100 Days to Football Time in Oklahoma: #11 Nik Bonitto By: Ryan Lewis Posted on: September 1, 2020

The Path to Norman

Bonitto’s recruitment was relatively slow for a long time. His athleticism is something that caught the eye of many; in fact, Bonitto had several D1 basketball offers to go with his football offers. Finally, the December before his signing day, Coach Mike Stoops had an in-home visit with the Florida prospect. That visit ended up having a big impact on the linebacker. For a while, it looked like he would announce in December. However, a battle between Louisville, Texas, and Oklahoma had him push the commitment back. At the Under Armour All-American game in January, he announced that he would join the Sooners.

Career So Far

Bonitto was valuable to the Sooners before he ever played a down. As part of the Florida pipeline, his interest in Oklahoma can help spark the same in others. His former teammate at St. Thomas Aquinas High School, CB Jaden Davis, is now a Sooner himself. 

When the 2018 season arrived, Bonitto was able to utilize the new redshirt rule. He appeared in three games, recording three tackles.

The RUSH position was a tough position battle in 2019. Jon-Michael Terry won the starting job in fall camp, but unfortunately suffered a season-ending injury. Following the injury, Bonitto and David Ugwoegbu split snaps at RUSH. Bonitto played in all 14 games, starting in the final eight and finishing sixth on the team in tackles. His biggest play of the year and one of the biggest for the Sooners was the game-ending interception against Baylor.

Current Profile

Position: Outside Linebacker

Height: 6’3”

Weight: 238

Year: Redshirt Sophomore

Stats

Stats via Soonersports.com 

Highlights

2020 Season

The RUSH spot is one of the most packed with talent this season; Bonitto, Terry, and Joseph Wete will all battle for playing time – Ugwoegbu seems to be settling in at inside backer this season. With Bonitto starting throughout the second half of last season, he will be hard to beat out. Super K even mentioned just last week that someone gave some really high praise of Nik, indicating a breakout year may be in store. Look for Bonitto to earn the starting job and have a big seas