Oklahoma
Sunday Offering: Oklahoma Hosts Junior Day, Extends Several Offers to Recruits
Between OU’s first junior day of the spring, several at-school and at-home visits and a handful of offers, the Sooners had a productive week on the recruiting trail.
Here is the latest on Oklahoma’s search for rising football talent:
A handful of the Sooners’ top targets went to Saturday’s junior day, the first one of the 2025 spring geared toward prospects in the Class of 2026.
Prospects that announced their intentions to attend include quarterback Jaden O’Neal, running back Kaydin Jones, edge rusher Kevin Ford Jr., wide receivers Jabari Brady and Daniel Odom and defensive lineman Valdin Sone.
O’Neal is one of three players committed to Oklahoma in the Class of 2026. He is ranked as the No. 63 prospect in the class by ESPN and is in the top 300 in all major recruiting services.
Excited to be back in 📍Norman, OK this weekend for the Jr. Day! #agtg #BoomerSooner 🤘🏽👇🏽 pic.twitter.com/0N9oZfcfSo
— Jaden O’Neal (@Jadenoneal_26) January 24, 2025
Out of Harbor City, CA, O’Neal committed to OU on June 24, 2024.
Jones — the No. 2 recruit from Oklahoma in the 2026 class, per Rivals — narrowed his list of schools down to five earlier this week, and OU was one of them. The 4-star running back out of Jenks also has Kansas, Louisville, Tennessee and Vanderbilt in his top five.
Jones also posted a photo on X alongside O’Neal and 2026 wideout target Mason James.
James, out of Norman, is a 4-star wide receiver prospect that is ranked No. 172 by 247 Sports.
Brady and Odom are both graded as 4-stars by 247 Sports. Brady is the No. 68 overall prospect in the 2026 class, while Odom is the No. 29 player from California.
Ford, also a 4-star, is the No. 11 edge rusher in the 2026 class. Sone, a 6-foot-3, 320-pound d-lineman originally from Sweden, is the No. 9 prospect from Virginia.
A handful of Oklahoma coaches visited numerous prospects at their schools or their homes this week.
More than 10 prospects posted on X/Twitter that coaches visited them.
Sone got a recruiter visit in the same week that he went to junior day, while 4-star linebacker Brayden Rouse was visited by OU coach Brent Venables and recruiting coordinator Miguel Chavis and picked up an offer from the Sooners.
Other coaches that visited recruits include offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh, offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle, wide receivers coach Emmett Jones, co-defensive coordinator Todd Bates, running backs coach DeMarco Murray and defensive backs coach Jay Valai.
In addition to Rouse, the Sooners offered nine other prospects this week: quarterback Bowe Bentley, tight ends Luke Sorensen and Jeramie Cooper, wide receiver Derrick Johnson II, defensive backs Chace Calicut, Carter Stewart and Dhillon McGee, offensive lineman Canon Pickett and defensive lineman Corey Wells. All eight of them announced their offers via X/Twitter.
Cooper and Wells are part of the Class of 2027, while the other six are 2026 prospects.
Bentley, a 4-star quarterback, led Celina (Texas) to a 16-0 record and the 4A state championship in 2024.
Shortly after Calicut’s offer, he reportedly told Hayes Fawcett of On3 that the Sooners are among his top 10 schools.
NEWS: Four-Star Safety Chace Calicut is down to 10 Schools, he tells me for @on3recruits
The 6’3 195 S from Houston, TX is ranked as the No. 1 Safety in Texas (per On3 Industry)
Where Should He Go?👇🏽https://t.co/QzjhFv6iHr pic.twitter.com/TKGgyYxdtw
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) January 25, 2025
On3 has Calicut ranked as the No. 1 safety from Texas in the Class of 2026. Other schools in Calicut’s top 10 include Texas, Texas A&M and Oregon.
