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Sunday Offering: Oklahoma Stays Busy on the Recruiting Trail

The Sooners had another solid week recruiting, with multiple prospects coming to Norman for visits and one commitment over the weekend.
Randall Sweet|
Sunday Offering: Oklahoma Stays Busy on the Recruiting Trail
Sunday Offering: Oklahoma Stays Busy on the Recruiting Trail

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Oklahoma Sooners

Oklahoma's 59-20 rout of West Virginia helped Brent Venables' team in more ways than one.

While the Sooners' desperately needed a win to get back on track this season, OU also needed to show recruits that the team is still heading in the right direction and put its best foot forward with a handful of talented prospects on campus.

With a Friday night commitment, an impressive visitor list on Saturday and another prospect announcing his top 12 schools, it has been a busy week on the recruiting trail for the Oklahoma coaching staff.

Sooners stay in-state

On Friday night, Wagoner (OK) edge rusher Alexander Shieldnight committed to OU. 

A 3-star recruit, Shieldnight is the eighth prospect and sixth from Oklahoma to join OU's 2025 recruiting class. The 6-foot-4, 235-pound junior chose the Sooners over Oklahoma State, Arkansas, Tennessee, Texas Tech and others.

The Sooners' newest pledge announced his decision just before kickoff of the Bulldogs' first-round playoff matchup against Broken Bow, which Wagoner won 57-7. 

In the game, Shieldnight scored two touchdowns in the first half, also catching a 58-yard pass while playing tight end. On defense, the physical pass rusher made his presence felt, slamming ball carriers to the turf.

"It was really a no-brainer for me with Coach V and his staff and how good of a relationship I grew with them," said after his commitment. "I just love every single one of them, they're great people." 

Shieldnight also said that he plans to graduate from high school early so he can arrive in Norman next January as an early enrollee, giving him more time to learn the system and get acclimated to college football prior to his freshman season.

Shieldnight joins Lee's Summit North (MO) interior defensive lineman Ka'Mori Moore and Carl Albert (OK) linebacker Marcus James as the only defensive prospects in Oklahoma's 2025 class.

Gameday visits

Saturday's beatdown of West Virginia marked the Sooners' final Saturday home game of the season, meaning that Venables and company were eager to showcase the Sooners' gameday environment to a handful of talented prospects.

Most notably, 4-star offensive lineman Grant Brix was in attendance to see one of Oklahoma's best offensive outings of the season. Rated one of the top two interior offensive lineman in the nation by On3, Brix would be a massive pickup in the 2024 class for Bill Bedenbaugh and company.

Hailing from Logan, IA, Brix is believed to be deciding between OU and Nebraska. While the talented trench player holds offers from Alabama, Oregon, Penn State, Notre Dame and plenty of others, Brix seems to have a great relationship with the coaching staff in Norman. 

While no decision date has been set publicly, OU likely set itself apart from the Cornhuskers with a near 60-point performance and a lively stadium atmosphere on Saturday night. On the same day, Nebraska lost to Maryland 13-10 in Lincoln, dropping the Huskers to 5-5 this season. 

While Brix was the Sooners' highest priority on Saturday night, the team had plenty of other uncommitted prospects on campus this weekend. 

In the 2025 class, Oklahoma played host to 4-star tight end Nate Roberts, 4-star edge rusher Max Granville and 4-star defensive back CJ Jimcoily, who all hold offers from OU. 

Roberts, who hails from Washington, OK, is one of the top two tight ends and top 60 players in the nation, according to 247Sports. Formerly a Notre Dame commit, Roberts backed off of his pledge over the summer, leading many to believe that the Sooners had a chance to land the 6-foot-4, 235-pound athlete.

Roberts seems to have a good relationship with 2025 Oklahoma commits Kevin Sperry and Elijah Thomas, which could help tight ends coach Joe Jon Finley and company come out on top in Roberts' recruitment. 

Roberts has also taken gameday visits Ohio State and Penn State this fall.

Granville is a 6-foot-3, 215-pound defender from Fort Bend Christian Academy (TX). The Houston-area product is one of the top 75 players and top six edge rushers in the 2025 class, according to On3. 

Granville holds offers from Ohio State, Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Texas, USC and many others.

Jimcoily, a 6-foot-3, 200-pound defensive back from Lipscomb Academy (TN), was also on campus this weekend. 

Jimcoily is the No. 174 overall player and the No. 11 safety prospect in the country, according to Rivals. 

The star DB was in Norman for the Brent Venables Elite Camp over the summer and has remained in contact with the Sooners' coaching staff since his stellar performance in June. 

Jimcoily holds nearly 30 offers from schools like Michigan, Texas A&M, Tennessee and Penn State. 

Jordan Davis and Kaydin Jones, two 2026 prospects who have both received offers from Oklahoma, also were in Norman on Saturday.

Davis is a 6-foot-2, 190-pound safety from Dallas HSAA who picked up his offer from Venables and company in early August. Davis also holds offers from Baylor and Lamar.

Jones, a 6-foot, 170-pound athlete from Jenks (OK), is the son of former OU running back Kejuan Jones. The talented sophomore holds offers from Colorado, Texas Tech, Baylor, Oklahoma State and others.

While Jones plays both running back and defensive back for the Trojans, he will likely be a defensive back in college.

In addition to the aforementioned players, the Sooners also hosted 13 players who have already committed to OU in the 2024 and 2025 classes. Sperry, Thomas, James, Andy Bass, Mykel Patterson-McDonald, Jaden Nickens, Taylor Tatum, Xavier Robinson, Michael Boganowski, Danny Okoye, Jeremiah Newcombe, James Nesta and Ivan Carreon were all on campus Saturday evening to see Oklahoma dismantle West Virginia.

Additionally, the Sooners played host to a handful of recruits who don't have offers from OU, but could potentially earn offers or preferred walk-on spots down the line. 

Kole Briehler, Joseph Dover, Sam Dubwig, Carmello Williamson, Brady McAdoo, Cord Coffee, Nathan Mosher and Jack Clifford were also in Norman this weekend.

Shieldnight said after his commitment that he could not attend Saturday's game against WVU because he was duck hunting.

Top schools

Earlier this week, 4-star defensive lineman Myron Charles announced his top 12 schools. 

The 6-foot-4, 295-pound junior from Port Charlotte, FL, included Oklahoma, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, Colorado, Michigan, USC, Tennessee, Miami, Alabama, LSU and Florida State in his list. 

Charles is rated the No. 67 player and No. 8 defensive lineman in the 2025 cycle and would be a massive boost to what already has the makings of a solid class in Norman.

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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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