I had Owen Hollenbeck in the 1.0 version of my 2025 class predictions, and I got the chance to catch up with the hulking offensive lineman this past week at Melissa. He's visited Oklahoma four times, most recently for the SMU game, and I regard the Sooners as the leader for the 6-foot-4, 313-pounder. When I spoke with Hollenbeck, he cited Oklahoma, Texas A&M and Arkansas as the top schools in his recruitment right now. The common denominators amongst those three programs are 1) proximity to home and 2) a family atmosphere, the latter of which Hollenback says is the A1 factor for him.
"I think I would definitely have to go with family vibe," he told me. "It's just a big part of how I was raised growing up. I'm a big family man. I've always been around that. I want something that can always be there to support me and help me grow as an athlete. And then, academics. I'm a student-athlete."
Hollenbeck plays guard for Melissa, but says he's open to a future at any position on the offensive line. I think he projects best as a guard or center, as does Oklahoma, but Hollenbeck says the Razorbacks have pitched a pretty wide-open vision to him.
"Arkansas talked to me about tackle, because they evaluate from tackle in," he said. "And then other places, guard and center. Really all over the line."
There are two factors that will help the Sooners in this battle going forward: for one, Hollenbeck is a teammate of four-star DE and Oklahoma commit Nigel Smith. Thus, he's in classrooms and on the practice field every day with one of the Sooners' most gregarious and vocal peer recruiters. Secondly, both Arkansas and Texas A&M are mired in upheaval, with neither Sam Pittman nor Jimbo Fisher possessing tremendous job security. The lack of stability at those two programs should keep the Sooners a leg up as fall turns to winter. And in Bill Bedenbaugh, Hollenbeck sees a coach who shares many of his values and can help develop him into an NFL-caliber talent.
"Bedenbaugh, big family guy," he remarked. "Great coach [who] puts a lot of guys in the NFL. All around, it's hard to [ignore] it. It's there."
I have it on good authority that the Sooners plan to do the lion's share of their 2025 offensive line recruiting in the state of Texas, so Hollenbeck is one player we will monitor closely heading into the offseason. He's also reported offers from Florida and SMU, and has been in contact with Texas, Stanford and Baylor.
