Home-Grown Talent

OU’s 2025 recruiting class highlighted by talented in-state prospects By Ryan Aber

In the days before December’s early national signing day, there was plenty of uncertainty with Oklahoma’s 2025 recruiting class.

The Sooners were in transition on the offensive side, with the change in offensive system brought on by a midseason coordinator change and the eventual hiring of Washington State’s Ben Arbuckle to coach quarterbacks and run the offense.

There were questions of whether or not there would be more changes to the offensive staff.

But while the Sooners lost a trio of wide receiver commits and their expected quarterback in the class during a two-week period leading up to signing day, Elijah Thomas never wavered.

“We lost a lot of commits,” said Thomas, a Checotah, Okla., product. “They’ve been decommitting and flipping. But I think we’re going to be fine with what we have.”

Of the Sooners’ 18 scholarship signees in the 2025 class, six came from Oklahoma.

In addition to Thomas, OU signed Weatherford edge rusher CJ Nickson, Wagoner edge rusher Alex Shiednight, and a trio of Carl Albert players — cornerback Trystan Hayes, tight end Trynae Washington and linebacker Marcus James.

They also added Moore long snapper Seth Freeman as a preferred walk-on.

Since Brent Venables arrived, he has made in-state recruiting a priority.

The Sooners signed four in-state scholarship players out of high school in the 2022 class, Venables’ first as head coach. OU then signed three in the 2023 class, before bringing in six last year.

But while it’s easy to point out the difference in in-state recruiting philosophies between Venables and his predecessor, Lincoln Riley, the change is even more stark.

The Sooners’ percentage of high school signees coming from in-state programs this season was the highest since the 2007 class that included Ryan Broyles and Austin Box, among others. “We really did well in the state of Oklahoma,” said Venables. “It’s important to us. That’s where everything starts for us.”

Thomas was at the top of the list, both for his potential contributions on the field and the stability he provided for the class off of it.

“He’s just one of the most low-maintenance players that I’ve ever been a part of recruiting,” Venables said of Thomas. “He was our first commitment in July of 2023 and everybody in the country, when they found out about Elijah, came after him. And he had no interest whatsoever. He’s truly Sooner born and Sooner bred.”

While the other in-state programs that the Sooners signed players in the 2025 class have regularly sent players to OU, a player from Checotah signing with the Sooners is rare.

Wildcats coach Zac Ross said the school hadn’t had an OU signee since the 1980s.

“It’s a pretty big deal here,” said Ross.

But from the first time Thomas stepped on the field as a varsity player as a freshman, Ross knew he had something special.

“One of his first catches was one-handed, over-the-middle, and he ended up scoring on it,” said Ross. “When he stepped out on the varsity field and made plays, you could tell that this guy’s different.” Venables said Thomas and Emmanuel Choice, another OU wide receiver signee out of Lancaster, Texas, were “two of the best athletes in the country.”

“Sometimes they’re long striders and it doesn’t look like they’re going as fast because they take longer strides,” said Venables.

It wasn’t just the in-state numbers that were impressive, it was the players they signed.

The Sooners signed the top three players in The Oklahoman’s Super 30 rankings of the state’s top recruits for the first time since 2017.

Back then, it was Justin Broiles, Levi Draper and Tre Brown.

Broiles and Brown wound up having significant impacts in the following seasons.

This time around, it was Thomas, Haynes and Nickson ranked in the top three.

Haynes is the No. 17 cornerback in the class nationally according to 247Sports.

He had 10 pass breakups and a fumble recovery as a senior while also accumulating 42 catches for 630 yards and eight touchdowns on offense.

His work ethic, teammates say, is what sets him apart.

“During sprints, Trystan is always running, you’ll never see him in the back,” Washington said of Haynes, his Carl Albert teammate. “That definitely pushes everyone and makes them want to go faster.

“He doesn’t get tired. He can run forever. He’s going to be really successful because he’s always working and he’s always looking for extra work. If he’s at the house and you call him and you’re like, ‘Yo, you want to go to the field?’ He’s there. He always shows up and gets work in.”

A few months after Venables took over as the Sooners’ head coach, he was driving up I-35 returning from a recruiting trip to Dallas and pulled over at a rest stop.

He took some time to scroll through Twitter, and came across video of Nickson.

He immediately fired off a text to defensive ends coach Miguel Chavis.

“This guy will be the No. 1 player in the state when he’s a senior,” Venables told Chavis, and the pair immediately started working on recruiting the defensive end.

But while Venables is excited about the player Nickson is now, he’s even more excited for the potential Nickson brings.

“All of his best football is still ahead of him,” said Venables. “Long. Rangy. Super athletic.”

Shieldnight has plenty of room for growth as well.

When he transferred from Fort Gibson before his freshman year, Shieldnight saw himself as a basketball player and didn’t have any intention of playing football until Wagoner coach Dale Condict talked him into giving it a shot.

“He was a sponge,” said Conduct. “He picked up things really quick. He’s very eager to learn more about his position and just the technical parts of it, which is gonna be great for him at the next level because it becomes so much more technical.”

Shieldnight stayed in near constant contact with Chavis since committing, working to be ready to go as soon as possible.

“He’s as tough as they come,” Venables said of Shieldnight. “Came to camp a few years ago and just was so explosive, so twitchy, just a natural pass rusher. But just a fantastic athlete. Physical. Toughness. Leader. Consistent. All the things that you want from your best players.”

Washington was recruited as both a tight end and safety, and ultimately signed with the Sooners as a tight end.

“Maybe one of the most natural football players in this class and one of the most undervalued,” said Venables. “There’s nothing that he can’t do. … He’s got natural hands. He’s super physical. He’s got a great frame.”

James rounds out the trio of Titans.

He projects as an outside linebacker, though can play the middle as well.

“Just a really long, rangy, athletic guy,” said Venables.

In addition to their big in-state haul, the Sooners class also had plenty of Texas flair as they signed seven from the Lone Star state.

The most notable of those came on the offensive line.

Michael Fasusi of Lewisville and Ryan Fodje of Bridgeland High were the two highest-ranked players in OU’s signing class according to the 247Sports composite.

Fasusi is a five star and ranked as the top offensive tackle in the class and the No. 5 player overall, while Fodje is a four-star and ranked as the No. 14 tackle in the class.

“Super athletic but he’s a blue-collar guy,” Venables said of Fasusi. “He’s a football junkie. He loves the game. He’s a simple guy — loves the Lord, loves football, loves his family and loves his teammates. That’s who I know Mike to be. And because of that he’s been able to have a lot of success. … Those things will travel well when he shows up. … He’ll put his head down and let Coach (Bill) Bedenbaugh coach him and develop him. That’s important.”

OU’s emphasis on shoring up its offensive line was also evident in the signing of three other key prospects in Darius Afalava, Owen Hollenbeck and Sean Sutton, who was Fasusi’s teammate at Lewisville High.

Afalava is a four-star lineman out of Lehi, Utah, and Hollenbeck comes in as a three-star recruit but is considered to be one of the most physical players in the class.

The Sooners rounded out their 2025 class with a pair of defensive backs who happen to be the two top-rated prospects in Arkansas — Omarion Robinson and Marcus Wimberly — along with four-star defensive backs Courtland Guillory and Maliek Hawkins, younger brother of OU quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr.

OU also added four-star running back Tory Blaylock (Humble, Texas) to the RB room, as well as quarterback Jett Niu, and Trent Wilson, a four-star defensive lineman out of Washington D.C.

(Ryan Aber is an OU beat writer for The Oklahoman; This article appears in the 2025 Sooner Spectator Recruiting Issue – to subscribe, call 405-850-9063)