Weekend Open Post | June 6th – 8th
Posted on: June 6, 2025
Official Visitor List | June 6th
– Charlie S – Posted on: June 4, 2025
Below you will find our working list of expected Official Visitors that the Sooners are planning to host this weekend.
All of the visits listed are scheduled to be official visits.
Just because you do not see a target listed at this time, it does not mean they do not plan on visiting.
As always, this list can, and will, change as there will be additions and subtractions.
You can see the changes from our original official visits working list from a couple weeks ago HERE.
QB Bowe Bentley – Celina, TX
WR Dallas Dickerson – Bogart, GA
WR Davian Groce – Frisco, TX
WR Jayden Petit – Naples, FL
TE Tyler Ruxer – Lincoln City, IN
OL Noah Best – Midlothian, TX
OL Desmond Green – Saint Stephen, SC
OT Deacon Schmitt – Windsor, CO
DT Tavian Branch – Taylor, PA
DT Elijah Golden – Sarasota, FL
EDGE Matthew Nelson – Bryant, AR
LB Braxton Lindsey – Rogers, AR
LB Jakore Smith – Little Rock, AR – OU Commit
CB Derrick Johnson – Murrieta, CA
CB Danny Odem – Orlando, FL
Visitor Notes Heading Into the Weekend
– Charlie S – Posted on: June 5, 2025
Offensive Visitors
QB Bowe Bentley – Celina, TX – LSU vs OU – The Tigers put on a hard press last week as they had their shot with an OV from Bentley and his family. Sounds like LSU gave the Bentleys a lot to think about, but they couldn’t close the deal (despite their best efforts), and the Bentleys’ plan to visit Norman before announcing any final decision remained intact. OU has the chance to regain the momentum here before Bentley informs either staff of his decision. At this point, I am not moving off my lean toward OU for Bentley when all is said and done.
WR Dallas Dickerson – Bogart, GA – Kentucky, OU, Wisconsin, Indiana – Dickerson was a post Jim Nagy offer, which means he has the green light from the OU staff to commit, and he is a priority target. Dickerson will get a chance to interact with Bentley and the Sooners will do their best to convince him that he does not need to take the additional visits remaining on his schedule, which has Indiana set to receive the last visit. Indiana would be the team to keep an eye on as he has some connections to the program
WR Davian Groce – Frisco, TX – OU, Florida, Houston, Baylor – Groce has long been on the Sooners radar, and he was a pre-Nagy offer who has stayed on the target list following Nagy’s reevaluation of the class. OU gets the first shot on the OV schedule, and it feels like Baylor, which has the last visit scheduled, is the main competition for OU.
WR Jayden Petit – Naples, FL – Wisconsin already hosted Petit, OU hosts him this week and then UNC and Miami have scheduled visits from the talented WR still on the docket in June. FSU and Florida are also still in the picture for the Sunshine State stud. OU has been pressing hard behind the scenes just to get him on campus, and they are hoping to make a big move this weekend with the official visit.
TE Tyler Ruxer – Lincoln City, IN – OU threw their hat in the ring less than a month ago and they immediately entered the picture as a legit contender. Ruxer has already taken OVs to Northwestern and Duke. Following his OU visit, he has stops planned for Minnesota and West Virginia, and the home state Purdue Boilermakers are in his top 6 as well. Ruxer has a planned commitment date of July 7th, so I do not see him as a guy who would announce anything this week, but I do expect OU to position itself at the top of the list when all is said and done.
OL Noah Best – Midlothian, TX – Missouri, Kansas State, OU, TTU , SMU – Noah Best and OU have been connected since the time the Sooners offered last June. Best is a priority target for Bill Bedenbaugh and the Sooners have done extensive work here and they are firmly at, or near, the top of his list. Right now, it sounds like SMU is their largest competition. Best is scheduled to visit OU this weekend after already having been to Miz and KSU. He closes out his summer with trips to TTU and SMU, which does give some pause to the OU situation, as those two programs are dropping massive piles of cash to secure commitments. I like OU here, and if all things are equal, or close to it, I think they would win. But when you are playing with TTU and SMU right now, not all things are always equal.
