Oklahoma's Recruiting Streak Continues With Black Friday Pickup

The Sooners added another recruit to their 2026 class on Friday.

Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables | Randy Sartin-Imagn Images

Oklahoma’s recruiting hot streak continued on Black Friday.

The Sooners landed 3-star pass rusher Dane Bathurst, he told Rivals recruiting reporter Hayes Fawcett. 

Bathurst, a 6-foot-3, 230-pounder from Carmel, IN, is classified as a linebacker by 247Sports and an edge rusher by Rivals. 

He’s rated as the No. 57 linebacker in the country by 247Sports’ composite rankings, and he’s the No. 53 edge rusher in Rivals’ industry rankings. 

Bathurst is the 25th verbal commitment in Oklahoma’s 2026 recruiting class, and he’s the 12th defensive pledge in Brent Venables’ recruiting class. 

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Things have progressed quickly between Bathurst and the Sooners. 

He was only offered by OU this month, and he visited last weekend for the Sooners’ victory over Missouri. 

Bathurst originally committed to Duke earlier this year on Feb. 10. 

He stepped away from his verbal pledge to the Blue Devils on No. 13, where he quickly received attention from OU and Nebraska, among others. 

Bathurst became the Sooners’ fourth recruiting addition since the win over the Tigers on Friday.

Yesterday, OU landed 4-star receiver Jayden Petit.

Oklahoma has also added running back Jonathan Hatton Jr. and defensive back Markel Ford this week. 

The Sooners jumped up one spot and now have the No. 14 class in 247Sports’ 2026 rankings.

Oklahoma’s top-rated recruit is edge rusher Jake Kreul, who picked OU back on Aug. 12. 

Petit is the Sooners’ second-highest rated recruit in 247Sports’ Composite Rankings, followed closely behind by Hatton, quarterback Bowe Bentley and defensive back Derrick Johnson II.

Now, Oklahoma’s coaching staff will turn its attention to the task at hand on the field.

The eighth-ranked Sooners host LSU at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. 

If OU can close the regular season with a victory, it will not only punch its ticket back to the College Football Playoff for the first time since 2019, but the 10-2 record for the Sooners would likely be good enough to host a first round game of the CFP at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on either Dec. 19 or Dec. 20.