Did DB Niko Jandreau's Spring Showings Set Him up for a Role with Oklahoma This Fall?

Niko Jandreau is someone who could play a key rotational role at safety for the Sooners during the fall.

Oklahoma defensive back Niko Jandreau works through a drill at one of the Sooners' spring practices. | Ryan Chapman / Sooners on SI

NORMAN — Niko Jandreau saw the value of winter workouts, but from the moment he stepped on campus, he was itching for spring ball to begin.

“I’m excited. I want to hit somebody,” Jandreau said on March 9, a couple weeks before the Sooners opened spring practice.

Jandreau, a safety, is one of 25 players who signed with Oklahoma as part of its 2026 recruiting class. The Chandler, AZ, native was a consensus 3-star prospect and chose the Sooners over offers from USC, Missouri, Washington and Arizona State.

The defensive back got to campus in January. Immediately, he noted how much more rigorous OU’s offseason training program was than anything else he had experienced.

“It's definitely a lot more intense,” Jandreau said. “Just all the coaches and just taking everything in... I think it's been a lot, but it's also been good and also been exactly what I wanted coming here.”

Jandreau used his first couple of months in Norman to settle into his new program — and that made him ready for when he finally got to put on pads and a helmet for the first time.

When Jandreau signed with OU in December, coach Brent Venables praised his abilities, calling him a “ball junkie.”

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“Niko’s a guy that’s a ball magnet,” Venables said. “Plays incredibly fast, blows dudes up like a missile out there.”

Jandreau said that he played both safety and cheetah — a hybrid between defensive back and linebacker — throughout the spring.

A few weeks into spring ball, Venables called Jandreau an important depth piece at safety and highlighted the position group’s work ethic across the board.

“Niko Jandreau’s taking a lot of snaps there,” Venables said. “Hopefully we’ll have six guys there.”

Jandreau flashed his potential during OU’s spring game on April 18. He logged seven tackles, which tied for the most among both the “White” and “Red” teams. 

Even though Jandreau was part of the White squad that lost the scrimmage 31-3, Jandreau showed that he belonged against the starter-heavy Red team. And that didn’t surprise senior safety Peyton Bowen.

“Niko has been doing his thing, to be honest,” Bowen said. “He has been diving into that playbook. He’s technique-sound. We ask him questions all the time, ‘What’s the call?’ And he knows it like that. It’s a good sight to see for the guys who just came here in the winter.”

Bowen and Michael Boganowski will almost certainly be OU’s starting safeties in 2026, while Jandreau, Omarion Robinson, Markel Ford and Jeremiah Newcombe will compete for playing time as reserves.

Regardless of how often Jandreau sees the field in Year 1, he feels ready to contribute after what he described as a productive first few months on campus.

“I think, mentally, just trying to understand the game a lot more, just getting here, being a technician,” Jandreau said. “Trying to be a student of the game and learn a lot is where I think I've grown more than where I was in high school.”