Jim Nagy isn’t hiding the pitch he’s making at Oklahoma. The Sooners’ general manager wants players who can cash in now, sure, but he’s selling something bigger than a quick NIL payday. He’s selling the chance to become the kind of player who gets paid on Sundays.
That was the message Nagy delivered Monday at SEC Media Days during a sit-down with On3’s J.D. PicKell, where the conversation turned to how Oklahoma evaluates not just talent, but fit. For Nagy, the target profile is pretty clear: players who buy into Brent Venables’ culture, embrace development and understand that the real payoff can come after college.
"You just gotta find guys that are about the right stuff," Nagy told PicKell. "The money part (for NIL), we're gonna be competitive, but they gotta buy into what we're about, and that's the culture and the brotherhood and being developed and understanding guys that we recruit to Oklahoma should have NFL futures if they come in, if they put in the work, they allow themselves to be developed.
"Sunday money is always going to trump Saturday money. If that's the end goal is to play in the National Football League, I don't expect a guy to take half as much money to come to OU than another school, but if you see the big picture and you feel like if you're in the building and you love the coaches and you see the development and the track record of what Coach Venables has put in the league, there needs to be value in that."
"Sunday money is always going to trump Saturday money."
That line cuts to the heart of what Oklahoma is trying to build. The Sooners want players who aren’t just chasing the biggest immediate number, but who can see the long game and trust the program to get them there.
And there’s real evidence behind that sales pitch.
Oklahoma had seven players selected in the 2026 NFL Draft, its highest total since also landing seven picks in 2022. Among SEC programs, that number ranked fourth, and it came as the conference set a record for most selections in a single draft.
Even more telling for Nagy’s message: four of those seven drafted Sooners spent their entire college careers in Norman. That group included edge rusher R Mason Thomas, who went in the second round to the Kansas City Chiefs; defensive tackle Gracen Halton, a fourth-round pick of the San Francisco 49ers; safety Robert Spears-Jennings, a seventh-round selection by the Pittsburgh Steelers; and Jaren Kanak, who moved from linebacker to tight end and was taken in the seventh round by the Tennessee Titans. All four came through Venables’ defensive system before Kanak switched sides as a senior.
For Nagy, who was in his first draft class at Oklahoma after arriving last February, that kind of continuity matters. The Sooners should have even more homegrown talent in the 2027 draft cycle, and there’s already been talk this offseason that Oklahoma’s entire starting defense in 2026 could be made up of players who have been in the program since the start of their college careers. If that happens, it would be a unique setup across college football.
That’s the advantage Nagy is chasing. Oklahoma can still compete in the NIL market, but the bigger goal is to bring in players who stay, develop and eventually turn into NFL-caliber talent.
In other words, the Sooners aren’t just trying to win the recruiting battle for Saturday. They’re trying to win the one that matters most.
In Other News...
Taylor Wein Just Made A Fascinating Oklahoma Breakout Prediction
Taylor Weins turn at SEC Media Days came with a little bit of history attached. A year after R Mason Thomas put Wein on the map as Oklahomas breakout defensive player, Wein was the one doing the spotlighting in 2026, and the Sooners have reason to pay attention when a player who has already lived through that kind of prediction starts making his own. The setting matters here, because Oklahoma is again trying to sort out who can step into a larger defensive role and become more than just a familiar name on the depth chart.
PJ Adebawore fits that conversation neatly. He has been around the program for three seasons, has appeared in every game, and has yet to make a start, but the expectation is that his role grows in 2026 as Oklahoma looks for answers on the edge. There is also a longer runway here, with another season of eligibility potentially waiting after this one, which gives the Sooners a little more flexibility as they try to replace production and find the next defender ready to follow the same breakout path. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma Just Lost Ground In A Recruitment Fans Thought Was Safe
Micah Rhodes recruitment took an unexpected turn after the highly regarded 2028 running back prospect backed off his Oklahoma commitment, reopening a race that had looked settled for the Sooners. Rhodes has become one of the more sought-after backs in the class, and his profile has only grown as more programs have piled on with scholarship offers and fresh interest.
For Oklahoma, the timing stings because Rhodes was viewed as a name worth building around in the class, and now the pressure shifts to keeping pace with a national chase that has only intensified. Texas has long had a natural pull in his background, while Georgia has stayed active in the mix as well, leaving the Sooners with work to do if they want to get back into a recruitment that suddenly feels much less secure. [Read more 🡒]
OU Linebacker Room Suddenly Puts Cole Sullivan In The Spotlight
With Oklahomas linebacker room thinned by departures and injuries, Brent Venables has had to lean harder on transfer Cole Sullivan than the staff might have expected when he arrived from Michigan. Sullivan has been trained to handle multiple linebacker spots, and the Sooners have already seen him earn trust in the room, not just as a body in a depleted rotation but as a player teammates have gravitated toward.
The depth chart around him has only made his importance grow. Oklahoma has lost Kendal Daniels, Kobie McKinzie and Sammy Omosigho, while Taylor Heims injury has further squeezed the group behind the top options, leaving little margin for error at linebacker. Sullivans versatility gives the staff some flexibility, but it also puts him squarely in the middle of a situation that could keep shifting as the season unfolds. [Read more 🡒]