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Oklahoma Makes Final Cut for Blue-Chip East Coast Linebacker

The Sooners and the Tigers are the final two schools battling for Jay Schell, a consensus 4-star defensive target.
Carson Field|
Oklahoma linebacker prospect Jay Schell poses for a photo with coach Brent Venables on an unofficial visit.
Oklahoma linebacker prospect Jay Schell poses for a photo with coach Brent Venables on an unofficial visit. | Jay Schell via X/Twitter

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Oklahoma Sooners

OU coach Brent Venables is battling against his former school for one of the top linebackers from the Class of 2028.

Jay Schell, a consensus 4-star prospect from Rabun Gap, Ga., is down to Oklahoma and Clemson, per a report from Hayes Fawcett of On3. Venables spent a decade as Clemson’s defensive coordinator before accepting the head coaching job at OU before the 2022 season.

Schell is listed at 6-foot-3 and 214 pounds. In 247Sports’ composite rankings for the 2028 class, he is the No. 142 overall player and the No. 8 linebacker.

During his sophomore season at Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School, Schell notched 77 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, three sacks, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and a pass breakup.

Before narrowing his list down to OU and Clemson, Schell earned offers from dozens of other Power Four programs, including Ohio State, Texas, Texas A&M, Tennessee, Georgia and Michigan.

Chad Simmons of Rivals expects that the Sooners will ultimately land Schell, as he logged an expert prediction in favor of Oklahoma on Tuesday.

Sooners schedule two new gameday visits

Defensive lineman Kellan Hall — one of the top 2028 prospects who has already visited OU a handful of times — will be back in Norman during the fall.

Hall will attend OU’s home game against New Mexico on Sept. 19, according to a report from Rivals’ Steve Wiltfong.

Hall, a Louisville, Ky., native, is the No. 2 player and the No. 1 defensive lineman from the Class of 2028, per Rivals. The 6-foot-4, 265-pound defensive lineman is a consensus top-six prospect.

During the summer, Hall attended one of the Brent Venables Football Camps before taking a full unofficial visit. That marked his fourth trip to Norman.

Though it appears OU is still a top contender for Hall, the defensive lineman prospect will explore other options during the fall, as well. According to Wiltfong’s report, he will also take gameday visits to Oregon, Kentucky, Georgia, Texas A&M, Ohio State, Michigan, Texas, Notre Dame and Tennessee.

Edge rusher Major Stokes will also be on hand for the New Mexico game, per Greg Biggins of Rivals.

Standing 6-foot-6 and weighing 240 pounds, Stokes is a consensus 4-star prospect. The Orem, Utah, native is the No. 32 overall recruit from the Class of 2028 in 247Sports’ rankings.

As a sophomore at Orem High School, he registered 42 tackles, 29.5 tackles for loss, 11.5 sacks and a fumble recovery. 

Per Biggins, Stokes also has trips planned to Michigan, Alabama, Miami, USC and Utah.

OU sends new 2029 offers

OU’s staff also spent last week extending new offers to 2029 prospects, including wide receiver Jaedon White.

White is listed at 6-foot and 190 pounds as only a high school sophomore. He is the No. 31 player in 247Sports’ Class of 2029 rankings.

So far, the Anderson, S.C, native has already earned offers from Florida, Georgia, Miami, Notre Dame and several other major programs.

Linebacker Kingston Stroshine of American Fork, Utah, also collected an offer from OU.

Stroshine is graded as a 3-star prospect by 247Sports. He posted a remarkable freshman season at Lone Peak High School in 2025, finishing the year with 82 tackles, eight tackles for loss, four pass breakups, two sacks, an interception and a fumble recovery.

Despite his underclassman status, Stroshine has already earned offers from Michigan, Penn State, Houston, USC, UCLA and Washington in addition to OU.

A native of El Paso, Texas, tight end Noah Tarrant is another 2029 player who announced an OU offer.

Tarrant, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 215 pounds, is a 4-star prospect and the No. 51 overall player from the 2029 class, per 247Sports.

As a freshman at Pebble Hills High School, Tarrant caught 38 passes for 484 yards and six touchdowns. He is now a sophomore, and he transferred to All Saints’ Episcopal School in Fort Worth prior to the fall.

Tarrant has already generated an impressive offer sheet that also includes Georgia, Oregon, LSU, Texas A&M, Texas and Tennessee.

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Carson Field
CARSON FIELD

Carson Field has worked full-time in the sports media industry since 2020 in Colorado, Texas and Wyoming as well as nationally, and he has earned degrees from Arizona State University and Texas A&M University. When he isn’t covering the Sooners, he’s likely golfing, fishing or doing something else outdoors. Twitter: https://x.com/carsondfield

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