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Oklahoma Receives Commitment from 4-star In-State Athlete CJ Nickson

The Sooners' momentum in the 2025 recruiting class continued on Tuesday when OU landed one of the top players in the state of Oklahoma.

Randall Sweet

2025 ATH CJ Nickson
2025 ATH CJ Nickson / CJ Nickson via Instagram
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On Tuesday, 4-star Weatherford (OK) athlete CJ Nickson announced his commitment to Oklahoma.

According to 247Sports, Nickson is the No. 74 overall prospect and No. 9 edge rusher in the country as well as the No. 1 player in Oklahoma. Despite holding offers from Georgia, Tennessee, Notre Dame and others, the Eagles' standout narrowed his list to OU and Oklahoma State earlier this month.

Nickson's decision comes on the heels of an official visit to Norman over the weekend for the Sooners' annual ChampU BBQ event, which features a number of Oklahoma commits and targets. This year, Brent Venables and company even brought a handful of former OU football players back to campus to speak to recruits attending the barbeque.

Nickson plays for the same high school that produced current Sooners' veteran edge rusher Ethan Downs.

Following the addition of Nickson on Tuesday and 4-star Lancaster (TX) wide receiver Emmanuel Choice on Sunday afternoon, Oklahoma boasts 18 verbal commits in the 2025 recruiting class. Nickson joins 4-star Dr. Henry Wise (MD) defensive lineman Trent Wilson, 3-star Lee's Summit North (MO) interior lineman Ka'Mori Moore and 3-star Wagoner (OK) edge rusher Alexander Shieldnight on the Sooners' defensive front in the upcoming cycle.

While Nickson excels as a tight end and edge rusher for his high school team, he will likely play on the d-line at the next level. Listed at 6-foot-6 and 235 pounds, Nickson already has a great frame to compete on the edge in the SEC.

In addition to being one of the top football players in the nation, Nickson is also a star on the hardwood, competing for Team Griffin on the AAU circuit.

For Miguel Chavis and company, landing a commitment from the Weatherford star helps soften the blow of Fort Bend Christian Academy (TX) edge rusher Max Granville picking Penn State over Oklahoma on Monday evening.

After hosting a handful of prospects at the ChampU BBQ over the weekend, it would not be surprising to see a few more recruits announce their pledge to OU in the coming months. In the last eight days alone, the Sooners have landed three 4-star prospects with Nickson, Choice and Mater Dei (CA) wide receiver Marcus Harris all announcing their commitment shortly after visiting Norman.

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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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