I felt strongly enough about Oklahoma's early standing with three-star Maize (Kan.) South DE Hunter Higgins that I fired off a FutureCast in mid-March. I checked in with Higgins today, and suffice it to say that little has changed. He didn't bluntly admit it, but in so may words, he expressed that Oklahoma has set the tone in his recruitment. Nebraska is the other school that's made a superb early impression on Higgins, but he said that his best player-to-coach connection is with Miguel Chavis. He has no real desire to entertain schools out of the Central time zone; with regard to exploring options far from home, he told me, "I don't really think I need to." He sees Oklahoma and Nebraska as destinations that rival any program in the country, and as the youngest of four children, he'd like to play somewhere that offers his parents a convenient opportunity to watch him on Saturdays.
Higgins went on to tell me that he plans to camp at Oklahoma in June, and that he's very much looking forward to the opportunity to get reps with Chavis' coaching. He obviously sees it as a potential preview of what his college years may look like. But the primary reason I perceive the Sooners as the far-and-away leader for Higgins is because of how well he aligns with Oklahoma's program culture. He grew up in an evangelical Christian household and instantly clicked with Chavis, the former youth pastor, over their shared faith. He cited his Oklahoma visit in early March as the most impactful visit he's taken to this point, because in his words, "I got to see how seriously they take their faith in their program."
Also a standout catcher on the baseball diamond, Higgins is currently hitting .350 and playing an integral role for a Maize South team that's ranked No. 1 in their classification within the state of Kansas. He doesn't advertise it, but he's got legit D1 potential as a baseball player, and Nebraska is actively recruiting him for both sports. One would expect that especially if it's necessary to get him on board with the football program, Oklahoma will begin to recruit him as a two-sport athlete. But that may not be necessary, and Higgins admitted that he sees football as the sport that he's going to continue playing in the long term.
This may absolutely be a recruitment that follows a similar arc as that of Alex Shieldnight or Ka'Mori Moore. If Higgins is committed to Oklahoma before the end of the calendar year, it wouldn't shock me in the slightest. The Sooners are comfortably in front here. Unless Oklahoma decides to back off Higgins, which I don't see as likely, he could well be one of the early additions to the Sooners' 2026 haul.
