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Sunday Offering: Oklahoma Continues to Build Momentum on the Recruiting Trail

The Sooners added multiple 2024 prospects over the past week, also remaining in the mix for a handful of 2025 recruits.
Randall Sweet|
Sunday Offering: Oklahoma Continues to Build Momentum on the Recruiting Trail
Sunday Offering: Oklahoma Continues to Build Momentum on the Recruiting Trail

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Oklahoma Sooners

Brent Venables and company continue to have success on the recruiting trail.

In the past week, Oklahoma has landed two commitments from nearby prospects while also staying in contention for a few talented 2025 recruits.

On Thursday, 4-star Junction City (KS) linebacker/safety hybrid Michael Boganowski announced his commitment to the Sooners. 

According to Rivals, Boganowski is one of the top 17 linebackers in the country and the No. 1 player in Kansas in the 2024 cycle. 

With plenty of speed and versatility at 6-foot-2 and 205 pounds, the Blue Jays standout should fit perfectly into Venables' defense, where he will likely get a shot at playing the Cheetah role.

Boganowski chose OU over Kansas, Kansas State, Florida State and others.

The next day, 4-star Tulsa Union (OK) cornerback Devon Jordan announced that he was also committing to Oklahoma, choosing the Sooners over Alabama, Texas A&M, TCU, Oklahoma State and others.

Jordan is the No. 32 cornerback in the nation and one of the top five players in the Sooner State, according to 247Sports. Jordan's pledge continues an impressive stretch of local recruiting by Venables and company that has seen OU land a wealth of in-state talent.

Jordan joins Mykel Patterson-McDonald, Jaydan Hardy, Jeremiah Newcombe, Eli Bowen and Boganowski in Oklahoma's 2024 defensive back room.

In addition to the two pledges that the Sooners received over the past few days, OU also learned that it is still in contention for a few 2025 recruits as well.

On Wednesday, 3-star linebacker recruit Marcus James announced that he will decide between Oklahoma, Utah, Arkansas, Texas A&M and TCU on Nov. 2nd. 

This comes around a week after James released his top five schools.

The Carl Albert (OK) product is one of the top junior football players in OK Preps, and still has plenty of potential to develop further once he reaches college. At 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, James already has a solid frame and would easily be able to put on weight once he is in a collegiate strength and condition program.

According to Rivals, James is one of the top 20 linebackers in the nation. 

Just a few days after announcing his commitment date, James caught two touchdowns against Guthrie (OK), which hadn't allowed a touchdown through its first seven games of the season. 

Also in the 2025 class, 3-star offensive tackle Easton Ware announced his final schools and commitment date on Friday.

The 6-foot-5, 300-pound lineman from Liberty Christian Academy (VA) will decide between Oklahoma, Clemson, Baylor, Auburn, Cincinnati, Wake Forest, Wisconsin, Notre Dame, Michigan and Duke on Wednesday, Nov. 1. 

According to On3, Ware is the No. 23 offensive tackle in the upcoming recruiting class. While he is reportedly favoring Clemson, the Tigers' third loss of the season last night may be enough for the Sooners to sway Ware.

High 4-star linebacker Riley Pettijohn also announced his top schools this week, keeping OU, Florida, Texas, Colorado, SMU, LSU, Auburn, Michigan, Florida State, Ohio State, USC and TCU in the mix.

Listed at 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds, Pettijohn is one of the top 30 prospects and top three linebackers in the 2025 class, according to On3. Hailing from McKinney, TX, the stellar defender is the son of former Syracuse and NFL defensive lineman Duke Pettijohn.

The Sooners recruiting efforts extended to gameday once again, as the coaching staff hosted another large handful of prospects. 

In addition to James being in Norman for OU's most recent contest, Bethany (OK) 2026 defensive back Evenson Malaska, Southlake Carroll (TX) 2026 wide receiver Brock Boyd, Centerville (OH) 2024 defensive back Reggie Powers III, and Elkhorn North (NE) 2025 tight end Chase Loftin were all on campus to see Oklahoma take down UCF.

Aside from the aforementioned players, who already hold offers from the Sooners, Abernathy (TX) 2025 athlete Kelton Carver, West Plains (TX) 2026 wide receiver Kane White-Tinsley, Estacado (TX) 2027 offensive lineman Vershaunndrick Smith, Tampa Jesuit (FL) 2026 quarterback Will Griffin, Norman North (OK) 2026 wide receiver Mason James, Southmoore (OK) 2025 tight end Nathan Mosher, Owasso (OK) 2025 defensive lineman Reece Satterwhite, Denton Braswell (TX) 2027 offensive lineman Brayden Wood, Allen (TX) 2026 defensive back Lebron Bauer, Owasso (OK) 2027 defensive lineman Dawayne Jones and Frisco Lone Star (TX) 2025 offensive lineman Gary Lassley all took visits to Norman this weekend.

Finally, 4-star 2025 offensive lineman Andrew Babalola also took a trip to Oklahoma this weekend, earning an offer from Venables and company during the visit.

Listed at 6-foot-6 and 280 pounds, Babalola is one of the top 23 players and top four offensive tackles in the 2025 class, per On3. Hailing from Blue Valley Northwest High School in Overland Park, KS, the fast-raising o-lineman already holds nearly 20 offers. 

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Randall Sweet
RANDALL SWEET

Randall is a recruiting analyst and staff writer at AllSooners focusing primarily on OU Football and the recruiting trail. Working as a journalist, Randall has covered the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma City Thunder, and high school sports across the state. A 2022 University of Oklahoma graduate, Randall hails from Lubbock, TX. While in college, Sweet wrote for the OU Daily in addition to working with Sooner Sports Pad and OU Nightly. Following his time at OU, Sweet served as the Communications Coordinator at Visit Oklahoma City before leaving to join the team at AllSooners. The West Texas native has bylines in the Norman Transcript and is a Staff Writer for Inside the Thunder. Randall holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of Oklahoma in Norman, OK. 

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