James Nesta hasn’t logged much game action at Oklahoma, but the junior linebacker is walking into 2026 with a lot more confidence than experience.
After two seasons in Norman, Nesta has played just 46 snaps as a college football player. Even with that limited résumé, he says he’s ready for a much bigger piece of the Sooners’ linebacker picture.
“I'm the most comfortable I've ever been right now,” Nesta said. “I’m in a great spot.”
The 6-foot-3, 230-pound linebacker arrived with plenty of pedigree. 247Sports and On3 both rated him as a 4-star prospect in the Class of 2024.
But the early part of his college career has been defined more by patience than production. As a true freshman in 2024, he appeared in only one game.
In 2025, he played just 40 defensive snaps.
Where Nesta did find regular work was on special teams. He totaled 117 snaps across punt returns, punt coverage, kick returns and kick coverage last season. Oklahoma leaned on him most in kick returns, where he played 39 snaps, and he also logged more than 15 snaps in each of the other three phases.
That work mattered to him. It gave him a sense that he belonged on the field.
“Last year, getting my feet wet… the confidence I have this year is not even close to the confidence I had last year,” Nesta said. “Just knowing what to do and the ins and the outs.”
Now the opportunity is there for a larger defensive role in 2026. Oklahoma brought back Kip Lewis and Owen Heinecke and added Cole Sullivan, a former Michigan standout, through the transfer portal.
At the same time, the Sooners lost Sammy Omosigho and Kobie McKinzie to the portal, and Kendal Daniels played his final college game on Dec. 19.
Nesta may not be in line for starting reps, but he looks positioned to be an important piece in the room.
Physically, he says he’s already in the shape needed for that jump.
“I feel like with (former strength and conditioning coach Jerry Schmidt) over the years, I kind of had already been doing that, so I didn't really have to build it up all right now,” Nesta said.
He’s also been able to lean on Lewis and Heinecke, the two veterans at the center of Oklahoma’s linebacker group. Lewis enters his fifth season at OU and has 209 tackles, 18.5 tackles for loss and five sacks in his college career. Heinecke surged in 2025 and finished with 74 tackles, 12 tackles for loss and three sacks.
Both are expected to anchor the position this year, but both are also in their final college season. Nesta says the way they prepare has been a valuable model for him.
“The way they get ready for the game, the way they study film… there's just little tiny things day in, day out that I always ask them,” Nesta said. “Just, you know, someone that's been there and done that, are great players, just easy to pick up on.”
In Other News...
Deland McCullough Is Raising The Bar For Oklahomas RB Room
Since arriving in Norman in February, Deland McCullough has quickly become one of the more important additions to Oklahomas staff. The running backs coach brings a resume that stretches from Notre Dame, Indiana and USC to the NFL, and he has stepped into a room that mixes proven talent with a player still working his way back. Xavier Robinson and Tory Blaylock give the Sooners experience in the backfield, while junior Andy Bass is trying to get healthy after ACL injuries.
What makes McCulloughs arrival especially notable is the belief around the program that he can elevate the entire running game, not just one back at a time. Oklahomas offensive coordinator and quarterback have both pointed to his track record and know-how as reasons to feel good about where the position is headed, with the bigger expectation being that the Sooners ground attack can take a meaningful step forward by the 2026 season. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma Just Made Its Brent Venables Bet Even Bigger
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The timing says plenty about where Oklahoma sees itself, too. The program is weighing recent inconsistency against the kind of ceiling Venables showed in that playoff run, and now it has doubled down on that vision rather than treat last season as a one-off. For a fan base used to chasing national relevance, the move makes the next stretch of Venables tenure even more consequential. [Read more 🡒]
Sooners Just Got A Major SEC Respect Boost Across The Roster
The SEC coaches preseason team gave Oklahoma another clear sign of where the program stands as it heads deeper into its first year of conference life. Ten Sooners were recognized across 13 spots on the 2026 Preseason Coaches All-SEC Team, with Tate Sandell and Ben Anderson landing first-team honors after already being featured on the preseason media team earlier in the summer.
The full list of selections also underscores how widely Oklahoma is being viewed inside the league, since the voting came from SEC head coaches who could not cast ballots for their own players. Sandell and Anderson were the only Sooners on the first team, while the rest of the group filled out second-team spots, a breadth of respect that should only add to the intrigue around how Oklahoma stacks up once the season starts. [Read more 🡒]