Why Oklahoma's Claim as 'Two-Sport U' is 'Such a Cool Thing' for Taylor Tatum, James Nesta

Sooners football coach Brent Venables and baseball coach Skip Johnson collaborated two land two of the nation's top dual-sport athletes in the 2024 recruiting class.

NORMAN — One on offense, one on defense. One on the mound, one at the plate.

Two in football, and two in baseball.

Oklahoma fortified its claim as “Two-Sport U” this week when the Sooners signed a couple of talented baseball players to help out the football team.

Or football players to help out the baseball team.

Running back Taylor Tatum and linebacker James Nesta are the Sooners’ next generation of Brandon Jones or Cody Thomas or Kyler Murray.

“I think the attractiveness of how well our baseball program has done, the history, the tradition, certainly they did a great job of selling those things,” said football coach Brent Venables said Wednesday. “I think that attracted them as much as anything, that combination of the excellence of Oklahoma football, what it’s represented, and the excellence of baseball.”

Nesta is a 6-foot-4, 205-pound linebacker from Huntersville, NC. Tatum is a 5-11, 205-pound running back from Longview, TX. Their first priority as scholarship football players is to help Venables and the Sooner football team get better in 2024. But their next priority is to help Skip Johnson and the OU baseball team improve.

As OU leaves the Big 12 for the Southeastern Conference next fall, both sports have long been dominated by the SEC and will be a significant challenge for the Sooners.

Lookie Here x Yamaha pic.twitter.com/IQH3EhUav5

— Skip Johnson (@CoachJohnsonOU) July 21, 2023

“I personally don’t think that we would’ve gotten either one of them had the football been a powerhouse and excellent and had the history and tradition and the baseball program stunk,” Venables said. “I don’t think we would’ve got either one of those guys. Again, credit to Coach Johnson and again, the past players and the excellence that our baseball program has represented as well. That’s the collaboration between the two staffs.”

Football and baseball dropped off last school year, with Venables’ first team finishing just 6-7 and Johnson’s squad going 32-28.

But baseball was just one year removed from playing in the College World Series national championship series in 2022, and football bounced back this year with a 10-2 campaign. Winning big at Oklahoma is the expectation.

Great choice, play both for as long as you can! Boomer! 🤟🏾

— Kyler Murray (@K1) July 22, 2023

Nesta is a pitcher and outfielder, while Tatum is an outfielder and infielder.

Nesta made 36 tackles during his senior year, according to MaxPreps, including 11 tackles for loss, 2.5 quarterback sacks, three QB hurries and an interception. As a junior, he had 41 tackles, 13 TFLs, nine sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery as a junior in 2022 as his team finished 22-5 during his final two seasons.

Nesta is rated a 4-star prospect by On3 and a 3-star according to Rivals, 247 Sports and ESPN. On3 ranks him No. 269 nationally and the No. 29 edge defender in the country, while Rivals ranks him No. 32 among weakside defensive ends and 247 Sports ranks him the nation’s No. 32 linebacker.

James Nesta / James Nesta via Twitter

“He looks like Danny Stutsman except, instead of 235 (pounds), he's about 215 right now,” Venables said. “But he’s got great length and just a great frame. He can run. And, man, he’ll smack you like a rattlesnake. He’s very explosive, natural and speedy-contact hitter. Great instincts and range. I think he can play all three linebacking positions.”

Tatum rushed for 1,463 yards, caught six passes for 138 yards and threw one touchdown pass (23 total TDs) as a senior in 2023 and went for 1,840 yards, 12 catches for 160 yards and 36 total TDs as a junior as Longview went 25-3 in his final two seasons.

Tatum is widely regarded as the nation’s top running back prospect — No. 1 nationally by 247 Sports and Rivals, No. 2 by ESPN and No. 3 by On3 — and is a consensus 4-star recruit.

Taylor Tatum and his two coaching staffs / Taylor Tatum via Twitter

“He can take the top off the defense,” Venables said. “He’s a home run hitter at running back. His power, speed, his instincts, just very reminiscent of some other great backs that we’ve had from East Texas. And some of the skillset, he’s got great size and power.

“Again, another fist bump to coach Johnson and the staff, for all of their help in facilitating the recruitment.

“Certainly there’s a willingness. I think it’s such a cool thing — when you have players that have that type of extraordinary talent — what a cool thing. Let’s have them be in our locker room and let’s watch them chase their dreams in multiple sports, bring our team over to the baseball facility and cheer ‘em on, (or track) if it’s a track athlete. What a cool thing. We want to promote that, not segment it. So what a celebration.”