OL Desmond Green – Saint Stephen, SC – VaTech, UGA, OU, Florida, South Carolina – To be completely honest, I am kinda surprised that OU is still in the picture here, as there are some heavyweights in his region who are aggressively pursuing him. Feels like the Sooners are kind of on the periphery of this recruitment, but hey, get him on campus and you never know what kind of magic you can make happen. Right now, I would not expect OU to finish in the top 3 here, but a great OV can go a long way to changing my thoughts.
OT Deacon Schmitt – Windsor, CO – Colorado, Alabama, OU, Nebraska, Tennessee – The Sooners have long been a fixture on this recruitment and Bedenbaugh loves the versatility that Schmitt offers as he can play inside or outside. OU has hosted Schmitt a couple times before and they are firmly in the mix here. He is one guy on the OL that I would be keeping an eye on but he still has a couple visits set following the trip to OU. The Sooners will shoot their best shot here and hope it is enough at the end of the day.
Defensive Visitors
DT Tavian Branch – Taylor, PA – Rutgers, OU, Penn State – Branch will announce his commitment on June 11th. He took his OV to Rutgers last week, and they seemed to have made a big move. Next up is Oklahoma this weekend and he had a visit to Penn State planned for June 13th, but since he is announcing his commitment on June 11th…it appears that he believes he knows where he is going, and while OU has a legit chance here, I’m gonna hold off making any bold claims until I hear the vibe he is giving off once/if he makes it in for his visit. OU doing battle with Rutgers is not something I had on my Bingo card for this cycle.
DT Elijah Golden – Sarasota, FL – Florida, OU, Alabama, Notre Dame – Golden is a big man who has flown under the OU radar for most of this cycle. While he has been a fixture on our Big Boards, he really has been just a name for the most part. Todd Bates will get his shot to make a lasting impression here, and while Branch has been the more talked about name among the DT visitors, Golden may be the wildcard who OU turns out to be in sneaky solid standing with. As we talked about with Trenton Wilson last year, Golden just feels like a guy that Bates can make serious inroads with once on campus. He is certainly a guy worth paying attention to, just to even gain a better understanding of where OU actually stands.
EDGE Matthew Nelson – Bryant, AR – OU and Tulane – Nelson was in town earlier this week for a camp. He will be on his official visit this weekend. I would be slightly stunned if an OU commitment did not soon follow his trip.
LB Braxton Lindsey – Rogers, AR – Missouri, OU, Arkansas, BYU – Lindsey has already officially visited Missouri, and currently, I have them as fringe players in this recruitment. He has OU set for this weekend and has Arkansas penciled in for the June 20th weekend. The Sooners already have Jakore Smith verbally committed and they are the betting favorites for Beau Jandreau, who will visit on the 20th. OU would like 3 linebackers this cycle and Lindsey would be the perfect fit as he would come in as your MIKE with Smith as WILL and Jandreau as a guy who could play WILL/Cheetah. OU is gearing up to make a big push this weekend and hopes to build enough momentum to hold off Arkansas and potentially BYU.
LB Jakore Smith – Little Rock, AR – OU Commit
CB Derrick Johnson – Murrieta, CA – TCU, UCLA, Washington, OU, Kansas, Utah – Johnson is a man of many visits, and OU is smack in the middle of the tour. The Sooners view him as one of the two priority CB targets, and sources have continued to focus on him and Odem as the main targets at CB right now. Both will be in town this weekend (at least they are both scheduled to be), and neither appears close to being near the end of their recruitments. He is a guy to monitor coming out of the visit to see if OU continues to engage with him, or if they start looking at additional targets. If he indicates OU is at or near the top, they will stay the course and continue to recruit him until they land their CB in this class.
