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Oklahoma Flips 3-Star 2026 Defensive Lineman from Florida State

James Carrington is a well-traveled and highly decorated interior d-lineman who was committed to the Seminoles just days ago.
John Hoover|
Oklahoma defensive line commit James Carrington
Oklahoma defensive line commit James Carrington | James Carrington via Twitter/X

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Oklahoma Sooners

Oklahoma has pulled off a big flip.

James “Tank” Carrington, a 3-star 2026 defensive lineman from Irvine, CA, committed to the Sooners on Saturday.

That's according to On3 recruiting insider Hayes Fawcett.

The 6-foot-2, 255-pound Carrington had been committed to Florida State since June, but decommitted from the Seminoles on Thursday.

According to 247Sports, Carrington is the No. 87 defensive lineman in the country and the No. 65 player in the state of California. Per Rivals, he’s the No. 86 defensive lineman and the No. 70 Californian. ESPN’s recruiting rankings have Carrington at No. 33 at his position and No. 30 in his state.

Carrington’s flip to OU is a byproduct of the relational recruiting efforts of OU head coach Brent Venables and Sooners defensive tackles coach and associate head coach Todd Bates, who offered Carrington a scholarship back in mid-June — just two days after he committed to the Seminoles following a weekend visit to Tallahassee.

Carrington had scheduled an official visit to Norman for June, but canceled that in late May.

Carrington took an unofficial visit to Oklahoma last October to watch the Sooners host South Carolina. 

Carrington also has standing offers from Ole Miss, Virginia Tech, Michigan, Texas A&M, Alabama, Wisconsin, Notre Dame, North Carolina, Colorado, Georgia, South Carolina, USC, Miami, Florida, Nebraska, LSU, Washington, Tennessee and others among some 30 total offers.

Carrington will play his senior year at Crean Lutheran in Irvine, but he played the 2024 season at football factor Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas — and he’s originally from the East Coast.

Carrington was named a sophomore All-American by MaxPreps as he began the year at St. Frances Academy in Baltimore before transferring to Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School, a boarding school in northern Georgia. He finished that season (nine games) with 33 tackles, 22 tackles for loss, 15 quarterback sacks, 38 total QB hurries and two forced fumbles.

As a junior at Bishop Gorman, Carrington had 33 tackles, 14 tackles for loss and nine sacks last year, and was selected to the Navy All-American Bowl, the Under Armour All-American Bowl, the Adidas All-American Bowl and the Polynesian Bowl.

As a freshman in Baltimore, Carrington was recognized as a Freshman All-American by the National High School Coaches Association.

According to Carrington’s evaluation profile by 247Sports’ Greg Biggins, Carrington shows a “rare combination of quickness and power” with the ability to “bully and rag doll tackles and guards at the (high school) level and lives in the backfield.” 

Carrington was also a wrestler in Maryland as a freshman in the 285-pound weight class. 

OU now has 17 recruits committed in the 2026 class. Most recent before Carrington was defensive end Jake Kreul, a 4-star from Florida’s IMG Academy. Nine of those 17 commits — safety Niko Jandreau, linebacker Beau Jandreau, cornerback Derrick Johnson, defensive tackle Brian Harris, edge rusher Matthew Nelson, edge rusher Daniel Norman, linebacker Jakore Smith, Kreul and Carrington — play defense. 

According to 247 Sports, OU’s 2026 recruiting class began today ranked No. 21 in the nation, while Rivals had the Sooners’ incoming group ranked No. 28 nationally. 

Published | Modified
John E. Hoover
JOHN HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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