Weekend Open Post | May 16th – 18th
Posted on: May 16, 2025
Recruiting Randoms | Harris and Gilbert
– Charlie S – Posted on: May 12, 2025
Couple of random recruiting notes this fine Monday morning…
***First, on Saturday, Sooners interior defensive line target Brian Harris (6’3 280) out of Jacksonville, FL, let it be known that he plans on making his commitment to the school of his choosing on May 23rd.
Harris was offered by Todd Bates at the end of February and wasted little time in getting out to Norman for an extended visit.
Following that visit, sources told us (HERE) that OU made a big move for him:
“***Lastly, was told recent DL Offer Brian Harris is another guy that Todd Bates really made a big move for. Harris is a guy who is seeing his recruitment really pick up, but the Sooners look like they may be right up at the top of the list at this point.
Update: 8:40
***On Brian Harris…he just let me know that he has also extended his stay and will be in Norman through tomorrow.”
Earlier this morning Steve Wiltfong of On3 put in a prediction for Harris to land at OU. We will continue to dig on this one, but we have not heard any dip in optimism from sources in regard to OU’s chances here.
***Onto cornerback target Ryan Gilbert (5’10 170) out of Forney, Texas. OU has been at or near the top of this recruitment for quite some time.
On Friday, in chat, I did note that SMU was a school to worry about with their free-spending ways right now.
SMU has been on a heater and they are having a direct impact on the Sooners this cycle as they landed Sooners targets WR Aljour Miles last week and OL Pupungatoa Katoa yesterday.
Now, SMU is not targeting OU specifically as they have also flipped a Louisiana kid from LSU, but they certainly are re-establishing their ‘Pony Express’ ways, this time legally as the NCAA has basically no rules.
Anyway, sources indicate that SMU is indeed focused on landing Gilbert, and I do not believe the Sooners will go to the lengths that SMU will.
He is set to announce this week, and right now, it feels like SMU is moving into the best position.
Edit: Gilbert did wind up committing to SMU
NIL Allocation | Sourced
– Super K – Posted on: May 13, 2025
We’ve talked a lot about Nagy playing a big role in resetting the recruiting board.
Something we haven’t talked about which I recently spoke to a source about is Nagy’s role in NIL fund allocation.
It seems Nagy is in line with BV. Allocation is going to lean heavily towards the trenches.
What does this mean?
You’ll probably see the Sooners continue to land a couple of elite and highly coveted DL and OL this cycle and beyond.
And you’ll see them be very methodical and discerning when it comes to some of the other positions – as in high ceiling 3-star types.
Updated Big Board | Wide Receiver | 2026
– Charlie S – Posted on: May 13, 2025
Continuing to update the Big Boards, as we noted that the arrival of GM Jim Nagy has seen the Sooners’ 2026 target board undergo some changes as he reevaluates the situation.
Today, we will check out the WR Board.
You can find the original WR Big Board HERE.
Original offers – Pre-Nagy
Daniel Odom – St. John Bosco (Bellflower, CA) – 6’1 178 – OU Commit
Aljour Miles – Kaufman (Kaufman, TX) – 6’2 200 – SMU Commit
Jabari Brady – Monarch (Fort Lauderdale, FL) – 6’2 190
Mason James – Norman North (Norman, OK) – 5’11 170
Zion Robinson – Mansfield (Mansfield, TX) – 6’4 180
Delvin Cook Jr. – Skyline (Dallas, TX) – 6’0 175
Jayden Warren – Iowa Colony (Iowa Colony, TX) – 6’2 183
Craig Dandridge – Cambridge (Alpharetta, GA) – 6’2 170
Davian Groce – Lone Star (Frisco, TX) – 6’1 190
Brock Boyd – Southlake Carroll (Southlake, TX) – 6’1 165 – Ohio State Commit
Aaron Gregory – Douglas County (Douglasville, GA) – 6’2 170 – A&M Commit
Jalen Lott – Panther Creek (Lucas, TX) – 6’0 170
CJ Sadler – Cass Technical (Detroit, MI) – 5’9 170
Dequane Prevo – Liberty-Eylau (Texarkana, TX) – 5-9 160 – Arkansas Commit
Calvin Russell – Northwestern (Miami, FL) – 6’5 190
Keisean Henderson – School of Sport Sciences (Spring, TX) – 6’3 185 – Houston Commit
Kayden Dixon-Wyatt – Mater Dei (Santa Ana, CA) – 6’2 180 – Ohio State Commit
Jordan Clay – Madison (San Antonio, TX) – 6’3 200 – OU OV 6/20
Devin Carter – Douglas County (Douglasville, GA) – 6’0.5 175 – Auburn Commit
Brandon Bennett – American Heritage (Fort Lauderdale, FL) – 6’0 170
Keeyshawn Tabuteau – McCallie School (Chattanooga, TN) – 5’11 165
Chris Stewart – Shadow Creek (Pearland, TX) – 6’0 175 – Texas Commit
