Elite EDGE Jake Kreul to commit later this month

Orlando IMG Academy four-star EDGE Jake Kreul had previously planned to take some visits this fall before reaching his college commitment. That’s no longer the case.

On Tuesday, Kreul told ESPN’s Eli Lederman that he’ll now commit next week on Aug. 12. He will still choose between the trio of Texas, Oklahoma and Ole Miss.

Kreul is the No. 41 overall prospect and No. 8 EDGE in the 2026 cycle, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all major recruiting media companies. He’s also the No. 7 player in Florida.

The Rivals Recruiting Prediction Machine has favored Oklahoma this summer, but both the Longhorns and Rebels have continued to push down the stretch. Kreul updated his recruitment with Rivals’ John Garcia Jr. over the weekend, noting that he wasn’t close to committing at the time.

“I don’t know, it’s gonna be hard,” Kreul said about making his decision. “A lot of life-changing conversations with these coaches, so I’m trying to stick to this October timeline.”

Kreul trimmed his list of top schools down to three at the beginning of July. Florida is another program that has continued to keep contact with the blue-chipper despite not making his latest cut.

On June 24, Rivals VP of Recruiting Steve Wiltfong logged pick in the Rivals RPM in favor of Oklahoma landing Kreul. Recent intel from Wiltfong suggests that Texas has closed ground on the Sooners and is swinging hard for the 6-foot-2, 220-pounder.

Kreul on his final three schools

When speaking with Rivals’ Chad Simmons at the end of June, Kreul dished on each of his final three schools what has him intrigued about the programs Austin, Norman and Oxford:

Oklahoma: “Venables has had elite defense the last 30 years, so he is always successful and I like that a lot. He is great about fronts and guys getting after the quarterback. I like the people he has brought in, like coach Arbuckle, and how he is building the team.”

Ole Miss: “Golding was at Alabama under coach Saban, so he has great experience. I like his defense and coach Joyner is arguably the best defensive ends coach in all of college football, so I would get good coaching at Ole Miss. I really like the knowledge of the staff.”

Texas: “Coach Clark worked under coach Larry Johnson at Ohio State before going to Texas, so he has great knowledge of the defensive line. Then PK (Pete Kwiatkowski) does a great job with fronts and puts guys in position to have success getting after the quarterback.”