— Let’s start with arguably the top offensive target in the 2025 class for Oklahoma, and that would be Mesquite (Texas) Horn offensive lineman Lamont Rogers. Currently regarded as the No. 27 overall player in the cycle, Rogers is an absolute behemoth at 6-foot-7 and well north of 300 pounds. He’s the biggest name on a Horn team that’s stacked with P5 talent, including Oklahoma State DE commit Armstrong Nnodim and Boston College WR commit Cedric Lott. I’ve mentioned Rogers before, but after watching him last night and touching base with some Horn sources (as well as Rogers himself), I really like where Oklahoma has positioned itself in this recruitment’s early stages. On his latest campus visit last weekend, Rogers hit if off with Oklahoma off-field staffer Curtis Lofton, who gave him a strong pitch on the personal development at OU within the framework of the S.O.U.L. Mission.
Sources at Horn certainly feel that Rogers is an early lean to the Sooners, and I was told that the kid immediately wanted to schedule another visit to Oklahoma when he left last weekend. However, there’s also an understanding on the Horn end that things have the potential to change once huge NIL numbers start to get thrown around. Rogers himself is not a bag-oriented kid, but as we’ve learned with a few five-star recruitments in the past, it’s not always about the kid’s preferences when big money hits the table. USC, Texas A&M and Tennessee are three other schools that Rogers cited as early contenders, but at least for the moment, it seems as though everybody’s chasing the Sooners.
— Another Horn standout, 2026 safety Markel Ford, snagged two interceptions on Friday night and flashed a roving, freewheeling style of play that reminded me of Jaydan Hardy. Ford picked up his offer from the Sooners last weekend, and told me that his initial trip to OU has set the tone in his recruitment thus far. Though it was his first time meeting Brandon Hall, Ford expressed to me that when the two of them got to talking, he felt like he’d already known Hall for a while. Since he arrived at OU, Hall is pretty much undefeated as a recruiter unless he’s going up against NIL — as one source put it to me a couple weeks back, “It’s pretty amazing how many elite defensive players are choosing between Oklahoma and the bag these days.” So when the Sooners’ safeties coach gets his hook buried deep, it’s tough to bet against him. I’d expect the Sooners to be a major player for Ford going forward.
— That brings us to the third and final OU offer at Horn, and that would be 2026 ATH Legend Bey. Although he exited last night’s game in the third quarter with a minor hip injury, he flashed his elite elusiveness throughout the first half, most notably on a 31-yard touchdown run that featured a dazzling spin move. Bey plays quarterback for Horn, but I’m not sold on him as a signal-caller — there’s a lot of work to be done in that department and accuracy was a major struggle for him last night. However, the Sooners don’t see him as a QB anyway; they’ve offered him as a wideout, and want him to be a dynamic weapon at receiver and in the return game. That’ll certainly be where he makes his hay at the next level. Last night was a small sample size, but Bey’s athletic traits should help him become one of the most sought-after prospects in the Lone Star State for the class of 2026. And fortunately, Emmett Jones will always have a leg up in this recruitment, as the Sooners’ revered receivers coach had offered Bey at Texas Tech before the kid ever played a down of high school football (June of 2022!). Given that Jones is now coaching at Bey’s dream school, it’ll be very tough for OU not to be the choice in the end.
— I’ll be out in Wagoner (Okla.) tonight to get a look at three-star 2025 defensive end Alex Shieldnight, who picked up his OU offer this spring. He impressed at the Under Armour camp down in Dallas a few months back, but this will be our first opportunity to see Shieldnight in pads on a Friday night. As Brandon has reported previously, Oklahoma and Arkansas are the two schools that lead the pack for Shieldnight at the moment. Beyond him, the names to know at defensive end right now are Max Granville, Jayden Woods and CJ NIckson (I think Gus Cordova projects as an inside guy). I wouldn’t think it’ll be more than 3-4 months before Miguel Chavis gets his first commit of the 2025 cycle on board, and while I can’t say who is first to drop right now, I think Shieldnight is a strong contender. More on his recruitment tomorrow.
