Big Ten School Beats out Oklahoma for 4-star Athlete Prospect

One of the most versatile players in the Class of 2026 had Oklahoma in his top five but chose to go another direction.

Jacob Eberhart, an athlete from St. Louis, committed to Illinois instead of the Sooners on Saturday. He made the announcement at Sports and Social, a bar and grill in his hometown.

OU was one of five schools in the running for Eberhart’s pledge, along with Illinois, Nebraska, Missouri and Alabama.

Eberhart played both wide receiver and safety for Kirkwood High School as a junior.

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On offense, Eberhart caught 42 passes for 795 yards and 13 touchdowns. Defensively, he logged 45 tackles and three interceptions.

Eberhart is a consensus 4-star prospect, ranked the No. 329 overall prospect in 247Sports’ Class of 2026 composite rankings. On3 ranks Eberhart as the No. 17 athlete in the class and the No. 5 player from Missouri.

After official visits to Illinois, Missouri and Nebraska, Eberhart took his final visit to Norman on June 20.

The athlete joins an Illinois program that surged in 2024, finishing 10-3 with a Citrus Bowl win against South Carolina. The Fighting Illini had gone 5-7 in two of the three seasons before 2024.

Eberhart would have become the 16th commit in OU’s 2026 recruiting class. He would’ve also been the second commit from Missouri, as running back DeZephen Walker — from Peculiar, MO — pledged with the Sooners in June.

Oklahoma’s class is ranked No. 34 in 247Sports’ Class of 2026 team recruiting rankings. Per the site, quarterback Bowe Bentley, linebacker Jakore Smith and wide receiver Daniel Odom are the Sooners’ only 4-star commits.

Oklahoma is coming off a 6-7 campaign in 2024, where the Sooners won just two conference games. It marked the second time in Brent Venables’ first three years as head coach that OU finished with a losing record.

The Sooners open the 2025 season on Saturday, Aug. 30, against Illinois State.