Every Brent Venables signing class at Oklahoma has had its own hidden prize, the kind of player who walks in with modest recruiting buzz and leaves as a much bigger deal than anybody expected. That’s the thread running through the Sooners’ classes since Venables took over before the 2022 season.
The 2023 class may have produced the most striking example yet. Taylor Wein arrived as a three-star edge rusher and the No. 67 player at his position, according to 247Sports, out of Nolensville High School in Tennessee.
Neither Tennessee nor Vanderbilt offered him. After barely making a dent in 2024, Wein erupted last season, finishing as a Second-Team All-SEC selection after leading Oklahoma with seven sacks.
What started as a low-profile pickup could turn into something much bigger, with Wein positioned to be one of the top players on a loaded defense in 2026 before moving on to the NFL.
The 2024 class gave Oklahoma another fast riser in Eli Bowen. Listed at 5-foot-9, Bowen signed as a three-star prospect and the No. 59 cornerback in the class, per 247Sports.
He didn’t wait long to matter. Within months, he was in the starting lineup, then earned ESPN Freshman All-American honors.
Last season, he added Third-Team All-SEC recognition as a sophomore, and he’s on track to be a three-year starter in 2026 before eventually heading to the NFL.
The newest name on the list is Courtland Guillory from the 2025 class. Guillory came in as a four-star recruit and the No. 40 cornerback in the class, so there was already real belief he would help Oklahoma’s defense.
What stands out is how quickly it happened. He took over the spot opposite Bowen, started 11 games, and picked up SEC All-Freshman honors last season.
The 2022 class was deeper and more loaded than the others, coming in as the No. 8 class in the country in the 247Sports Composite. That made it harder to find a true under-the-radar breakout, especially with Nic Anderson mentioned as a possible candidate had he stayed.
Still, Gracen Halton emerged as the class’s biggest surprise. He was already a four-star defensive lineman and the No. 35 player at his position, but he outperformed the rest of the group in terms of expectation versus production.
He just wrapped up his Oklahoma career as a fourth-round pick of the San Francisco 49ers.
In Other News...
Oklahoma May Finally Be Seeing The David Stone Payoff
David Stones rise has been one of the more encouraging developments for Oklahomas defense, especially for a player who arrived with the kind of recruiting profile that can create instant pressure and instant expectations. The five-star defensive tackle was used sparingly as a true freshman, but his second season looked much more like the version the Sooners hoped they were getting, with 42 tackles and eight tackles for loss while becoming harder and harder to ignore on the interior.
Now Stone is drawing national attention as one of the top defensive tackles in college football, and the praise around him has only sharpened the focus on what comes next for Oklahoma. His production already gives the Sooners a disruptive presence up front, and with analysts pointing to him as a potential difference-maker, the bigger question is how much more he can elevate a defense that will be leaning on him heavily moving forward. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma Is Being Held To A National Title Standard Again
After finishing 10-3 and getting back to the College Football Playoff, Oklahoma is once again being judged by a standard that used to define the program: not just whether it can make the field, but whether it can chase a national title. That shift matters in Norman, where the expectation has moved beyond simply recovering from a disappointing season and back toward the kind of ceiling that turns a good year into a memorable one.
The optimism around the Sooners comes with clear conditions. The defense has to stay strong, and the offense has to take a real step forward under quarterback John Mateer. If both sides of the ball come together, Oklahoma could find itself in the national championship conversation again, with a path that feels a lot closer to the programs old championship standard than its recent rebuilding phase. [Read more 🡒]