All Sooners

Sunday Offering: Despite Fall Camp, Oklahoma Stays Active on the Recruiting Trail

The Sooners have been busy recruiting to start the month of August, earning four commitments in the past week.

Randall Sweet

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Despite Brent Venables' squad kicking off fall camp this week, the OU coaching staff had a busy week on the recruiting trail. 

With four commitments, three more upcoming decisions and a handful of other recruiting news, the Sooners have stayed hard at work finding the next crop of players to join the program. With multiple commitments scheduled for August, including 5-star defensive lineman David Stone on Aug. 26th, Oklahoma could continue their string of summertime success.

Commitments

On Monday, 4-star defensive back Mykel Patterson-McDonald committed to Oklahoma, choosing the Sooners over Missouri, UNLV, Houston and others. 

The Westmoore (OK) standout is the son of former OU football player Larry McDonald. A hard-hitting, downhill safety, Patterson-McDonald is a great addition to the Sooners' 2024 defensive back room, which already consisted of 4-star corner Jeremiah Newcombe and 4-star safety Jaydan Hardy.

Following his commitment, Patterson-McDonald discussed his relationship with Stone, saying that the two are close friends. 

"(David Stone and I) have talked about this for awhile," Patterson-McDonald said when asked about the possibility of playing with the fellow Oklahoma City native in college. "Playing together since 8U, I met him 8U, Del City Eagles. We played together all the way up until 12U. We've been close ever since and we always talk about playing together."

Patterson-McDonald also said that he is hoping to add Stone, Caden Durham, Williams Nwaneri, Michael Boganowski, and Nigel Smith II to the Sooners' 2024 class.

The next day, 3-star Alliance (OH) quarterback Brendan Zurbrugg announced his commitment to Oklahoma, becoming Jeff Lebby's second QB pledge in the upcoming recruiting cycle. 

Zurbrugg was formerly committed to Northwestern and Syracuse, but said on Tuesday that he was decommitting from the Northwestern, "due to the recent investigations and uncertainty in the program."

The Ohio native is a talented track athlete and offers a different skill set than 4-star Frisco Emerson (TX) QB Michael Hawkins Jr., OU's first passer to commit in the 2024 class.

The Sooners have not typically recruited multiple signal callers in the same cycle, but after a forgettable outing in the 2022 Red River Rivalry game, Venables wanted to ensure that Oklahoma's quarterback room had more depth and competition going forward.

On Wednesday, Bergin Kysar announced that he was committing to the Sooners, choosing to take a preferred walk-on spot at OU over scholarships from Oklahoma State, Tulsa and UNLV. 

The talented edge rusher was at the Brent Venables Elite Camp earlier this summer and returned in late July for the "Party at the Palace" recruiting event. Listed at 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds, Kysar is a good athlete with great weight room numbers. 

Despite being a walk-on, the Edmond Santa Fe (OK) product is a 3-star recruit in the 2024 class and will have the chance to compete for playing time during his career in Norman. 

On Saturday, fellow 2024 Edmond Santa Fe standout Joshua Aisosa committed to the Sooners. A 3-star recruit, Aisosa chose OU over Iowa State, UTSA and UNLV. 

The 6-foot-4, 300-pound tackle is Bill Bedenbaugh's third offensive line commit in the 2024 class, joining 4-star Itawamba Agricultural (MS) tackle Isaiah Autry and 4-star Sierra Canyon (CA) interior lineman Eugene Brooks.

Later in the day, 3-star NFL Academy offensive lineman Daniel Akinkunmi announced that he will take an official visit to Norman for Oklahoma's opening contest against Arkansas State. If Bedenbaugh is able to earn a commitment from the London native, the Sooners would have more depth in the 2024 offensive line group.

Commitment dates

Last Sunday, Caden Durham announced that he was shifting his commitment date from Aug. 25 to Aug. 10 after returning from a visit to LSU. This led many fans and recruiting experts to believe that the speedy 2024 running back from Duncanville (TX) is headed to Baton Rouge.

