How Jim Nagy and Brent Venables Joined Forces to Sign Oklahoma's 2026 Recruiting Class

The 2026 recruiting class was the first group Jim Nagy helped sign as the Sooners' general manager.

Oklahoma general manager Jim Nagy | John E. Hoover / Sooners On SI

NORMAN — Oklahoma signed 24 players in its 2026 recruiting class without much drama on Wednesday. 

The calm day was expected, but it was far from guaranteed when general manager Jim Nagy joined the program this past March. 

At the time, Brent Venables was under pressure to win in 2025, which made life difficult on the recruiting trail. 

“Momentum is a real thing in recruiting; I learned that this cycle,” Nagy said on Wednesday. “I learned a lot this cycle. I’m learning every day on this job, but that’s clearly a big deal. Working in the NFL, I always heard that you shouldn’t negative recruit in college. I learned really quickly in this job that people were negatively recruiting, so that was probably working against us. Now that we’ve had some success on the field, we had some players come back our way.”

Venables delivered big wins — 10 of them — which helped the Sooners land four commitments in November and one in December to round out the 2026 class, while also setting the table for a big recruiting cycle in 2027.

Nagy’s front office staff was able to blend with Venables’ coaching staff to sign the 15th-ranked class in the country per the 247Sports Composite Team Rankings — a fantastic feat considering that Nagy was put in place deep into the 2026 recruiting cycle. 

“It took a little finessing this time around because this coaching staff was already on all these guys,” Nagy said. “… We got here in March. We weren’t midstream in March. We were downstream on the 2026 class. It was hard to really pivot. But we did.”

Oklahoma general manager Jim Nagy | John E. Hoover / Sooners On SI

It wasn’t always easy. 

The Sooners, for example, had a quarterback committed in Jaden O’Neal, but after discussions with offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle and the scouting staff, Oklahoma changed course to pursue and land Bowe Bentley. 

“When we came in and evaluated some of the players and didn’t see eye to eye, we had to take some hard right-hand turns on this class,” Nagy said. “… It’s hard to go to a position coach who has put in so much work and developed relationships and say I appreciate all the time you have put in, but I just don’t see it that way. We’re going to pivot. And that wasn’t easy.”

For Nagy, it was also difficult to watch some targets end up elsewhere as a result of the negative recruiting OU had to battle. 

“It’s hard when you really like a player, and you know what you’re selling is good for the player too,” Nagy said. “I believe in this program. I wouldn’t have taken this job if I didn’t believe in Brent and this program and the leadership here and what this program can do for young men. 

“… It was hard over the summer, especially during the (official visit) season, seeing guys go other places and thinking, man, we’re losing them to that program. But it’s worked itself out. Hopefully, we can keep the momentum going in the 2027 classes.”

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Read More Oklahoma Football

• Track Who Oklahoma Has Signed in the 2026 Early Signing Period
• Brent Venables Says in Some Big Ways, New QB Bowe Bentley Compares to an Oklahoma Legend
• Oklahoma OC Ben Arbuckle Looks to Unlock Explosive Potential for Playoff Run

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But once Venables got the 2025 Sooners rolling on the field, Nagy and his staff were able to get their front office machine rolling off the field to have both halves of the Switzer Center working in sync. 

“I just think big picture with our staff,” said Nagy, “and added guys on the staff incrementally, every conversation was put your head down and go to work. We have to earn the respect of this coaching staff. 

“This is foreign for them. This has never been done. We need to come in and earn the respect. That’s what we’ve done.”

The result was a solid showing for Oklahoma’s 2026 recruiting class, and a fast start in 2027 that currently has OU ranked as the No. 1 class with 10 verbal commitments. 

"We really landed in a good space,” Venables said. “… It’s been a lot of fun and it’s been an educational experience for everybody. We’ve learned from each other and we’ve worked really hard to try and expeditiously bridge this gap from where a good part of our staff is mostly from the NFL and what does it look like from a high school perspective and a locker room perspective, things of that nature.

“… Just like you putting a great product out there on Saturday to give us a chance to win, it takes all of us working together, complimenting each other, leaning on each other’s strengths and things of that nature, so there’s a relational piece, a trust piece, there’s a roll your sleeves up and get after it and go to work piece. The best part of all it is just doing it together and it’s been fantastic.”