After a challenging 6-7 finish in 2024, head coach Brent Venables and his staff faced significant pressure on the recruiting trail. 

A resurgent 10-2 campaign in 2025 changed the momentum, powering the Sooners to the nation’s No. 15-ranked recruiting class in the 2026 cycle, according to both 247Sports and the 247 Composite.

Oklahoma signed 24 prospects on Early Signing Day — an even split of twelve 4-stars and twelve 3-stars. The class posted an average player rating of 89.65 and a total score of 253.36 on 247Sports.

2026 Oklahoma Signees

DL James Carrington

6-2, 257 | Crean Lutheran (Irvine, CA)

3-star | No. 62 CA | No. 92 DL

Chose OU over Alabama, Florida State, and others.

LB Beau Jandreau

6-1, 215 | Hamilton (Chandler, AZ)

3-star | No. 150 LB

Completed the “Desert Double” by joining twin brother Niko on June 23. Turned down Oregon, Texas, Arizona, and others.

DB Niko Jandreau

6-1, 200 | Hamilton (Chandler, AZ)

3-star | No. 155 S

Committed May 13, beating his twin Beau to the punch. Chose Oklahoma over Oregon State, San Diego State, and others.

WR Jayden Petit

6-4, 195 | St. John Neumann (Naples, FL)

4-star | No. 12 FL | No. 13 WR | No. 93 overall

Brent Venables dubbed him a “freakazoid.” Flipped from Wisconsin and selected OU over Missouri, North Carolina, and others.

WR Daniel Odom

6-1, 178 | St. John Bosco (Bellflower, CA)

4-star | No. 34 CA | No. 48 WR

Picked the Sooners over Washington, Florida State, and others.

CB Derrick Johnson

6-2, 170 | Murrieta Valley (Murrieta, CA)

4-star | No. 20 CA | No. 23 CB | No. 204 overall

Chose OU over Washington, UCLA, TCU, and others.

DE Matthew Nelson

6-5, 215 | Bryant (Bryant, AR)

3-star | No. 4 AR | No. 40 DE

Signed with Oklahoma over Alabama, Arkansas, Tulane, and others.

TE Tyler Ruxer

6-4, 220 | Heritage Hills (Lincoln City, IN)

3-star | No. 3 IN | No. 15 TE | Top-300 nationally

Selected OU over West Virginia, Duke, Northwestern, and others.

QB Bowe Bentley

6-2, 200 | Celina (Celina, TX)

4-star | No. 8 QB | No. 13 TX | No. 106 overall

June commit who chose the Sooners over LSU, Ohio State, Colorado, Missouri, Texas Tech, and others.

IOL Deacon Schmitt

6-5, 320 | Windsor (Windsor, CO)

4-star (Composite) | No. 2 CO | No. 19 IOL | No. 278 overall

Picked Oklahoma over Alabama, Colorado, and others.

S Markel Ford

6-0, 180 | Horn (Mesquite, TX)

3-star | No. 72 S | No. 117 TX

Turned down Arkansas, Auburn, LSU, Michigan, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, and more.

DE Daniel Norman

6-4, 205 | St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, FL)

3-star | No. 47 EDGE | Top-500 overall

Chose OU over Miami, UCLA, Colorado, South Florida, and others.

RB Dezephen Walker

5-11, 190 | Raymore-Peculiar (Peculiar, MO)

3-star | No. 28 RB | Top-500 overall

Selected Oklahoma over Kansas State, Kansas, Arkansas, and others.

IOL Noah Best

6-3, 290 | Midlothian (Midlothian, TX)

3-star | No. 38 IOL | Top-500 overall

Chose OU over SMU, Texas Tech, Kansas State, Missouri, and others.

K Trace Rudd

6-0, 180 | Blue Valley Northwest (Overland Park, KS)

3-star | Top-10 K | No. 19 KS

Picked the Sooners over Texas Tech.

TE Ryder Mix

6-4, 220 | Lone Star (Frisco, TX)

3-star | Top-50 TE | Top-120 TX

Committed to OU over Arizona State and Ole Miss.

RB Jonathan Hatton Jr.

6-0, 205 | 4-star | No. 4 RB nationally

Flipped back to Oklahoma from Texas A&M last week after originally committing to the Sooners in October 2023 and flipping to the Aggies in March. DeMarco Murray closed the deal.

LB Kristan Moore

6-2, 215 | Selma (Selma, AL)

3-star | Top-150 LB

Flipped from North Alabama to OU on Nov. 30 — just the sixth Alabama native in program history.

ATH Xavier Okwufulueze

6-4, 195 | Rejoice Christian (Owasso, OK)

3-star | No. 8 OK | No. 33 ATH

In-state product projected as a tall wide receiver. Chose OU over TCU, Arkansas, and others.

EDGE Jake Kreul

6-3, 230 | IMG Academy (Bradenton, FL)

High-end 4-star (Composite) | Top-100 nationally | Top-10 EDGE

Teammate of current Sooners Jayden Jackson and David Stone at IMG. Selected Oklahoma over Texas, Florida, Ohio State, and others.

WR Jashier Rogers

5-11 | Appoquinimink (Middletown, DE)

4-star | No. 1 DE

Flipped from Penn State to Oklahoma on Oct. 27 after James Franklin’s dismissal.

DT Brian Harris

6-3, 280 | Creekside (Jacksonville, FL)

4-star

Todd Bates beat out Alabama, Penn State, Mississippi State, and others.

LB Dane Bathurst

6-3, 230 | Carmel (Carmel, IN)

3-star | No. 9 IN

Chose the Sooners over Purdue, Duke, and others.

LB Jacob Curry

6-1, 210 | Nease (Ponte Vedra Beach, FL)

3-star (247) | Composite 4-star | Top-50 LB

Picked Oklahoma over Ohio State, Auburn, and others.

With a blend of high-end talent, critical flips, and geographic diversity, Brent Venables and staff delivered a solid signing day, with the transfer portal additions coming as well, the Sooners are setting up for continued momentum in the SEC era.