Sting Factor: WR Luther Burden backs off Oklahoma pledge

When a major program loses a key recruit, Rivals.com takes a look at how big of a blow it is to the respective school, analyzing it from a local and national level. To quantify the “sting” of each decommitment, we assign a score from one to 10, with one being no big deal and 10 being a catastrophic hit.

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Luther Burden is the No. 1 wide receiver in the 2022 class, and he had been committed to Oklahoma since October 2020.

But on Tuesday, the five-star from East St. Louis, Ill., backed off that pledge following months of rumors that Missouri had made serious in-roads in his recruitment and that Georgia was now becoming a major player for Burden as well.

There was really no secret that Burden was showing interest in other schools. He had taken trips to Columbia and Athens and had seen other schools as well as part of a summer tour.

Some believed, though, that the five-star receiver was going to make his flirtations with other programs but that Oklahoma was where he would end up and that he could be one of the next star receivers in Norman.

That now looks like it won’t happen as the word is that Burden is focused almost exclusively on Missouri and Georgia moving forward in his recruitment.

Oklahoma has one of the best offenses in the country, a phenomenal offensive mind in coach Lincoln Riley and a stable of quarterbacks from Spencer Rattler this season to Caleb Williams to 2023 commit Malachi Nelson, and they should make the Sooners’ offense hum in the coming years.

Even still, Oklahoma has now lost commitments from five-star Burden, four-star receiver Talyn Shettron (who is now pledged to Oklahoma State) and four-star Jordan Hudson, who is now committed to SMU.

“The only thing lacking in the sting here is true unbridled surprise. This has been a move that's been rumored for a while now, so I don't think anyone was entirely caught off guard. There's just no denying that when you lose a player of Burden’s talent and status it is a detriment to all you are trying to accomplish. Mix in that he was the last standing member of what once looked like a potentially elite wide receiver class and it's just salt in the wound of an already tough day for Oklahoma.” - Josh McCuisition, SoonerScoop.com

Sting Factor: 9

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“The Oklahoma offense provides receivers every opportunity to shine and showcase their abilities, and it’s honestly kind of bewildering why top-notch recruits would turn it down. I can understand if this was a distance thing, but then why not just flip to Missouri, which is two hours away, and why still look at Georgia? Is this being drawn to playing in the SEC on the biggest stage and potentially making more NIL money from that situation? That seems like a stretch since Oklahoma football is in the spotlight as much as any program in the country. Losing Burden, Shettron and Hudson over the course of a few recruiting classes would hurt. Having it all happen at once is really tough, especially since there isn’t a plethora of uncommitted receivers left. The Sooners might have to work the transfer portal harder or try to flip some guys or get some new targets that weren’t on the radar before. The good thing is hardly any program in the country has more to sell than Oklahoma when it comes to offensive production. It’s just shocking and a little strange that so many receivers have decided to go elsewhere, especially Burden, who could have been the focal point of the Sooners’ offense for years to come.” - Adam Gorney, Rivals National Recruiting Director

Sting Factor: 8