Mike Brown – Legacy the School of Sport Sciences (Spring, TX) – 5’11 175 – A&M Commit
Deion Thomas – Westlake (Atlanta, GA) – 6’3 195
Ryan Mosley – Carrollton (Carrollton, GA) – 6’4 206
Zach Turner – Duncanville (Duncanville, TX) – 6’2 215 – OV to OU 6/20
Jacob Eberhart – Kirkwood (Saint Louis, MO) – 6’3 200
Jaborree Riggins – Monarch (Pompano Beach, FL) – 6’2.5 185
Jaylen Pile – Parish Episcopal School (Dallas, TX) – 6’0 175 – Michigan Commit
Dominic Saidu – First Baptist Academy (Dallas, TX) – 5’11 160
Dameon Crowe – Richardson (Richardson, TX) – 5’6 140
Marcus Adam Carter Jr – Douglas County (Douglasville, GA) – 6’3 185
Jamar Denson – American Heritage (Fort Lauderdale, FL) – 5’10 182 – ODU commit
Additional offers – Post-Nagy
Jayden Petit – First Baptist Academy (Naples, FL) – 6’4 195 – Offered 3/10 – OV to OU 6/6
Dallas Dickerson – North Oconee (Bogart, GA) – 6’1 180 – Offered 5/2 – OU pushing for OV
Commits at this time: 1
Commits: Daniel Odom
Number of commits OU is looking to take out of high school: 3 possibly 4
Where things are at:
To understand where things are at with the Sooners WR recruiting, you start by forgetting what you thought you knew prior to GM Jim Nagy’s arrival at OU.
OU has one current commit in Daniel Odom. Odom has made some visits and will make an official visit to Florida State and possibly some others in the coming weeks. You know the deal with Odom…OU doesn’t consider him committed, but he technically still is verbally committed and should something change between OU and his close friend and QB Jaden O’Neal, I don’t think anyone should believe he stays in the class for OU. But we will see how all that plays out. Right now, he considers himself committed to OU.
Then, OU lost out on Aljour Miles to SMU and moved away (for now) from Mason James. Two guys who looked like promising options for the WR class prior to Nagy’s arrival.
Along with the two newer post-Nagy offers, Petit and Diclerson, the Sooners are still working on Dandridge, Groce, Clay and Warren (to an extent) among the OG offers. Also, Zach Turner, who is listed by some as a TE, is a WR candidate for OU, and he will be officially visiting Norman in June.
The thing is, right now, I do not see OU with an outright lead for any of the targets and official visits will play a big role regarding OU making a move here. This is probably the most fluid big board in the entire class for OU right now, as there are a bunch of guys they are still evaluating, including former USC commit, Kohen Brown (5’11 175) out of Waxahachie, TX.
Sourced Recruiting Note | Beau Jandreau
– Charlie S – Posted on: May 14, 2025
Kind of more of a housekeeping note than anything here.
As mentioned yesterday when discussing Niko Jandreau’s commitment to OU, the likelihood of his twin brother (’26 LB) Beau Jandreau joining the class is very high.
A source on the OU side of things last night said that it is ‘just a matter of time’ before the twins are reunited as Oklahoma Commits.
Also spoke to a source not affiliated with OU who is familiar with the Jandreau’s and that source also believes Beau joining the class is inevitable and they were a bit surprised it was not a joint commitment.
We do not have a timeline other than the brothers being in Norman for the June 20th OV weekend.
Sourced Optimism
– Super K – Posted on: May 14, 2025
As I’ve noted in recent post, on paper this team appears to be the best one BV has had.
What I haven’t heard is a ton of unfettered optimism from inside the building. I very much believe that’s a function of folks learning their lessons from the past.
But either those lessons are being thrown aside or people inside the building feel their roster is undeniable because lately the sense of optimism coming from Norman is growing.
You continue to see it grow in the preseason polls. And, I am hearing that confidence coming from inside the building.
I kid you not, a few months ago it felt like folks were shell shocked in there. Not anymore. It’s not the over the top talk that I used to hear. They are still more reserved.
But again, you can tell they know they have a darn good roster.
I’ll get into more specifics later.
Recruiting From a Show Me Position
– Charlie S – Posted on: May 15, 2025
When I say the following, it will be breaking news to nobody in our community.
The Sooners are in a tough spot on the recruiting trail this cycle as schools around the country are negatively recruiting the hell out of OU and Brent Venables right now.
