Oklahoma Sooners

NORMAN, Okla. -- With four practices in the books and spring break upon us, spring football is in its early stages at Oklahoma.

Already, however, there are murmurs of a spring star emerging in Norman for the Sooners.

“Cortez Johnson has been a big surprise,” cornerbacks coach Bobby Jack Wright said. “I love the way he’s been working, his work ethic has been great. He’s a guy that wants to be good, he listens, he pays attention and tries to do everything we ask him to do.”

A transfer from Arizona, Johnson brings unique size to the cornerback position at 6-foot-2, 198 pounds. Johnson has been impressive early this spring, making it known that he plans to be a major contributor on OU’s defense.

With Demontre Hurst completing his eligibility after starting the last three seasons at cornerback, Johnson is staking claim to the starting spot opposite returning All-Big 12 cornerback Aaron Colvin. Redshirt freshman Zack Sanchez and walkon Brandon Young have been battling Johnson for the job but neither player has ignited the rave reviews from teammates and coaches like Johnson has.

“He’s made more plays and batted more balls down, just in four practices, than we’ve probably had around here the past two years,” Wright said.

Johnson, a redshirt sophomore, has a combination of ball skills, long arms and overall athleticism which could help him be up to the task if he wins the starting job and opponents decide to test him instead of challenging Colvin.

“Cortez is a big, physical guy,” Colvin said. “He’s really strong at the line of scrimmage.”

Sophomore receiver Sterling Shepard, who battles Johnson regularly in practices, has become a believer during his one-on-one matchups with the transfer.

“He’s a great corner,” Shepard said. “Cortez has long arms. He can break up some stuff you don’t even think he can break up but his arms are so long, he’ll end up getting it.”

With Wright transitioning from coaching defensive ends to coaching cornerbacks, he sees Johnson as a player with tremendous upside if his work ethic remains high. Otherwise, the Sooners have multiple newcomers, including February signee Stanvon Taylor (Tulsa, Okla/East Central), who could amp up the competition opposite Colvin and seize Johnson’s opportunity to start at that spot.

“He’s got the physical stature,” Wright said of Johnson. “What he has to do now is continue [improving] his technique.”

As teams will undoubtedly be hesitant to test his side, Colvin knows the Sooners defense is going to need a quality cornerback on the other side of the field. And what he’s seen from Johnson leads him to believe the lanky cover man can be the guy.

“He’s been really good,” Colvin said. “I’m probably the hardest on Cortez. And he probably doesn’t like that sometimes, but he’s going to be special.”

After recruiting them for several months, Oklahoma's coaching staff finally was able to talk publicly about the players the Sooners added to the program on signing day. Over the next week or so, SoonerNation will review some of the key things coaches had to say about the players signed at each position group during their signing day webcast on Soonersports.com.

Tulsa (Okla.) East Central cornerback Stanvon Taylor drew unparalleled praise from the Oklahoma coaching staff on signing day, as they raved about the versatility and upside of the No. 199-ranked recruit in the ESPN300.

"People were talking about how Stanvon could be a receiver, but you love it when a corner has receiver-type ball skills to go after the ball," head coach Bob Stoops said. "He reminds us very much of Aaron Colvin, just the athlete that he is. We believe he is special. We are excited about Stanvon at corner. He is a great athlete and will play for us early.”

The Sooners would be giddy if Taylor matches Colvin's career path. Colvin starred at Owasso (Okla.) High School before playing cornerback early in his true freshman year in 2010 and leading the Sooners in tackles as a sophomore safety in 2011. Colvin returned to cornerback and earned All-Big 12 honors as a junior and decided to return for his senior season earlier this year.

Taylor has the versatility and ball skills to remind people of Colvin, and his talents could be needed immediately as the Sooners look to replace three starters in their secondary.

"We’re projecting him to come in and solidify our depth at the position," defensive coordinator Mike Stoops said. "I can’t say enough about this guy. He’s going to play corner for us and I think he has a chance to be a special player, an Aaron Colvin-type player, they’re very similar in their styles and versatility as players. He has all the qualities you want to be a superstar, [he's] your prototypical cover corner."

There were questions about what position Taylor would play at OU but both Bob and Mike Stoops made it very clear they expect Taylor to line up on the defensive side of the ball. Yet that didn't keep OU's offensive coaches from noticing the talent he brings to the program.

“A lot of people in our profession say he might be the best in our class when it’s all said and done,” running backs coach Cale Gundy said.

NORMAN, Okla. -- Anyone who watched Oklahoma’s defense in the final four games of the season knows that the Sooners were in dire need of help in the secondary and along the defensive line. West Virginia’s Tavon Austin and Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel torched the Sooners’ defense on their way to record-breaking performances, as OU had no answer for the dynamic playmakers.

