Jim Nagy, Sooners overcame 'negative recruiting' in 2026 cycle
NORMAN — Through the 2026 recruiting cycle, there was plenty of on-the-job learning for Oklahoma general manager Jim Nagy.
One new thing he learned? The use of negative recruiting.
The Sooners finished with a disappointing 6-7 record in 2024, which opposing teams used again them through the recruiting cycle. Nagy was always confident the Sooners would bounce back in 2025, but the challenge was combating that negative recruiting with recruits.
“Momentum is a real thing in recruiting. I learned that this cycle,” Nagy said Wednesday. “I learned a lot this cycle. I’m learning every day on this job, but that’s clearly a big deal. Working in the NFL, I always heard that you shouldn’t negative recruit in college. I learned really quickly in this job that people were negatively recruiting, so that was probably working against us.
“Now that we’ve had some success on the field, we had some players come back our way.”
The good news for Nagy and the Sooners? As the Sooners started winning games, they started to see results in recruiting. They capped off the 2026 cycle on Wednesday, inking 24 signees to the class. The Sooners rode late momentum to strong finish with the class, which ranks 16th nationally, per Rivals.
The Sooners finished the regular season with a 10-2 record and received seven commitments over the last three weeks — which propelled the Sooners up the national rankings. Nagy has plenty of experience in NFL front offices, but it was the last few weeks where he learned the impact of momentum in recruiting.
“It’s hard when you really like a player and you know what you’re selling is good for the player, too,” Nagy said. “I believe in this program. I wouldn’t have taken this job if I didn’t believe in Brent and this program and the leadership here and what this program can do for young men. So when you see guys pivot only because they’re getting negative thoughts put in their head, and I’m a believer, I really felt in my gut that this was going to be a good team this year. It was hard over the summer, especially during the OV (official visit) season, seeing guys go other places and thinking, man, we’re losing them to that program.
“But it’s worked itself out.”
As the Sooners started winning big games, Nagy saw momentum. That was particularly true in the month of November, when the Sooners went 4-0 with back-to-back road wins at Tennessee and Alabama. The Sooners came in at No. 8 in Tuesday’s College Football Playoff Rankings — essentially locking them into the playoff field with a good chance of hosting a first-round game.
Things got a little dicey last weekend against LSU, when the Sooners had to rally to beat the Tigers 17-13. Nagy was just as nervous as the fans.
“I was so nervous the other night against LSU as the clock was ticking down,” Nagy said. “I’m thinking we’re either going to the playoff and for the rest of the recruiting cycle in ’27 we’re going to be able to put the College Football Playoff logo on our recruiting materials, or we’re going to another bowl game. That was big. Momentum is huge. It makes sense, right? In my prior life, I didn’t really think about recruiting and what matters.
“But to live it out this year and go from this team being 6-7 and flipping it to 10-2, it’s unbelievable. It’s made a huge impact.”
The last few months saw Nagy and the Sooners capitalize on a bounce back season and finish the 2026 cycle strong. The effects are carrying over to the 2027 class, too. The Sooners currently rank second nationally in the 2027 class, per Rivals.
With the Sooners likely closing in on a playoff berth, Nagy won’t have to worry as much about negative recruiting in the coming months.
“Hopefully we can keep the momentum going in the 2027 class,” Nagy said. “Like I said, we’re off to a good start there. There are some guys that haven’t announced publicly that we’re really excited about that will announce publicly soon, which will make the class look even better.
“Hopefully we just keep riding this positive momentum.”