Oklahoma climbs into Top 25 of Rivals Industry Team Recruiting Rankings with latest pledge

Oklahoma‘s struggles on the recruiting trail this cycle have been well-documented, with only one top-100 recruit in their entire football class as we reached the early weeks of August. The Sooners have struck out on top targets at a number of position — most recently with elite wide receiver Davian Groce, who committed to Florida on Monday night after a years-long pursuit by the Sooners.

Whether NIL-related or just due to the uncertainty surrounding Brent Venables’ future after this season, OU has been lagging behind its pace in the past few seasons. They got a major boost on Tuesday, though.

Jake Kreul, one of the top uncommitted prospects in the country and Rivals’ No. 41 player in the 2026 class, pledged to the Sooners over finalists Texas and Ole Miss on the Pat McAfee Show.

Kruel was among the premier targets on OU’s list all cycle, and they were able to fight off a big late push from their SEC rivals to secure the IMG Academy star. He joins four-star quarterback Bowe Bentley as the second top-100 commitment in this class and the seventh blue-chipper overall for the Sooners.

With him in the class, Oklahoma jumps from No. 27 in the Rivals Industry Team Recruiting Rankings all the way up to No. 21.

“The one thing I like about OU is that Norman has that college town vibes that you get to see in the traditional SEC,” he told Rivals’ Steve Wiltfong previously. “You just know game days are going to be crazy with all the fans.”

Kreul adds another big piece to Sooners’ defensive class

The 6-foot-2, 225-pounder has been a dominant force at the high school level. After two standout seasons at Bishop Moore in Orlando, he opted to transfer to IMG for his final two years of high school football. As a sophomore for the Hornets, he was an absolute menace to offensive lines. Along with 76 total tackles, he notched 34 tackles for loss and a whopping 17 sacks.

Playing alongside tons of Division I talent at IMG, he still managed to total 39 tackles, six sacks and 11 QB hurries last fall.

He is now one of a handful of blue-chip commitments on the defensive side of the fall for Brent Venables and Co. Coveted off-ball linebacker Jakore Smith gave his pledge to OU back in May. The Sooners also have Rivals300 edge rusher Daniel Norman (No. 150), along with Rivals four-star Matthew Nelson in the fold.

Twin brothers Niko Jandreau and Beau Jandreau help round out the class with high three-stars Derrick Johnson and Brian Harris.