Oklahoma is squarely in the mix for back-to-back-to-back top 10 classes in the On3 Industry Football Team Recruiting Rankings under Brent Venables. After finishing No. 9 in 2024, the Sooners are looking to top that this cycle, led by a bumper crop inside their own state. Six of the top 10 players in the Sooner State are already committed — all of them to OU.
Venables and Co. are looking to lock in at least three more from that list, and they’re also going after some of the top recruits in neighboring Texas as well. Early in the cycle, the Sooners are trending for a few major targets in the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM), outlined below:
5-star LB Jonah Williams
School: Galveston (Texas) Ball
On3 Industry Ranking: No. 13
On3 RPM: Oklahoma 97.5%, Texas 1.0%
The Skinny: Programs across the country are in pursuit of five-star linebacker Jonah Williams, but it’s the Sooners setting the pace right now. Williams returned to Norman at the end of January, and picks began rolling in for OU, including from On3 national recruiting analyst Sam Spiegelman.
“Oklahoma is baseball and football as well. The coaching staff … they all hit me up,” he said. “Make sure and talk to me. We have great conversations. They love my parents, and my parent love them. It’s just elevated our relationship.”
4-star ATH CJ Nickson
School: Weatherford (Okla.)
On3 Industry Ranking: No. 61 (#3 ATH)
On3 RPM: Oklahoma 97.5%, Auburn 1.5%
The Skinny: As the top uncommitted recruit in the Sooner State, there’s few bigger targets right now for OU than CJ Nickson. The jumbo athlete, who stands at 6’5 and 220 pounds, likely projects as an edge rusher at the next level, but put up strong numbers on both sides of the ball. In three varsity seasons, he has totaled 94 catches for 1,535 yards and 18 touchdowns. And on the defensive side, he notched 54 total tackles and four tackles for loss.
Auburn and a handful of other schools are in the mix, but the Sooners look to be the heavy favorite as it stands today.
4-star RB Tory Blaylock
School: Houston (Texas) Atascocita
On3 Industry Ranking: No. 226 (#18 RB)
On3 RPM: Oklahoma 82.1%, Texas A&M 6.6%, Texas 3.9%, Ohio State 1.7%
The Skinny: In-state programs like Texas and Texas A&M are both working to keep Tory Blaylock in the Lone Star State, but this one is trending toward the Sooners. He’s visited Norman on multiple occasions in the past year, including at the end of July and then again this fall for a game.
The son of former NFL running back Derrick Blaylock, Tory has posted blazing track times (10.7 in the 100 as a sophomore) and also had more than 800 all-purpose yards and 14 touchdowns as a junior.
4-star EDGE Max Granville
School: Sugar Land (Texas) Fort Bend Christian Academy
On3 Industry Ranking: No. 132 (#10 EDGE)
On3 RPM: Oklahoma 89.3%, Texas A&M 2.6%, Baylor 2.2%
The Skinny: Max Granville is another Texas-based prospect that the Sooners are very high on, and the feeling looks to be mutual. He made a string of game-day visits this summer and fall to check out Texas A&M, SMU, Texas and Oklahoma. But right now it’s OU outpacing the in-state programs.
“From talking to sources close to Granville’s recruitment, there is a lot of early buzz favoring the Sooners, who are making the Houston-area EDGE defender a huge priority in next year’s recruiting cycle,” On3’s Sam Spiegelman wrote in November. “Even more so, Oklahoma’s staff is making strong inroads with key members of Granville’s circle, too.”
4-star CB Cobey Sellers
School: Pearland (Texas) Shadow Creek
On3 Industry Ranking: No. 152 (#22 CB)
On3 RPM: Oklahoma 87.2%, Texas 4.9%, Baylor 2.1%
The Skinny: Houston-based four-star cornerback Cobey Sellers has been to Norman, including one trip for a game this fall and then again in January. On3’s Sam Spiegelman broke down his recruitment heading into the latest visit:
“Sellers returns to Oklahoma this weekend for the Sooners’ elite junior day after stopping at Texas and Georgia earlier this month. Oklahoma has maintained a major presence in the four-star Lone Star State cornerback’s recruitment dating back to last spring.
Texas and Oklahoma have gone toe to toe in this battle for one of the Lone Star State’s best in 2025, but sources close to this recruitment view Jay Valai at the catalyst. There are some who would not be surprised to see Sellers have a decision made before turning home to Houston.”
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