Texas Football: 3 times OU flipped a key Longhorns commit

Ron Tatum, DE

The name on this list that was the least consequential to either program that was flipped from Texas to Oklahoma was the former blue chip recruit and Oklahoma City, OK, native strong-side defensive end Ron Tatum. Texas was the first school that originally landed a commitment from the Putnam City High School product.

It was back in April 2017 that the Longhorns originally landed a commitment out of the 6-foot-5 and 270 pound potent defensive end Tatum. But it only took two months for head coach Lincoln Riley and the Sooners to flip the commitment of Tatum in their favor. A plethora of attention on the recruiting trail, including numerous coach, unofficial, and official visits, prior to and during his commitment to Texas eventually led to Oklahoma flipping him to their 2018 class.

Moreover, the main reason why Tatum made this list in the first place was that he played an integral role in the original configuration of Oklahoma’s 2018 class. He didn’t really do much at all for the Sooners following his flip back in June 2017, but it is noteworthy that this happened in the first place.

It was former Oklahoma defensive coordinator Mike Stoops and defensive line coach Calvin Thibodeaux that put in the effort to flip Tatum’s commitment from the Longhorns.

Since he committed to Oklahoma during the 2018 recruiting cycle, Tatum has yet to find one landing spot that sticks. He didn’t play in any actual snaps of game action for the Sooners. He wound up eventually enrolling at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M JUCO and is now signed to play for the UTSA Roadrunners with their 2021 class.