McGee, also from Texas, is another 4-star defensive back. 247 Sports has him rated as the No. 92 player in the Class of 2026, and McGee has also collected offers from Nebraska, Ole Miss and Texas Tech.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State outlasts UCF in overtime, Houston next
The Oklahoma State Cowboys men’s basketball bounced back in a big way Tuesday night.
Anthony Roy scored 27 points and Kanye Clary added 23, including seven in overtime, as Oklahoma State defeated the UCF Knights men’s basketball 111-104 in Orlando.
The Cowboys controlled the extra period, finishing overtime on an 11-4 run and outscoring UCF 17-10.
Clary played a major role in closing it out. He hit a key 3-pointer and went 4-for-4 from the free throw line in overtime to help seal the win.
The victory moves Oklahoma State to 18-12 overall and 6-11 in the Big 12, and gives the Cowboys two wins in their last three games after snapping a five-game losing streak. UCF, now 20-9 (9-8 Big 12), has dropped two straight.
Roy and Clary led a balanced offensive effort. Jaylen Curry and Christian Coleman each added 16 points, while the Cowboys shot 49% from the field (35-of-72) and 80% from the free throw line (32-of-40).
Themus Fulks led UCF with 22 points, while Riley Kugel added 18.
Late-game drama forces overtime
The final seconds of regulation were chaotic.
With 24 seconds remaining, Isaiah Coleman threw down a dunk to give Oklahoma State a 94-91 lead.
But UCF answered quickly when Chris Johnson hit a 3-pointer with 11 seconds left, tying the game at 94-94.
Oklahoma State had a chance to win it at the buzzer, but Jaylen Curry missed a shot, and John Bol blocked Roy’s attempt, sending the game to overtime.
Cowboys respond after tough loss
The Cowboys showed resilience after Saturday’s lopsided loss to Cincinnati.
The team traveled directly to Orlando following that defeat and was pushed through two intense practices by head coach Steve Lutz and the coaching staff.
The response was clear.
Led by Roy’s scoring and Clary’s clutch overtime performance, Oklahoma State delivered a gritty win and swept the season series against UCF
Oklahoma
Oklahoma City police are investigating after a man was shot near Yukon
YUKON, Okla. (KOKH) — Oklahoma City Police are investigating after a man was shot near Yukon Monday night.
The shooting happened near Northwest 10th Street and South Yukon Parkway near the border of Yukon and Oklahoma City.
Police are on the scene, and officials said the victim was transported to the hospital in critical condition with a gunshot wound to the hip.
OKCPD said they have at least one person in custody.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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Oklahoma
Oklahoma lawmakers consider bill to require annual fee for transmission lines on private property
As consumer electricity needs grow, lawmakers are discussing strategies to ease the burden on landowners who don’t want the towers and wires carrying that energy on their property.
As it’s written now, the bill would require transmission owners to pay landowners $2 per foot of line annually. During the committee meeting, Murdock said he introduced the legislation to “start a conversation.”
“ This is an idea of, maybe moving forward, if the landowners are getting a royalty off of the power being pushed across their property, it may make it a little more palatable for someone to have a transmission line go across their property,” he said.
Landowners can enter into easement agreements with companies to set aside portions of their land for the builds. But in some cases, eminent domain is used to obtain a right-of-way.
“ I’m not saying that this is going to do away with eminent domain,” Murdock said. “What I’m hoping is this just makes it a little more palatable.”
Murdock said he spoke with utility companies about the legislation, though he didn’t name them. The bill’s language could change after creating an alternative rate based on conversations with the companies, he said.
Sen. Dave Rader, R-Tulsa, said the bill could raise utility rates for consumers living in Oklahoma’s most populous counties if companies charge more to make up for the annual fee.
Murdock pushed back, noting the lines are necessary to deliver electricity to other counties.
“You understand that you flip that light on because — and have that ability to have electricity because — the people in my district have a transmission line that goes across them, getting you that power,” he said.
StateImpact Oklahoma is a partnership of Oklahoma’s public radio stations which relies on contributions from readers and listeners to fulfill its mission of public service to Oklahoma and beyond. Donate online.
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