CB Danny Odem – Orlando, FL – Clemson, OU, Auburn, Florida, Nebraska, Ohio State – Odem is a highly coveted corner, as you can see, and those Clemson and Ohio State bookend visits indicate as much. The Sooners can pitch him on the fact that they are only looking to take one corner, and he could be the guy. Can’’t say I have a really good feel for where things are at, but again, that Ohio State visit is something that stands out as they will get the last word of the summer visit season and they can make a really nice pitch. He is a guy who Sooner sources have been focused on when it comes to talking about corners, so OU will put their best foot forward and see where things land at the end of the weekend.
Are Concerns About Mateer Transitioning to the SEC Warranted? | Sourced
– Super K – Posted on: June 3, 2025
As you know, despite the fact that…
***OU brought in some of the top portal talent including the number one QB and RB…
***OU won six games last year with half a team (horrendous offense)
***And OU returns most of it’s defense which is now fully under the control of BV
Vegas only has the Sooners winning 6.5 games.
This is also despite the fact that the Sooners will face a number of teams who will be trotting out brand new QBs.
Why?
Well I’ve seen a number of explanations but one of those has been concerns about Mateer transitioning to the SEC.
I decided to ask around with folks around the program to see what they think of this concern and whether they believe it’s warranted.
I know the folks inside the building haven’t, so far, been the best at evaluating some of their talent but in this case a) they have now been through the SEC and b) they’ve seen Mateer up close compared to other QBs they’ve had…
Essentially the response I got was…
***Contempt: The folks making this criticism have very little knowledge of the game…
***That Mateer is a different animal and it doesn’t matter what league you’re in or what field you’re on 6’2 220 lb kids that can run are 6’2 220 lb kids that can run.
***Confidence: folks aren’t discounting the fact that they can falter but they do believe it will be because of Mateer, the believe it would be in spite of him and that if the Sooners are successful this year, Mateer can absolutely make a run at the Heisman.
My personal feeling is that…
***Given the combination of Mateer and Arbuckle and given how bad OU’s QB play was last year, it’s hard to imagine Mateer and co not being much better – at least worth more than half a game. I’m not saying that guarantees they’ll win more, I just agree with OU that it will be in spite of improved QB play, not because of it.
***And what Mateer brings in terms of experience and athleticism is transferable.
***Lastly, we know that Cam Ward’s ability transitioned well to the ACC. I know the ACC isn’t the SEC but still…
Sourced | Latest on Jake Kreul
– Charlie S – Posted on: June 3, 2025
Talked to a source this morning about ’26 EDGE Jake Kreul following his official visit to Ohio State.
***Last week we talked about two official visits elsewhere that were worth tracking…Bowe Bentley went to LSU, and Jake Kreul went to Ohio State.
***Following Kreul’s visit to Columbus, Ohio, source said that while Ohio State put on a nice show, they do not believe that the Buckeyes gained a strong advantage or separated themselves from OU.
***Source actually was a little surprised at the muted enthusiasm from Kreul’s camp following the visit and they are ready to continue on their OV trek as Florida and Texas are on the docket prior making it back to Norman on the 20th.
***Overall, this is good news. Source is not saying Ohio State is out of the picture by any means at this time, but the fact that they did not create a huge wave right now works in OU’s favor, in my opinion.
Sourced | The Latest on ’26 QB Bowe Bentley
– Charlie S – Posted on: June 2, 2025
Sooners ’26 QB Priority Target Bowe Bentley visited LSU this past weekend, and he is scheduled to make his way to Norman this coming weekend.
***Source says LSU did all they could to try to convince him to shut things down and commit to the Tigers while on the visit.
***One of the main talking points was about the amount of talent they will surround him with in his class. LSU had several high-profile offensive recruits on campus, along with Bentley, and they pushed hard on that front.
***Another major selling point was his relationship with Joe Sloan, the LSU OC/QB coach.
***Despite the best efforts of LSU, the source indicates that things are still on track for Bentley and his family to make it to Norman this weekend.
***Bentley and his entire family visited Baton Rouge, and I would expect the same group to make it to Norman at this time.
