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Oklahoma Lands Commitment from 2024 4-star LB

After a busy two weeks of recruiting, the Sooners saw the next domino fall in what has the potential to be another impressive class for OU.

Randall Sweet

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The Sooners’ ChampU BBQ after-party has begun. 

James Nesta, a 4-star linebacker from Cornelius, NC, has committed to Oklahoma. 

The rising senior announced his decision on Twitter Tuesday evening, picking the Sooners over Miami and North Carolina. Nesta also had offers from USC and Tennessee, among others.

The William Amos Hough (NC) standout is the No. 246 player in the 2024 class and is rated as a top-20 linebacker in the country according to On3. Listed at 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds, Nesta will also play baseball at OU, marking yet another dual-sport athlete ready to make a name for himself in Norman. 

Nesta was on campus over the weekend for Oklahoma's ChampU BBQ, an annual recruiting event during which the Sooners' coaching staff and players spend time with a large amount of recruits and their families. It seems that the barbeque went well for the star defender, who is OU's first commitment after two massive weekends hosting high-profile recruits. 

Additionally, the North Carolina native marks Oklahoma's first commitment in the 2024 class since April. Nesta appears to be the first domino to fall in what will be an important couple of months for the Sooners, who are hoping to add a few more names soon in the upcoming cycle

As a junior, Nesta notched 41 tackles, 13 tackles for loss and nine quarterback sacks, helping lead  Hough to the fourth round of the state playoffs. OU's newest commit received an offer from Brent Venables and company on May 9, and included Oklahoma in his top three less than a month later.

With Venables' aptness for coaching linebackers, it is no surprise that a talented prospect would be willing to make the trek from North Carolina to Oklahoma to play under the Sooners' head coach. 

After much of Sooner Nation began to grow restless with the lack of commitments since the ChampU BBQ, Nesta's pledge should ease the fanbase's worries for the time being. With players like Xavier Robinson, Caden Durham, Taylor Tatum, Max Anderson and Justin Denson likely making a decision soon, there could be plenty to look forward to on the recruiting trail for OU fans.

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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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