The Sooners' appeared an unlikely landing spot for Durham after earning pledges from two talented tailbacks in the 2024 class. Xavier Robinson, a 3-star ball carrier from Carl Albert (OK) committed to OU in late June and 5-star halfback Taylor Tatum announced his pledge to Oklahoma less than a month later.

While DeMarco Murray and company aren't completely out of the race for Durham, it doesn't seem likely that the former Southmoore (OK) star will end up in Norman.

If the Sooners don't end up reeling in Durham, it seems that they are in good shape to earn a commitment from 3-star Heritage Hall athlete Andy Bass, who will choose between OU, Kansas State and Syracuse on Aug. 24.

A QB for the Chargers, Bass is being recruited to Oklahoma as a utility player who can catch passes, take handoffs and maybe even play wildcat quarterback. 

Listed at 5-foot-10 and 200 pounds, Bass ran a 10.56 in the 100-meter dash last spring. 

In June, the talented athlete attended the Brent Venables Elite Camp, dominating running back and wide receiver drills. Bass ran by defenders with ease, making multiple great snags in the end zone for deep touchdown catches during one-on-one reps.

On Aug. 12, 4-star 2025 wide receiver Jaden Nickens will announce his commitment. Hailing from Oklahoma City Millwood, Nickens is one of the top 90 players and top 12 wide receivers in the 2025 class, according to 247Sports.

The 6-foot-3 pass catcher holds offers from TCU, Texas A&M, Penn State and others, but is widely expected to choose the Sooners next Saturday. If Nickens does commit to OU, he would be Emmett Jones' third pledge in the 2025 cycle, joining 4-star Ennis (TX) wideout Gracen Harris and 4-star Checotah (OK) receiver Elijah Thomas.

Top schools

Oklahoma also found itself in the mix for two more talented recruits; 4-star junior college DB Sione Laulea and 5-star 2025 corner Devin Sanchez.

Laulea plays at College of San Mateo (CA) and is rated the No. 1 junior college prospect in the nation. Listed at 6-foot-4 and 190 pounds, Laulea has elite size for a cornerback. 

On Monday, Laulea announced that he will choose between OU, USC, Miami, Penn State and Oregon.

With the rising sophomore's length and speed, he would have the chance to make an immediate impact for Jay Valai if he were to commit to Oklahoma.

Two days later, Sanchez put the Sooners in his top 10 alongside Michigan, LSU, Texas, Texas A&M, USC, Alabama, Oregon, Florida State and Ohio State. The Houston North Shore star is rated the No. 2 corner and No. 7 overall player in the 2025 class, per 247Sports. 

Listed at 6-foot-2, Sanchez is another player with great size and speed who could likely compete for playing time from day one. Valai and company have a long road ahead to earn a commitment from the 5-star prospect, however, and will have to beat out some of the best college football programs in the nation to secure a commitment from the Houston-area product. 

Offers

Despite fall camp and a busy week on the recruiting trail, the Sooners' staff was still able to extend three offers throughout the week. 

On Tuesday, Dallas HSSA (TX) 2026 defensive back Jordan Davis was offered by Venables and company. Listed at 6-foot-2 and 185 pounds, the rising sophomore is very athletic and was on campus for the "Sooners Under the Stars" recruiting event in late June. 

Currently, Davis holds offers from OU, Baylor and Lamar, but will likely see many more over the next few years. 

The next day, 2025 Shreveport Captain Shreve offensive lineman Devin Harper picked up an offer from the Sooners. Listed at 6-foot-5 and 295 pounds, Harper has offers from LSU, Georgia, Penn State and many others. 

According to 247Sports, Harper is one of the top 140 players and top eight interior offensive lineman in the 2025 cycle. 

On Thursday, Venables and company offered Landyn Cleveland, a 3-star defensive back from Mansfield Legacy (TX). The 5-foot-11 safety is currently committed to Oklahoma State, and holds offers from Texas, Michigan, Penn State, TCU and others. 

Cleveland committed to the Cowboys in late April.

Published
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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