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Oklahoma Hosts Handful of Commits, Offers at Final Home Game of 2023

The Sooners played their last home game of the 2023 season on Saturday, taking advantage of their final opportunity to showcase Norman's gameday environment to a handful of prospects.

Randall Sweet

Oklahoma Hosts Handful of Commits, Offers at Final Home Game of 2023
Oklahoma Hosts Handful of Commits, Offers at Final Home Game of 2023 /
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With Oklahoma's 2023 regular season now over, Owen Field won't see any more action until the Sooners' spring game a few months down the road.

Until then, Brent Venables and company won't be able to show off Norman's impressive gameday atmosphere that has helped so many recruits choose OU. 

Being the Sooners' last chance to bring recruits to Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, Oklahoma was able to bring in an impressive list of recruits to take in the setting one last time in 2023.

From current OU commits to a handful of players with offers from Venables and company, the Sooners hosted more than 20 high school prospects on Friday.

Commits

While many of the Sooners' pledges were either too far from campus to make the trek to Norman on Black Friday, or still competing in the high school playoffs, Oklahoma still hosted six players who are committed in the 2024 and 2025 classes.

Most notably, 5-star defensive lineman David Stone was in attendance on Saturday. The IMG Academy product who is originally from Del City, OK, committed to OU in August just over a month after his teammate, Jayden Jackson, announced his pledge to the Sooners.

Listed at 6-foot-4 and 280 pounds, Stone is one of the top 10 players and top two defensive lineman in the 2024 class, according to Rivals.

Edmond Santa Fe (OK) offensive lineman and fellow 2024 commit Josh Aisosa was also in Norman for Oklahoma's 24-point victory over TCU. 

Aisosa is a 3-star recruit who will likely play guard for the Sooners after announcing his commitment in early August. The Wolves standout was joined by his teammate and fellow OU pledge, Bergin Kysar, who also made his pledge over the summer. 

A 3-star defensive line prospect, Kysar is expected to join the team as a walk-on, but will essentially be on scholarship thanks to an NIL package that Oklahoma's staff has put together.

Heritage Hall (OK) athlete Andy Bass is believed to be joining the Sooners' under a similar agreement. 

Walk-on defensive back Dax Noles was also on campus to see OU take down the Horned Frogs. The 6-foot, 185-pound athlete from Norman High (OK) helped lead the Tigers to their first playoff victory in over a decade before being eliminated by the defending state champion Bixby Spartans.

In the 2025 class, 4-star wide receivers Elijah Thomas and Gracen Harris were both in attendance on Friday. Thomas, who hails from Checotah, OK, is the No. 135 overall player and No. 6 wide receiver in the nation, according to 247Sports.

Harris, a product of Ennis, TX, is the No. 109 overall prospect and the No. 18 wideout in the 2025 class, according to Rivals. 

Offers

The Sooners also hosted four players on Saturday who currently hold an offer from Venables and company. 

In the 2025 class, 4-star offensive lineman Lamont Rogers, 4-star linebacker Dawson Merritt and 3-star interior offensive lineman Owen Hollenbeck were all in Norman to see the Oklahoma put up nearly 70 points in their final Big 12 contest.

Listed at 6-foot-7 and 305 pounds, Rogers is the No. 26 overall player and the No. 5 offensive tackle in the 2025 class, according to Rivals. Hailing from Mesquite, TX, Rogers is teammates at Horn High School with 2026 OU offer Legend Bey.

Hollenbeck is a 6-foot-3, 295-pound interior offensive lineman who is rated as a 3-star prospect in the 2025 class. 

The junior guard was high school teammates with 2024 OU commit Nigel Smith at Melissa High School (TX) until last weekend, when defending state champion South Oak Cliff knocked the Cardinals out of the UIL State Playoffs.

After seemingly missing out on Eddy Pierre-Louis and Grant Brix in the 2024 recruiting class, Bill Bedenbaugh and company will need to have more success recruiting offensive lineman in the 2025 cycle to fill in some of the holes created by transfers, players who are graduating and NFL Draft departures.

On the defensive line, Merritt is a talented linebacker from Blue Valley High School in Overland Park, KS. According to 247Sports, the 6-foot-3 defender is one of the top 130 players and top 17 linebackers in the 2025 class.

Recent Sooners' offer and 2026 Norman North (OK) wide receiver Mason James was also in attendance to see Oklahoma's offense rack up nearly 70 points. 

Other recruits

In addition to the commits and offered players in attendance, a large handful of 2024 prospects who don't hold a scholarship offer from the Sooners were on campus; including Norman North (OK) defensive back Camden Pratcher, Ponca City (OK) wide receiver Gavin Cunningham, Norman North (OK) wide receiver Zain Prater, Piedmont (OK) athlete Cannon Wood, Broken Arrow (OK) athlete Deshaun Caldwell, Little Elm (TX) defensive back Prince Ijioma and Southmoore (OK) defensive back Skyler Mayer.

Moore (OK) 2025 offensive lineman and long snapper Seth Freeman, Moore (OK) 2025 offensive lineman Gracen Gruver, Southmoore (OK) 2025 tight end Nathan Mosher, Norman North (OK) 2025 athlete Garrison Utley, Southmoore (OK) 2026 defensive lineman Joseph Dover, Nathan Hale (OK) 2026 running back Carmello Williamson, Moore (OK) 2027 quarterback Taven Hayes and Edmond Memorial (OK) 2027 wide receiver Cash Moser were also in attendance to see OU defeat TCU on Friday.

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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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