Over the last couple of weeks, we (TFB) have heard of another handful of cases, where both recruits and high school recruiting coordinators have had other schools push the narrative that there is a very good chance Brent Venables will not be the head coach of Oklahoma at the time the recruits are set to arrive on campus.
Again, this is not earth-shattering to you, as we have been talking about this since before last season even ended, so this is just continued corroboration. Now that we are entering the heart of the period where OU typically makes hay on the trail, the impacts are being felt.
When you combine the Sooners performance on the field over the last three years with their recruiting approach (do not commit until you have seen all you wanna see and you are sure you’re a Sooner) and their NIL approach (not going above and beyond with pay to play for recruits) you wind up in a very, very tricky position.
Some in the community have wondered aloud how USC is doing what they are doing on the recruiting trail despite having similar on field performance…well, you can point to their NIL machine throwing caution to the wind and Riley’s view on recruiting (get the commitment by any means and try to hold on) and you can see how they are doing it.
Now, the staff and Jim Nagy are more than ok with trusting their evaluations and they fully believe in the recruits that they have identified and will sign, but within that group of targets, there is not a lot of sexy names and highly ranked guys.
One of their most coveted targets, QB Bowe Bentley, is a guy you can probably use as a good barometer in regard to how things are going on the trail. Bentley is basically down to OU and LSU, and LSU is a program that is not afraid to get out there and sling mud around.
I am of the opinion (based on sourcing) that in any normal cycle, coming off a sample of three normal season results at OU over the past 20-plus years, Bentley would already be in the boat at OU. It’s just that the last three years at OU have not been normal and while one can point to reasons why and how they got there, the last three seasons’ results are not ‘normal’ for OU and other programs and pundits across the country know that and are not hesitant to talk about it.
From the moment OU offered Bentley, I have said I am leaning toward him being the QB in the Sooners class, but as the official visits approach and LSU ramps up their pursuit, I am not feeling nearly as confident as I had been. OU is a tough sell right now, and the other programs are not taking pity on OU.
Do not get it twisted. OU will sign a solid class this cycle, one way or another, it just likely will not be a name-brand class or a chest-thumping class for the fan base, and while that’s not a ton of fun, it is also not a doomsday scenario.
The good news is that Brent Venables has his most talented team to date over the first four offseasons of his tenure. Oklahoma can go out there and turn this narrative around in a heartbeat if they put up a good season. If they don’t post the desired results, the negative recruiting will look like correct prognostications.
The returns would be felt more in the 2027 class and not so much in closing out the 2026 class. Do not get me wrong, a strong season wouldn’t hurt the 2026 class and it may get some guys to consider the Sooners as signing day approaches, but between now and then, hang on for a slower than normal recruiting cycle and a period where trusting the staffs evaluations will be paramount to maintaining ones sanity if they are recruitniks.
Who is Next? | 2026 Class
– Charlie S – Posted on: May 15, 2025
Earlier this week the Sooners got back on the board in the 2026 recruiting class as they picked up a commitment from S/Cheetah Niko Jandreau.
With the recruiting cycle picking up steam as official visit season approaches, lets take a look at five guys who could be the Sooners next commit:
***Linebacker Beau Jandreau (6’1 215) out of Chandler, Arizona: Beau and Niko are not a locked in package deal, but both players love what OU is offering them on and off the field and right now, while Beau may still take some visits, it feels like a pretty safe bet that he joins his brother in the Sooners 2026 class.
***Linebacker Jakore Smith (6’0 190) out of Little Rock, Arkansas: With all the new LB offers and the perception that OU leads by a good margin with Beau Jandreau, the LB prospects are seeing the Sooners numbers tighten up, and it is getting close to jumping in or losing your seat time. As I have maintained since I put the original Big Board up, the Sooners and Smith are in a good spot.
Edit: Smith committed later in the day on the day this was posted.
***Offensive lineman Noah Best (6’3 290) out of Midlothian, Texas). Best and OU have felt like an inevitable pairing for a while now. I have had him listed as my ‘Next Commit’ a couple times this cycle already and I still have little reason to feel like he doesn’t end up under Bill Bedenbaugh at OU. Right now, it feels like Missouri and SMU will be the main competition for him, and we know how those two play, but OU remains confident and so do I at this time.
***Safety Braeden Presley (6’2 180) out of Bixby, Oklahoma: This feels like a case where the Sooners finally get their Presley. Sources told us earlier this week that OU is feeling very confident and they feel good about their chances to land the talented defensive back in the relatively near future.
***Defensive Lineman Brian Harris (6’3 280) out of Jacksonville, Florida. As you know, earlier this week we noted that Harris will be announcing his commitment on May 23rd. In that same post we reconfirmed that we believe OU is out front. So if things stay on that same course, there is a very good chance he chooses OU.
