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Oklahoma Loses Commitment of Elite 2026 Athlete to Florida

The Sooners lost out on a multi-sport athlete who stands out at multiple positions in Texas 5A football on Monday night.
John Hoover|
Oklahoma head football coach Brent Venables reacts following the first half of the 2024 Red River Rivalry.
Oklahoma head football coach Brent Venables reacts following the first half of the 2024 Red River Rivalry. | SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Oklahoma Sooners

Oklahoma was dealt a blow to the 2026 recruiting class on Monday.

Davian Groce, who projects as a wide receiver in college, committed to Florida over OU, On3's Hayes Fawcett reported.

The 6-foot-1, 190-pound Groce picked the Gators over offers from Oklahoma, Baylor, Houston and Texas A&M. He also held offers from Florida State, Miami, Michigan, Missouri, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Oregon, Penn State, SMU, TCU, Tennessee, Texas Tech, UCF, Wisconsin, Arizona State and others.

Groce would have played wide receiver at OU, but he also played running back in 2024, compiling nearly 1,400 yards from scrimmage and 12 offensive touchdowns at Lone Star High School in Frisco, TX. 

That included 702 yards and five touchdowns receiving and 687 yards and seven touchdowns rushing. Groce also averaged 11.8 yards per carry, 16.3 yards per catch and added two TDs by kickoff return and one by punt return.

Those numbers were posted after big seasons as a sophomore and freshman.

In 2023, Groce accumulated almost 1,800 yards from scrimmage and 22 touchdowns, which included 936 yards and 13 TDs on the ground and 860 yards and nine TDs through the air on 45 receptions.

He contributed as a freshman on varsity, with 614 yards and four scores rushing and 158 yards on 10 catches in 2022.

That’s not all. The versatile Groce also stars on the track and plays basketball at Lone Star.

He won the Texas 5A state title in the 200 meters with a wind-aided 20.52, and also posted times of 20.66 and 20.95. His official PRs in the 100 last year were 10.75 and 10.8, and he ran a 10.9 as a freshman.

Groce is a 4-star prospect by both Rivals and 247Sports. Rivals ranks him the No. 4 athlete in the nation, the No. 53 overall prospect in the nation and the No. 8 prospect in the Lone Star State. 247Sports ranks him the No. 3 athlete in the nation, the No. 37 prospect overall and the No. 4 recruit in Texas.

Groce told Rivals after his official visit in June that he loved a lot about Oklahoma.

"I enjoyed myself a lot," Groce said after returning back to Texas after his official visit. "It felt like family everywhere ... Getting to meet the coaches' families and getting to meet the players there and even some alumni ... they all felt like family."

"I'm feeling very close to the staff. They're family. They're one with me. Everyone around there got along pretty well. Everything is going swell with them. It feels like it's family with them."

Groce visited OU on June 10-11, then immediately took more OVs to Florida, Houston and Baylor.

Things seemed ominous for the Sooners on Monday night when Rivals national recruiting reporter Steve Wiltfong said Groce's camp was doing a "little final negotiating" before announcing a destination.

OU's 2026 class stands at 15 verbal commitments.

The Sooners will go again on Tuesday as they hope to beat Texas for the verbal commitment of edge rusher Jake Kreul.

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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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