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Sunday Offering: Reassurance in the Midst of Doubt for Oklahoma on the Recruiting Trail

The Sooners lost a QB commit this week and could lose its best 2025 recruit, but also got reassurance from its 2026 QB.

Dekota Gregory

Kevin Sperry
Kevin Sperry / SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK
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It was a wild week from start to finish surrounding the Sooners. 

Oklahoma concluded Week 13 with a 24-3 upset over No. 7 Alabama on Saturday night in Norman. At least the Sooners won on the field after seemingly taking losses all week off the field with nationwide recruiting chaos also affecting OU. 

Flip Looming?

There was recruiting chaos across the country all week, but it all started for OU on Tuesday. 

Reports surfaced that 5-star offensive tackle Michael Fasusi was planning to visit Texas this weekend, which he ultimately did. Fasusi is reportedly going to visit Texas A&M next weekend, when the Longhorns (and ESPN’s College GameDay) will be in College Station. 

Fasusi committed to the Sooners in August and immediately became the highest rated recruit in OU’s 2025 class. Brent Venables has had a policy at OU that he considers a recruit uncommitted if they visit a different school, and he was asked by our fearless leader, John Hoover, about that during Tuesday’s weekly press conference. 

“If you’re visiting other schools in the present moment, you’re not committed,” Venables answered. “That’s what I would say.”

There will be a close eye on Fasusi with the early signing period looming. 

Bye, Bye, Sperry

While there’s concern Fasusi will flip, Kevin Sperry did. 

Sperry, a 3-star quarterback from Denton Guyer (TX), flipped his commitment from OU to Florida State on Thursday night. Sperry was the first pledge OU landed from the 2025 class when he committed back in March 2023. 

“I think just the way my parents felt about it,” Sperry told Sooners on SI last year after he committed. “My dad’s not an emotional person. He’s pretty tough. But he actually cried there when I went — I think it was a camp. But he cried. My mom cried too. They just felt something special. And I felt something special, too, so it all worked out.”

This was a tough blow for the Sooners, now without a 2025 QB with the early signing period starting less than two weeks from now on Wednesday, Dec. 4. 

Commitment Confirmation

In the midst of all that uncertainty and doubt, OU fans at least don’t have to lose sleep over the Sooners’ 2026 QB commit. 

Sooners on SI reported confirmation on Friday that 4-star quarterback Jaden O’Neal is still “all in” on the Sooners after committing in June. 

“We’re still committed,” Jerren, O’Neal’s father, told Sooners on SI. “There is no flip watch. None of that stuff, man. We don’t operate like that, man.” 

There was doubt around O’Neal’s commitment after he visited Colorado last weekend, and that worry only increased after Sperry’s flip. O’Neal only went to watch and learn from Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, according to Jerren. There were also rumors of O’Neal reclassifying to the 2025 class, which Jerren denied.

O’Neal was back in Norman on Saturday to watch the Sooners host Alabama and posted on X even more confirmation while in town. 

Narrowed Decision 

And with all this quarterback talk, the Sooners got one step closer to landing their guy for the 2027 class. 

Trae Taylor announced on Thursday that he narrowed his school choices down to a dozen, including OU, Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio State, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ole Miss, North Carolina State, Iowa, West Virginia, Illinois and LSU. Outside of his top choices, he also had offers from Colorado, Miami, Kentucky, Tulane, Indiana, North Carolina and more. 

Taylor is a 6-foot-2, 175-pound prospect from Carmel Catholic (IL). Rivals is the only major recruiting service that has rated Taylor this early, giving him four stars and ranking him as the 33rd best recruit in the class regardless of position. 

Offer

This name will probably be familiar. 

Bixby High School (OK) athlete Braeden Presley late Saturday night announced an OU offer. A 2026 product, there’s still not much on Presley from major recruiting services, but his DNA is definitely strong. 

Presley is the younger brother of Brennan and Braylin. Brennan this season became Oklahoma State’s all-time receptions leader after the Cowboys were his only major offer as an undersized receiver out of Bixby. Braylin also went to OSU for a season then transferred to Tulsa. 

Braeden, though, is much bigger than both of his brothers at 6-foot-2 and 180 pounds. He will also likely play on the other side of the ball as a safety. Earlier this week, Braeden got an offer from OSU, as well, to go along with offers from TU, Boston College and Kansas.

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Dekota Gregory
DEKOTA GREGORY

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