Sooner patience pays off: Four-star RB Jonathan Hatton Jr. flips back from Texas A&M
In what has become one of the more dramatic recruitment sagas of the 2026 cycle, Oklahoma has successfully flipped four-star running back Jonathan Hatton Jr. back into its class after he spent eight months committed to Texas A&M.
The Sooners never closed the door on their original prize pledge, and that patience has now paid massive dividends.
Hatton, who attends San Francisco (Calif.) Riordan by way of Texas high school powerhouse Cibolo Steele, officially re-committed to Oklahoma on Sunday, becoming the 22nd member of Brent Venables’ 2026 class and the second running back alongside in-state standout Xavier Robinson.
The move pushes OU’s class back into the top 10 nationally and re-establishes the Sooners as a major player in the Lone Star State’s loaded 2026 crop.
According to the industry-generated 247Sports Composite, Hatton is the No. 74 overall prospect in the country, the No. 4 running back nationally, and the No. 9 player in talent-rich Texas.
The 247Sports in-house rankings are similarly bullish, slotting him as a top-100 national talent, the No. 5 running back in the cycle, and a top-12 prospect inside the state of Texas.
The story, however, is about far more than the rankings.Hatton shocked the recruiting world on October 3, 2023, when, as a sophomore, he became the very first 2026 prospect to commit to Oklahoma—long before most programs had even extended offers to the class.
Even his own family admitted the decision caught them off guard.
Hatton simply said Norman felt like home from the moment he stepped on campus.
He remained rock-solid with the Sooners for over a year, routinely shutting down other suitors and representing OU proudly on social media.
That changed in December 2024 when he announced he was decommitting to “explore other options.”
Almost instantly, the biggest brands in college football pounced.
Ohio State, Tennessee, USC, Auburn, and a host of others jumped into the mix, but it was Mike Elko and Texas A&M that gained serious traction.
On March 22, 2025, Hatton pledged to the Aggies in front of a packed home crowd, and many insiders stamped it as a done deal.
Oklahoma, however, never stopped recruiting him.
Behind the scenes, running backs coach DeMarco Murray and the rest of the staff maintained consistent, low-pressure contact—texts on big performance nights, check-ins with his family, and quiet reminders of what Norman had felt like the first time.
When Hatton’s senior season began this fall, something clicked again.
Visits were re-scheduled, relationships were re-kindled, and by mid-November the momentum had completely flipped.
On Monday, Hatton made it official: he’s a Sooner—again.
From a pure evaluation standpoint, Hatton is exactly the type of back SEC programs are built around.
Listed at 6-foot-0 and 195 pounds with a lean, explosive frame, he combines track-verified speed (10.59 100-meter as a sophomore) with a noticeable jump in vision and burst between his junior and senior seasons.
For Oklahoma, landing Hatton is more than just adding a top-100 talent—it’s a statement.
The Sooners refused to panic when he left, stayed the course, and ultimately won the long game against an in-state SEC rival that appeared to have sealed the deal months ago.
Jonathan Hatton Jr. started Oklahoma’s 2026 class as its very first commit.
Now, barring something unforeseen, he’ll finish it as one of its cornerstone pieces.
Welcome home. Again.