Oklahoma’s 2025 signing class is ranked 17th in the nation and 10th in the SEC according to On3 as of 5 p.m. on Wednesday.
This ranking feels far from the standard, considering OU has traditionally boasted a top-ten recruiting class. Even amidst the post-Lincoln Riley rebuild, there had never been a class sitting outside of that, as the 2024 class was ranked 9th in the nation.
Rankings aren’t the only source of concern around the 2025 class.
Over the past three years, Oklahoma has signed an average of 25 commits per class. This year, it notched 20. The lower number of commits comes after an uncharacteristic year for the Sooners, finishing with a 6-6 record and ranking 13th in the SEC for their inaugural season in the new conference. However, OU head coach Brent Venables offered an explanation.
“You gotta feel your class and feel your numbers,” Venables said when asked about the size of the class. “We have 81 freshmen and sophomores on the roster. Probably over 8,000 snaps went to freshmen and sophomores this year, which is a tremendous amount…So that plays a big part. We’ll stick to a philosophy that we want to build a program from high school and let that be the foundation of development.”
The Sooners’ young talent has been a cornerstone of the team this past season, as many veterans battled injuries and inconsistencies. True freshman running back Xavier Robinson provided the offense with a burst of momentum when he decided to forego his redshirt year and contribute to the offense. He finished the regular season with four touchdowns and 212 yards.
Robinson is an Oklahoma native and a product of Carl Albert High School — the school where three of OU’s 2025 recruits are hailing from.
“There’s a lot of great qualities when you play for Carl Albert,” Venables said during the signing day press conference on Wednesday. “They’re coming from a really strong culture that understands how important team is. So the selflessness, blue-collar mindset, the consistency, the depth of development and preparation…I could probably go on and on, but I know those are things I just watched for the last few years since we’ve been here together.”
Venables has high praise for Marcus James, a long-range athletic linebacker, mentioning that they noticed him years ago when he came to a camp.
Cornerback Trystan Haynes will be adding to the Sooner’s secondary. He committed to the Sooners after being recruited by big names Notre Dame and Texas A&M.
Trynae Washington has played tight end, safety and corner at Carl Albert, but will be used by Venables as a tight end, hoping to transform the unit for the Sooners.
“Maybe one of the most natural football players in this class and maybe the most undervalued is Trynae Washington,” Venables said. “There’s nothing that guy can’t do.”
One aspect the offense is seeking, is improvement on the offensive line, and and five-star offensive tackle Michael Fasusi helped with that.
Fasusi announced on Wednesday that he’s signing with the Sooners. The offensive tackle was a popular target in the recruiting cycle at 6-foot-5 and 300 pounds and had been committed to Oklahoma since August.
I’M HOME. BOMMER SOONER‼️ pic.twitter.com/q2gsKhzJw2
— Michael Fasusi 🇳🇬 (@Michael_fasusi7) August 21, 2024
His commitment to the university was questionable as he visited Texas A&M and Texas in back-to-back weeks. He notably missed Oklahoma’s 24-3 win over then-ranked No.7 Alabama while opting to visit Texas instead. Fasusi joins three other offensive linemen who signed for the 2025 class today, showing the staff’s intention to revamp that unit.
“That group overall is just powerful, athletic, incredibly physical, incredibly physically tough,” Venables said about the offensive linemen signees. “No ‘developmental’ type of guys in that group. This is a group of guys that really can line up and play football for us right away once they understand the language and those types of things.”
The Sooners were able to add two wide receivers to the class, a welcome addition to a room that has been decimated by injuries all season. They opted to add size at the position, signing 6-foot, 180 pound Elijah Thomas out of Checotah, Oklahoma. They also signed 6-foot-4’, 195 pound Emmanuel Choice from Lancaster, Texas.
Brent Venables on four-star Checotah (Okla.) WR and #Sooners signee Elijah Thomas…“Everybody in the country, when they found out about Elijah, came after him. He had no interest whatsoever. Sooner born, Sooner bred.” pic.twitter.com/c9Q35PBfUX
— Parker Thune (@ParkerThune) December 4, 2024
Adding depth and size to the receiving core can’t hurt as OU continues to adjust its offense to SEC defenses. “Big guys that at times can play like a small guy. I think that’s really important,” Venables said. “It’s important that we get size with speed and athletic ability, guys that can make plays. Not just big, not just small, not just fast, but guys that can make competitive, tough plays. That’s what these two guys have shown in high school and I think that they’ll probably bring that as well.”
On the defensive side of the ball, Oklahoma had a more successful season. It will hope to continue rising in the ranks under the leadership of defensive coordinator Zac Alley and nine signees on defense.
After the 37-17 loss against LSU last Saturday, Venables said that the biggest area the defense still needs to improve on is the secondary. Fittingly, the Sooners are bringing two safeties and three cornerbacks in this signing class as they set out to grow that side of the defense.
“They know where to put their eyes, they know how to flip their hips, they know how to attack the ball,” Venables said of the defensive backs. “They’re an incredibly confident group of guys.”
Though the 2025 signing class raised some questions about its size and rank, it addresses quite a few spots that Oklahoma was looking to fill.
However, the signing period hasn’t been without struggle, as top 100 wide receiver Cortez Mills flipped his commitment from Oklahoma to Nebraska in a dramatic display Wednesday morning. The Sooners also lost four-star quarterback commit Kevin Sperry in November.
Sperry flipped his commitment to Florida State after committing to OU in March 2023.
“We’re not gonna be immune to decommitment,” Venables said. “Nobody’s immune to some things that happened this year to us, a little bit of instability in the environment that you’re dealing with. I think this is a class that had faith in people and relationships with people and seeing ‘Hey, maybe there’s even more of an opportunity that myself and some other guys in this class can come in and be the glue…and help turn around what we’re trying to build.”
Oklahoma certainly hasn’t been immune to instability this year and will have to continue to navigate the quickly changing environment this offseason.
Sophomore starting quarterback Jackson Arnold announced he would enter the transfer portal when it opens on Dec. 9. It’s expected that the Sooners will try to pick up a quarterback in the portal, and are potentially looking at John Mateer, who may want to follow his former Washington State offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle to Norman.
Last year, OU accepted 15 transfers to the roster, and the year before it took 18. With the relatively small amount of commits, it will have to be aggressive to put together a roster ready for the 2025 season.
“We’ll attack the portal and the areas that we feel like will have the most need, the spots that make us better immediately,” Venables said. “We have good young players to bring along, and we’ll add to that as we see fit.”
This story was edited by Gracie Rawlings.
