Let's start with my newest FutureCast, a prediction in favor of Oklahoma for 2026 phenom Legend Bey. I mentioned the Mesquite Horn standout last week in advance of his first campus visit to Oklahoma, and he picked up an offer after the game Saturday from Jeff Lebby and Emmett Jones. What's interesting here is that although Bey plays quarterback for Horn, the Sooners have offered him as a receiver, which speaks to his overall athleticism and versatility. The reason I've moved so quickly on a prediction here is that I already knew Bey was high on Oklahoma heading into the visit. However, in touching base with Bey in the aftermath, he informed me that Oklahoma is truly his dream offer. The "dream offer" thing can be overplayed and irrelevant at times, so I decided to press a little more to see just how much the OU offer actually meant to Bey. Eventually, a source quite close to that recruitment told me flatly, "[He'll] wait to see [who else offers], but the chances of [Legend] coming to OU are 99/100." The relationship with Emmett Jones is already rock solid, and the desire to play quarterback seemingly doesn't override Bey's desire to play at Oklahoma. He himself told me that he's "willing to play wherever Coach wants me to." When you combine the strong face-value pull to OU with Jones' demonstrated ability to lock down the guys who want to be Sooners, I'm very much of the opinion that Oklahoma snags Bey.
Midway through his visit Saturday, Christian Thatcher told me, "I'm really wanting to just pull the trigger today." Although there was that brief moment in time where he considered publicly committing, I'm told the four-star 2025 LB is going to wait on an announcement for the sake of his high school program. From an exposure perspective, Arbor View High isn't exactly on the same level as other Vegas-area schools like Bishop Gorman or Desert Pines, so if Thatcher remains uncommitted through spring ball, his younger brother Thaddeus (a 2027 QB) and a couple other FBS-caliber prospects stand to benefit. Coaching staffs who make the trek out to Arbor View to pursue Thatcher will catch a glimpse of the school's other top recruits, but if he were to commit to Oklahoma so early in the process, that foot traffic through Arbor View could decrease substantially. In sum, though this kid has made his love for Oklahoma no secret, he intends to hold back on a decision for the sake of his teammates. A Program Guy if there ever was one.
The Sooners hosted four-star 2025 LB Riley Pettijohn, a player I expect to contend for five-star status, for the first time over the weekend. I touched base with Pettijohn after the visit, and he had the usual cursory compliments to pay to Oklahoma and the game-day atmosphere. There are plenty of elite programs nationwide that will vie for Pettijohn's services over the next year-plus, but what makes Oklahoma's case particularly intriguing here is the longstanding relationship between the Pettijohn family and the Hawkins family. Riley's father Duke was an Arena League teammate of Mike Hawkins Sr. some two decades ago, so the ties are deep here and the Hawkins crew has been recruiting Riley to Norman since long before he even received the offer. This is another name worth watching at the linebacker position in the 2025 class, as is...
Although I'm of the opinion that Pettijohn and Thatcher are the top priorities at linebacker in 2025, there's a third name about which I can open up at this point. Mantrez Walker is another guy that we've already talked a bit about on this board. He committed to Michigan earlier this year, but it soon became apparent that his pledge to the Wolverines wouldn't stick, and Oklahoma is one program that has made a strong relational impression here. Walker had reached out to me a couple of months back to let me know that OU had emerged as the leader for his commitment, even though he hadn't yet made a visit to campus. Brent Venables' pedigree with linebacker development spoke volumes to Walker, and Todd Bates and Ted Roof had become highly involved in his recruitment process as well. I spoke with Walker last night after he announced his decommitment and he told me that a visit to Oklahoma is "in the works." Another couple of schools to watch here would be Miami and Colorado, the latter of which will get Walker on campus soon. I get the sense that much like Nate Roberts, Walker will slow things down and make an effort not to rush another decision, so we'll stay on top of this process in the months ahead. But Oklahoma is a definite contender in this newly reopened race.
