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Sunday Offering: Oklahoma Continues to Gain Momentum on Recruiting Trail

With three commitments in the past week between two recruiting classes, the Sooners are beginning to pick up plenty of momentum heading into the 2023-24 season.
Randall Sweet|
Sunday Offering: Oklahoma Continues to Gain Momentum on Recruiting Trail
Sunday Offering: Oklahoma Continues to Gain Momentum on Recruiting Trail

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Oklahoma Sooners

Between two massive on-campus recruiting events, three more commitments and a handful of offers going out this week, Brent Venables and company have been busy on the recruiting trail this week.

First, OU hosted “Sooners Under the Stars” a day specifically for 2025-2027 recruits that saw over 30 attendees. At this event, multiple offers were extended by the Sooners’ coaching staff and the team received multiple commitments with more likely on the way.

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Over the weekend, Oklahoma was home to the “Party at the Palace”, a different recruiting event for 2024 prospects. While the Sooners are still hoping to see the benefits of this event, there were plenty of talented recruits on campus who are nearing a decision date.

In addition to the busy week of visits, OU found itself in the mix for four more talented recruits who trimmed their list of schools this week.

If that wasn’t enough, Venables and company extended nearly 10 offers to high school recruits this week, making it a busy week for the Oklahoma staff.

Commits

The Sooners’ first commitment of the week came from 2024 Sierra Canyon (CA) offensive lineman Eugene Brooks.

Brooks is a 4-star recruit, rated one of the 12 interior offensive lineman in the country according to Rivals. The Las Vegas native primarily plays tackle for his high school team, but projects to play guard for Bill Bedenbaugh.

Brooks chose OU over Texas after announcing his final two schools earlier in the month. The talented blocker marks Oklahoma’s second offensive line pledge in the 2024 class, joining 3-star Itawamba Agricultural (MS) offensive tackle Isaiah Autry.

One day later, the Sooners added their third commit to the 2025 class when Lee’s Summit North (MO) interior defensive lineman Ka’Mori Moore announced his commitment. Moore was in Norman at OU’s “Sooners Under the Stars” event when he went public with his decision.

Moore is a 3-star recruit, listed at 6-foot-1 and 310 pounds as a rising junior. The Lee’s Summit North standout is also teammates with fellow Oklahoma targets Williams Nwaneri and Isaiah Mozee.

Getting a commitment from Moore may help OU land Nwaneri, who is rumored to be announcing his commitment in the coming weeks. The trio is coached at Lee’s Summit North by former Sooners’ running back Jamar Mozee.

On Thursday, Oklahoma landed its third pledge in three days when Checotah (OK) 4-star wide receiver Elijah Thomas committed to OU.

Thomas is rated one of the top 100 players and top 15 wideouts in the nation, according to Rivals. The longtime recruiting website also lists Thomas as the top player in Oklahoma, an impressive feat for such a talented class of in-state athletes.

The local star was at the Brent Venables Elite Camp earlier this summer and put on a show in front of the Sooners’ coaching staff, torching multiple talented defenders for deep touchdown catches.

Thomas said that he grew up an OU fan, which ultimately played a large role in the talented pass catcher choosing Oklahoma over Alabama, Arkansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State and others.

Moore and Thomas join 4-star Carl Albert (OK) quarterback Kevin Sperry and 4-star Ennis (TX) wideout Gracen Harris in the Sooners 2025 recruiting class.

Top schools' lists

Three prospects with Oklahoma offers also announced their list of top schools this week that included Venables and company in their shortened list.

On Thursday, 5-star defensive lineman and Oklahoma City native David Stone announced his top six schools and commitment date.

As expected, OU remains in contention for Stone, along with Miami, Michigan State, Florida, Texas A&M and Oregon. The IMG Academy (FL) star will make his decision on August 26, likely during the ESPN2 broadcast of IMG Academy’s matchup with St. Joseph’s Prep (PA).

Stone is teammates with 2024 Sooners’ commit Jayden Jackson, which could end up benefiting Oklahoma if the talented trench player does end up committing to Venables and company.

Stone is a consensus top 3 defensive lineman in the 2024 class and is one of the top 10 overall players in his recruiting cycle according to 247Sports, ESPN and Rivals. If Stone’s childhood friend and fellow OU target Mykel Patterson-McDonald ends up choosing the Sooners when he commits on July 31, it would go a long way in helping recruit Stone to Norman.

On Friday, Oklahoma learned that they were in the top 10 for 3-star offensive lineman Daniel Akinkunmi.

The skilled lineman from the UK can play all five positions on the offensive line and would be a huge pickup for Bedenbaugh and company, who only have two offensive lineman committed in the 2024 class.

Hailing from the NFL Academy in London, Akinkunmi would be one of the most intriguing prospects OU’s offensive line coach has ever landed.

On Saturday, the Sooners found themselves in the mix for an impressive local prospect.

Millwood (OK) 4-star 2025 wideout Jaden Nickens included the Sooners in his top eight along with Arkansas, Oklahoma State, UNLV, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, UTSA and North Texas.

The 6-foot-3 playmaker also holds offers from the likes of Penn State and TCU, among others. Per 247Sports, Nickens is one of the top 88 players and top 12 wide receivers in the 2025 class.

Also a talented basketball player, Nickens is an explosive athlete who also performed well at the Brent Venables Elite Camp. This weekend, Nickens teammate at Millwood, 2026 QB CJ Turnbull, was in Norman for the “Sooners Under the Stars” event.

Offers

Despite all the commitments, visits and lists the Sooners’ were involved with of this week, Venables and company were still able to shell out offers to nine high school recruits.

On Monday, Oklahoma offered 2024 Moore (OK) kicker Liam Evans.

According to Kohl’s Kicking, Evans is a 5-star specialist and the No. 1 kicker in Oklahoma. The Lion’s product was on campus later in the week for OU’s “Party at the Palace”.

On Thursday, the Sooners extended offers to 2025 Boerne (TX) 4-star offensive tackle Logan Schram and 2025 Hun School (NJ) 4-star defensive lineman Kole Briehler.

Schram, who is listed at 6-foot-6 and 315 pounds, is one of the top 175 players and top 20 offensive tackles in the 2025 class, according to ESPN. Briehler, listed at 6-foot-2 and 263 pounds, is the No. 247 overall player in 2025, per On3.

The other six offers that Venables and company gave out were all extended at the “Sooners Under the Stars” event that took place in the middle of the week.

In the 2025 class, 4-star Mater Dei (CA) receiver Marcus Harris, 3-star Legacy School of Sport Sciences (TX) offensive lineman Joshua Moses and 3-star Mater Dei (CA) linebacker Abduall Sanders Jr. all picked up offers while Mater Dei (CA) linebacker Shaun Scott and Bishop Moore Catholic (FL) edge Jake Kreul received offers in the 2026 class.

DeSoto (TX) rising freshman Ethan Feaster became OU’s first offer in the 2027 class this week after spending time in Norman at the Sooners’ recruiting events.

The highly touted pass catcher already boasts 26 offers from Georgia, Michigan, LSU and many others.

Already listed at 6-foot-1, it would not be shocking to see Feaster develop into one of the top wide receivers in his class. 

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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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