4-star Oklahoma commit Brendan Radley-Hiles is a short DB who packs a heavy punch

Brendan Radley-Hiles is listed at a shade less than 5’9. (He’s at 5’8.5, to be specific.) He’s also the seventh-ranked cornerback in college football’s 2018 recruiting class, according to the 247Sports Composite, and a top-50 player nationally. The California native committed to Oklahoma on Saturday, after decommitting from Nebraska in October.

Radley-Hiles, whose nickname is Bookie, currently plays at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. He’s an elite athlete with experience at receiver and punt returner as well as corner. His punt returning prowess will give him another case to play immediately in the 2018 season.

Radley-Hiles models his game after Sean Taylor, the former Miami and Washington safety who died in 2007.

“I love his game, the fear that he strikes in people’s hearts,” Radley-Hiles says. He also borrows from NFLers Tyrann Mathieu, Joe Haden, and Jason Verrett.

Radley-Hiles says he’s a “controlled, sneaky savage.”

His athleticism and physicality have earned him at least 36 reported offers, including ones from Alabama, Ohio State, Michigan, Florida, and USC. Radley-Hiles could play more or less anywhere.

Radley-Hiles was part of what’s informally known as the “Calibraska” pipeline, an influx of Golden State prospects to head to Lincoln. Nebraska had multiple California players in its recruiting class. This is a big deal for Nebraska, which isn’t itself located in a great recruiting state. But it’s unclear what will happen to the pipeline moving forward.

Former Huskers coach Mike Riley came into the job from Oregon State, a Pac-12 school that relies heavily on the West Coast for talent. The school and staff have a couple of other ties to the state, too. Under Scott Frost, we’ll see which direction it goes.

As for Radley-Hiles, his future is clear.