter Garden (Fla.) Foundation Academy is second on Oklahoma with 42 tackles.