Two Years and 1,200 Miles Away, Why 4-Star QB Jaden O’Neal Chose Oklahoma

Quarterback Jaden O'Neal committed to the Sooners in June as a 4-star recruit over offers from the likes of Ohio State, Texas A&M and more.

2026 QB Jaden O'Neal / Jaden O'Neal via Twitter/X

As highly coveted recruit Jaden O’Neal chose where he wanted to play college football in two years, football itself wasn’t actually his top priority.

O’Neal, listed at 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds, is a consensus 4-star quarterback in the 2026 class who committed to Oklahoma in June. A California native, O’Neal will play his junior season at Narbonne High School after transferring from Newport Harbor this past offseason. Every major recruiting service ranks O’Neal as a top-10 quarterback in the 2026 class and a top-15 prospect in the state. He chose the Sooners over offers from Auburn, Florida State, Miami, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, Texas A&M, UCLA, Washington and plenty others. 

So why Oklahoma?

“When it came down to making my decision, it was really just, like, the coaching staff, them kind of sharing the same moral values as my father, my uncle, some of my family members who are around me,” O’Neal told Sooners on SI. “Just the development part, it’s definitely top notch, seeing the history that they had with multiple quarterbacks. I also just like the brotherhood and the SOUL Mission also – I like a big part of that – seeing how they treat their players is definitely something that was top notch compared to any other school.”

There’s a story O’Neal’s father, Jerren O'Neal, likes to share of OU head coach Brent Venables from one of their three trips to Norman, nearly 1,200 miles from home in California. Venables keeps a relay baton in his office and uses it as an example for visiting parents. He references parenting as a relay race, and parents have to pass that baton to the coach to now lead and guide their son.  

“It’s good to know that when he leaves my home, he’ll be going to a place that can continue to do some of the same things that I did,” Jarren said. “Because no parent wants to send their kid away to an unstable environment. But being at Oklahoma three times, I felt like each time I got a true sense of the kind of men and program that he’s gonna be around. 

“It’s not just football for us. He can play anywhere. But it’s more so a matter of people that he’s gonna be around. Because the people are the true secret sauce and science to these kids being successful. It’s not the football field.” 

Don’t misunderstand the O’Neals, though. Football is still important. Athletes don’t develop into Division-I talent, especially the level O'Neal is at, without an emphasis and extra attention to the sport they play. 

Jerren started that process early for his son. He believed he saw something special in his kid as soon as O’Neal started playing youth football. But a father can be biased, so he asked a friend and co-worker who would know how to not only evaluate O’Neal’s talent, but also hopefully develop it.

Ortege Jenkins was inducted into the Arizona Ring of Honor in 2022 because of his success as the Wildcats’ quarterback in 1997-2000. He never stuck as a pro after signing with the Baltimore Ravens as a free agent, but today he owns and operates a fitness company. Jenkins has also been O’Neal’s personal quarterback coach since he was 10 years old and now also helps guide O’Neal in the business side of football that recruits have to worry about in today’s NIL world. 

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“I knew right off the top,” Jenkins recalls. “When you see him playing catch, you knew there was something unique and special about his ability to throw the ball and how far he could throw the ball and how accurate he could throw the ball at that age.” 

Jenkins said O’Neal’s natural throwing motion paired with his size and strength put him ahead of the curve. They still critiqued and improved the small details as his playing career progressed, though. Jenkins even forced O’Neal to start playing with a high school ball before he was even old enough so O’Neal would be prepared for when it mattered most. But also, once again, there was even more of an emphasis off the field. 

O’Neal has morphed into a student of the game thanks to Jenkins. He watches hours of film every week. And it shows on Friday nights. He obviously has the physical ability to make spectacular plays, but a player can make those even better by knowing what play to make. O’Neal will frequently spin out of the pocket at just the right time to find the open teammate. And sometimes that even means tucking the ball and keeping it himself. 

“I kind of do take pride in my situational awareness,” O’Neal said. “It's kind of just like the preparation I take to kind of know where guys are going to be, especially in the playbook. I kind of envision and know what the players are going to do before it happens so that it's not a surprise to me. I feel like what comes with the awareness is just like the preparation, knowing what the opponent is going to do before it ends up happening. …

“Preparation is the biggest thing in anything in life. So I feel like just taking those steps on and off the football field is definitely key to success.”

O’Neal’s next visit to OU will be Sept. 21, when the Sooners host Tennessee for their inaugural SEC game. But it doesn’t seem the Sooners’ result that day against a likely top-15 Vols team will really affect O’Neal’s decision. OU’s move from the Big 12 to the SEC also didn’t have any real bearing on O’Neal’s choice. 

There’s the fact OU has multiple former quarterbacks starting in the NFL right now, with two of them winning Heismans. That’s definitely a reason. Jerren also noted the importance of OU consistently having a good enough offensive line to keep the QB upright. But Jerren also had a checklist of characteristics he saw in Venables, offensive coordinator Seth Littrell and the rest of OU’s coaching staff. It’s an index of traits he not only expects from his son, but also the coaches leading O’Neal. 

“I felt the authenticity with Venables and with Seth,” Jerren said. “Those guys are real genuine dudes, man. I appreciated the fact that they said things that were more about than just football about my son. What my son does on the football field is part of who he is, but he’s not only just a football player. So when I speak to a coach who understands that my goal for the last 17 years was to raise a man, and they understand that, I’m all for it. I’m all for it.”

It’s still two years away, and Jenkins says that time will be filled with plenty of development for O’Neal’s game. But eventually, Jerren will pass the baton to Venables. 

“You gotta, before going to school, seeing how you deal with these people day in and day out, because you'll be seeing a lot more off campus than on campus,” O’Neal said. “Just kind of seeing the interaction was definitely something that I just wanted to see, because a lot of people try to sell you, but the people at OU, they were very real, very authentic. So those are just some of the few things that was very key to me with making the decision.”