The Sooners hope they’ve addressed those needs with their defensive line and secondary signees in the Class of 2013 and will see immediate dividends on the field this fall.

“You’re never going to get everyone you want but we feel like we’ve helped ourselves in some critical areas,” defensive coordinator Mike Stoops said.

Cornerback Stanvon Taylor (Tulsa, Okla./East Central) joins safeties Ahmad Thomas (Miami, Fla./Central) and Hatari Byrd (Fresno, Calif./Central East) as signees who appear poised to step right in and play in the secondary. Taylor, in particular, drew a lot of praise from Mike Stoops while drawing comparisons to All-Big 12 cornerback Aaron Colvin from OU head coach Bob Stoops on signing day.

“We’re projecting him to come in and solidify that corner position for us,” Mike Stoops said. “I can’t say enough about this guy, he has all the qualities you want in a superstar.”

Yet those impact signees in the secondary won’t mean much if the Sooners cannot solidify their defensive front. To that end, OU signed seven defensive linemen (four defensive tackles, three defensive ends) on Wednesday, with junior college transfer Quincy Russell (Athens, Texas/Trinity Valley) looming as the biggest potential impact player along the defensive interior.

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Welcome to SoonerNation's live coverage of national signing day for the Oklahoma Sooners. We'll be with you throughout the day providing up-to-the minute updates on OU's class of 2013.

Watch live coverage on ESPNU | Talk signing day on our SoonerNation forum | OU class

Follow the live blog after the jump.

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Oklahoma's top commits have all signed their letters of intent and are locked in to becoming future Sooners. Here's who Oklahoma's bringing in from our ESPN 300, the list of the nation's top 300 prospects:

• No. 27: Keith Ford, RB, Cypress, Texas
• No. 137: D.J. Ward, DE, Moore, Okla. (signed in December, early enrollee)
• No. 178: Cody Thomas, QB-PP, Colleyville, Texas
• No. 199: Stanvon Taylor, ATH, Tulsa, Okla.
• No. 240: Dannon Cavil, WR, San Antonio, Texas (signed in December, early enrollee)
• No. 284: Matt Dimon, DE, Katy, Texas
• No. 293: Hatari Byrd, S, Fresno, Calif.

Not many surprises for the Sooners, though Dimon had some power issues at his high school and couldn't get his letter of intent to the Oklahoma coaches until 8:48 a.m. Oklahoma's class is at No. 20 in the ESPN class rankings, the same spot it began the day. Byrd also made headlines last month when word surfaced that coaches had told him he's likely going to be able to start at safety from the moment he gets on campus. Very interesting stuff. Oklahoma signed a lot of high-quality defensive talent in this class, as you can see, and Taylor is likely to play cornerback for the Sooners.

Mostly a drama-free day across the Big 12 on the recruiting trail.

Back in June at Oklahoma’s camp, there was one defensive back who stood out above the rest. On almost every single snap he was out there, onlookers were asking who was that making those plays?

The recruit in question was cornerback Dakota Austin (Lancaster, Texas/Lancaster). Austin’s ability to lock down receivers made him a star during the summer. But a week before signing day, Austin still hadn’t found a home.

Now, he’s going back to Norman, Okla. During his official visit to OU, he confirmed Saturday morning he has committed to the Sooners. Austin didn’t have an offer going into the visit. But once he got the offer, the choice was made simple.

Austin was sensational at OU’s camp and one of the highlights of the event was Austin going against ESPN Watch List wide receiver K.D. Cannon (Mount Pleasant, Texas/Mount Pleasant).

There was no questioning Austin’s cover skills. The question has always been about his size. Measured at 5-foot-10 and 149 pounds, there's no doubt Austin is a bit light in frame.

But OU coaches are trusting their eyes. OU quarterbacks coach Josh Heupel told Austin when he left the camp to not commit anywhere without getting in touch with the Sooners first.

Austin never committed and a spot opened up at OU. Simply put, the pieces came together. Austin chose OU over offers from New Mexico, Nevada and UTEP.

Austin is OU’s 22^nd commitment for the class and the second cornerback. He joins ESPN 300 athlete Stanvon Taylor (Tulsa, Okla./East Central) as the other pledge so far for OU’s class.

The Sooners are still pursuing two four-star cornerbacks leading up to signing day in ESPN 300 athlete Adrian Baker (Hollywood, Fla./Chaminade-Madonna) and cornerback L.J. Moore (Fresno, Calif./Central East).

Said OU commit Dominique Alexander (Tulsa, Okla./Booker T. Washington) on Austin’s commitment via Twitter: “Say what you want on rankings and stuff. But Dakota Austin is Cold. That boy Lockdown. Good Pick Up.”

Alexander was at the same camp as Austin at OU in June.