What Brent Venables, Jim Nagy said about OU's 2026 defensive signees

NORMAN — NORMAN — Oklahoma signed 24 high school players to its 2026 recruiting class on Wednesday.

Powered by a strong finish, the Sooners’ 2026 class ranks 16th nationally, per Rivals. It’s also the first recruiting class led by OU general manager Jim Nagy.

“Really excited about the depth of this class,” OU coach Brent Venables said. “We’ve really hit all of the targets that we set out to. It’s been a long several months. I don’t know how long it’s been since we started. Many of these guys, several of them, we’ve been recruiting them for a couple cycles now. We really landed in a good space. Would be remiss if I didn’t take this moment just to think our staff, our front office, all of our coaches, our players in our locker room.

“You don’t put together the quality of a class that we are able to do so without a lot of intentional effort, a lot of people pulling together, selling the vision of the program. Just a lot of relentless work in making it happen.”

Here’s a look at what Venables and Nagy said about all 12 of the defensive signees:

(Note: Everything Venables and Nagy said about the offensive players can be viewed here).

The linebackers: Dane Bathurst, Jacob Curry, Beau Jandreau, Kristan Moore

Venables: “Got two Floridians and an Alabaman, and then the Jandreau brothers. Dane Bathurst is originally from Tampa. He finished his high school career in Carmel High School in Indiana. And then Jacob Curry from the panhandle. Those guys just got a mean stream to ’em. Those are guys, man, they’re gonna strike you. They can run and they’ve got great instincts.

“The Jandreau brothers are just special people. They’ve got a great spirit to ’em. They’re gonna be leaders and alphas on the first day they get here. They’ll be a bunch of pigs in the mud with the guys we already have in the locker room. And then Kristan Moore. Great story with Kristan. Great find by Jim and our front office staff. A guy that came to our camp, kind of a tweener guy. He’s played D-end most of his high school career and played some linebacker and played in space this year. Ultra physical. Loves to play the game. Incredibly passionate…”

“These are guys that are great off the field and on the field. Bunch of guys that we can get on the field, play with a great toughness to ‘em, that really resonates with our guys.”

Nagy: “”We got three of these four guys this fall: Dane Bathurst, Jacob Curry and Kristan Moore. I think the thing that stands out with these guys, they are just innately physical. There’s some violence in that group. That’s one of the pillars of the program. We’re looking for violent players. All of these guys suit that including Beau Jandreau. He and his brother Niko, just had a great FaceTime with all of these guys this morning when we signed — we FaceTimed them all as a group.

“Beau and Niko are, as coach Venables talked about, I think they are going to come in here and make an impact in this program not just on the field but the types of guys that they are off the field. So that group with Dane and Jacob and Beau and Kristan Moore are just a really cool group of players. We’re excited about those guys. They’re going to be the core of our special teams moving forward. I would expect all of those guys to push for significant roles as freshmen in that capacity.”

The defensive backs: Markel Ford, Niko Jandreau, Derrick Johnson

Venables: “Markel Ford is a guy that we targeted a few years ago. Incredibly physical, got great size to him, can really run, he’s got tremendous ball skills. Player a lot at corner this year. We couldn’t get to a point where we could make it happen. As a result, in the summer, he committed somewhere else. Then it came full circle. He always wanted to be a Sooner. We were able, credit to Coach Hall, continue that relationship. Did a great job recruiting Markel. He’ll rip your soul out. Then Niko Jandreau, just a ball junkie.

“And really, this whole class here, guys that are a bunch of gum rats. Guys that love ball. Great teammates. Bunch of alphas. Niko’s a guy that’s a ball magnet. Plays incredibly fast. Blows dudes up. Like a missile out there. Then Derrick Johnson, a coach’s kid. One of the better program in southern California. He’s a very natural player. Got great instincts. His best days are in front of him as well.”

Nagy: “Derrick Johnson was our only corner. Kind of wish we could have added more there but I’m excited about the haul we’re going to get in 2027 without naming names. And the two safeties, Niko Jandreau and Markel Ford, two of my favorite guys from when I came in here in March. Love the Jandreau brothers. Markel Ford was a real favorite of mine. Again, like Brent said, he decided to go somewhere else and at the last minute B-Hall, I think our coaches did a great job of staying on a lot of these players. And Brandon Hall deserves a lot of credit for that relationship. And DD and his mom circled back and, man, a guy like Brent said he played a lot of corner this year but I see him as a safety.

“But he does have really nice man coverage skills for a safety. And the common theme for a lot of these guys on defense, they are going to fly around and I’ve got to watch my words here, but they are going to knock your head off. So it’s going to be a fast and violent defense moving forward. It’s going to be a lot of fun to watch. Really versatile players.”

The defensive line: James Carrington, Brian Harris, Jake Kreul, Matthew Nelson, Daniel Norman

Venables: “Guys with great length, guys with power, guys with size, guys with great quickness and instincts. It’s a very well-coached group of players.

“Nelson comes from maybe the top program in the state of Arkansas. Daniel Norman comes from St. Thomas Aquinas, one of the best in all of the country. Jake Kreul obviously comes from IMG. Brian Harris, the state of Florida, the level that he was able to play at and how he was coached. And then James Carrington started his career with Trent Wilson at St. Francis on the east coast and then ended up out in California. 

Nagy: “I think the things that stand out are length and versatility and athleticism. That group got longer, more versatile and more athletic. You have to be athletic to play in our front, you guys know that watching us. So guys with those movement skills to be able to come off twists and gains and makes for a really fun group.”