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Oklahoma's 2025 Recruiting Efforts Continue with Annual ChampU BBQ Event

This weekend, the Sooners are hosting a number of talented prospects on campus for official visits as the 2025 recruiting cycle continues to heat up.

Randall Sweet

2025 LB Christian Jones
2025 LB Christian Jones / Christian Jones via Twitter/X
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Last weekend, a handful of high-profile prospects made their way to Norman for one of Oklahoma's major visit weekends.

Now, a week later, Brent Venables and company will host another impressive group of recruits on campus for the Sooners' annual ChampU BBQ event.

Every summer, even before Venables took over at OU, Oklahoma brought prospects and their families to Norman for a fun weekend designed to give Sooners' targets one last look at what the program has to offer before rising seniors make their commitments.

The ChampU BBQ has served as a major recruiting tool for the Sooners in past years and gives prospects time to build relationships with other recruits who are already committed to Oklahoma. This weekend, almost all of Venables' 2025 recruiting class is on campus outside of Trent Wilson and new wide receiver pledge Marcus Harris, who both visited Norman last weekend.

Aside from the 14 players who have already committed to Oklahoma being on campus, there are also a number of important OU targets making official visits this weekend. On the offensive line, 5-star Blue Valley Northwest (KS) tackle Andrew Babalola is one of the headliners at this summer's ChampU BBQ.

Listed at 6-foot-6 and 295 pounds, Babalola is rated the No. 14 overall prospect and No. 3 offensive tackle in the 2025 recruiting class. If Bill Bedenbaugh and company are able to land a commitment from the athletic trench player, he would become Bedenbaugh's highest ranked pledge since the renowned o-line coach arrived in Norman.

So far, the Sooners boast commitments from 4-star tackle Ryan Fodje and 3-star interior lineman Owen Hollenbeck in the upcoming cycle. With 5-star offensive tackle Ty Haywood showing interest in Oklahoma but now trending towards Alabama, getting Babalola on board is even more important.

Lewisville (TX) center Sean Hutton is also on campus this weekend. Listed at 6-foot-3 and 315 pounds, Hutton holds preferred walk-on offers from Texas and Texas A&M as well as a Division I scholarship offer from Mississippi Valley State.

Hutton is an Oklahoma legacy and close friends with Sooners' 5-star offensive line target Michael Fasusi, who visited Norman last weekend.

On the defensive side of the ball, 4-star edge rushers CJ Nickson and Max Granville are both taking official visits to Oklahoma this weekend.

Nickson, the Weatherford (OK) star who narrowed his list to OU and Oklahoma State on June 13, is rated the No. 74 overall prospect and No. 9 edge rusher in the 2025 class according to 247Sports. Listed at 6-foot-6 and 235 pounds, the rising senior is also a standout on the basketball court and displays the same athleticism when playing football.

It seems like the Sooners have a great chance to land Nickson and could make their final push this weekend. For Granville, the nation's No. 186 overall player and No. 19 edge rusher, Oklahoma seems to be locked in a tight battle with Texas A&M.

Getting Granville on campus again for the ChampU BBQ will help give Miguel Chavis and company a better chance at landing a commitment from the Fort Bend Christian Academy (TX) standout.

At linebacker, Venables and new defensive coordinator Zac Alley have just one pledge in the 2025 recruiting class, 3-star Carl Albert (OK) star Marcus James. With just one linebacker commit in the 2024 class and Danny Stutsman set to depart for the NFL after the 2024 season, the Sooners need to add more depth at the linebacker position.

One player who could fit that role is 4-star Omaha Westside (NE) defender Christian Jones. Listed at 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds, Jones is rated the No. 149 overall prospect and No. 20 linebacker in the 2025 recruiting class.

With Nebraska seemingly in the lead for Jones at the moment, the Sooners will need to make a solid impression on the 4-star recruit this weekend.

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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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