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OU Football Lands Highest-Ranked Linebacker in 20 Years

by: Josh McCuistion03/03/26Josh_Scoop

When Brent Venables arrived in Norman the one thing most Sooners fans were certain of ‘linebacker recruiting is about to take off’. Play at the position has, undoubtedly, improved each year since Venables arrived. But on Tuesday afternoon he landed his biggest linebacker recruiting since his arrival, Argyle (Texas) Liberty Christian standout Cooper Witten.

Witten announced his commitment to the Sooners over the likes of Tennessee, Texas A&M, and offers from Ohio State, Notre Dame, Georgia, Texas, and Oregon among just about every other major program in the country.

When the Sooners hired his father, Jason Witten, as their new tight ends coach, this felt like a foregone conclusion. The idea was something that the younger Witten tried to separate himself from.

“My dad has been my coach the past few years of this high school career, so getting coached by him again and playing for him would be pretty cool,” Witten previously told Rivals.com’s Sam Spiegelman.

“I don’t want that to be the defining factor in where I want to go. I want to find the best fit for me,” he added.

With that in mind, the nation’s No. 2 linebacker looked around at a few other programs in the past few months. Interestingly he was also very clear that Oklahoma football had a strong hold on his recruitment even before his father’s hiring.

“I like Coach V and what they do on defense,” he said. “They led the nation in sacks and TFLs, so that says a lot about him and his defense.”

Witten, as the nation’s No. 31 player in the rivals Industry ranking, is the highest rated linebacker the Sooners have landed since Austin Box 20 years ago in the class of 2007.

Look for more from Witten soon.

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