A season-ending injury sparked a dramatic rankings slide for the Fort Gibson standout, leaving scouts divided on his elite status as he prepares for life with Sooners Football
Cooper Hackett, the big offensive tackle from Fort Gibson who flipped from Texas Tech to Oklahoma last September as a consensus five-star, has officially lost his fifth star on 247Sports.
In their latest recruiting rankings released this week, Hackett took a massive tumble, dropping a staggering 74 spots. He now sits at No. 115 overall and is listed as the No. 17 offensive tackle in the 2027 class.
The timing is brutal.
Hackett just underwent surgery and will miss his entire senior season, meaning he won’t have any more game film to push his stock back up before the early signing period in December.
That lack of production this fall is clearly the main reason for the drop.
Last April, 247 had him ranked as high as No. 9 overall in the country and the top offensive tackle. After committing to OU, he dropped to No. 29 in October, then to No. 41 in March, and now this latest big slide.
It creates some real disparity in how Hackett is viewed.
Rivals has stayed relatively steady on him, still listing the 6-foot-7, 260-pounder as a five-star, barely, at No. 32 overall in their rankings. He’s still the No. 2 OT and the top player in Oklahoma on Rivals.
But on 247, he’s now ranked behind his own future OU teammates Gabriel Osborne Jr. and Kaeden Penny. Hackett will likely lose five-star status across the board soon because of the missed senior year.
Still, let’s keep some perspective here.
Hackett has everything you want in a high school recruiting gem. He’s a legitimate freak athlete at 6’7 and 260 pounds who also dominates on the basketball court.
He’s got a great head on his shoulders and comes from a solid program. Once he gets to Norman, he’ll be developed by one of the best offensive line coaching duos in the country in Bill Bedenbaugh and Kevin Wilson.
He’ll also get to share a room and learn from former five-star Michael Fasusi while going up against one of the most talented defensive lines in college football every single day in practice.
Missing his senior season is unfortunate, but it doesn’t change the traits that made him a five-star in the first place. Big, long, athletic offensive tackles with his kind of frame and basketball background tend to develop well once they get into a college strength program.
The 2027 class as a whole is still in great shape.
Oklahoma remains in the top three among recruiting classes on the 247 Composite with 22 commitments, and Hackett is still a foundational piece of that group.
These ranking swings happen all the time, especially when injuries wipe out a senior year.
Hackett has a real chance to be a long-term starter for the Sooners. He just needs time to heal up and put in the work in Norman.
The tools are there. This is one of those deals where you trust the evaluation the OU staff made when they went hard after him last year.
They saw the upside, and they still believe in it.
