Oklahoma’s Friday night season opener didn’t bring a huge crowd of recruits to Norman, but the Sooners still landed one of the weekend’s biggest names in the building.
Kamieon Compton-Nero, the No. 1 recruit in Oklahoma in the Class of 2028, was on hand as OU rolled past UTEP 51-0. The 6-foot-3, 185-pound athlete from Owasso is ranked No. 53 overall in the class by 247Sports, and Oklahoma is recruiting him as a safety.
Compton-Nero has already made several unofficial visits to OU, and he came away from this trip sounding impressed. “Great time in Norman seeing OU football dominate last night,” Compton-Nero said on X (formerly Twitter). “Grateful for all the time with (the staff) making me feel at home and continuing to show me how OU is a great fit for me.”
A second Oklahoma prospect from the 2028 class also made the trip. King Underwood, a 3-star athlete from Piedmont, was in Norman for the win even though he does not yet have an offer from the Sooners.
Underwood is listed by 247Sports’ composite rankings as the No. 370 player in the class and the No. 22 athlete. He’s 6-foot-4 and 205 pounds, and his current offers include Tennessee and Tulane.
The visitors list got more interesting when it came to future game days. Safety Brandon Nash of Bellflower, Calif., plans to be in Norman for Oklahoma’s Oct. 17 game against Kentucky, according to a report from Rivals’ Greg Biggins.
Nash, a Class of 2028 defensive back at St. John Bosco, is ranked No. 195 overall and No. 14 among safeties in 247Sports’ composite rankings.
He posted 24 tackles, three pass breakups, a tackle for loss and an interception as a sophomore in 2025, and he also has game-day visits lined up for Cal, UCLA, Ohio State and Arizona State during the 2026 season.
Oklahoma will also host 2029 running back William Green III of Trophy Club, Texas, when the Sooners play New Mexico on Sept. 19.
Green, who is 5-foot-10 and 195 pounds, has only one season of high school football behind him, but his offer sheet already includes Alabama, Ohio State, Texas A&M, Tennessee and Oregon. He is the nephew of former Oklahoma wide receiver Mark Clayton.
The Sooners were busy beyond the 2028 and 2029 classes, too. Earlier in the week, Oklahoma offered Utah-based offensive lineman Malakai Leilua, a Class of 2028 prospect from Saratoga Springs. Leilua is 6-foot-4 and 260 pounds, and while he remains unranked by the major recruiting services, he has also picked up offers from Arizona, Utah, Boise State, San Diego State and Utah State.
OU also extended an offer to 2029 linebacker Austin Phillips, who is from Indiana and ranked by 247Sports as the No. 63 overall prospect and No. 5 linebacker in his class. Phillips checks in at 6-foot-2 and 215 pounds, and his offer list already includes Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Tennessee, USC and Notre Dame.
The Sooners pushed even farther down the line with an offer to 2030 running back Cooper Jones, a freshman at Westlake High School in Austin. Jones stands 5-foot-11 and 185 pounds, and he’s already on varsity.
Through Westlake’s first two games of the 2026 season, he has 121 yards and two touchdowns, helping the Chaparrals open 2-0. His early offer list includes Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Nebraska, Ohio State, Texas A&M and Texas Tech.
In Other News...
Oklahoma Just Got An Unexpected Late Boost In A Thin Secondary
A thin secondary got a little more help late in the cycle when Brent Venables landed a transfer commitment from former Wisconsin starter DYoni Hill. Hill brings a journeyman path through Miami, Marshall and Wisconsin, and he arrives with the kind of experience Oklahoma has been hunting as it tries to steady a cornerback group that needed more bodies and proven reps.
Jaydon Southard from Stephen F. Austin is another name worth watching as Oklahoma keeps working the transfer market for help on defense. The Sooners have been aggressive about adding depth where it matters most, and Southards fit could give Venables another option if the interest turns into a commitment. [Read more 🡒]
Red River Just Got More Personal For Oklahoma After One Transfer
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Hollywood Smothers going the other direction only sharpens that feeling for Sooners fans, because these swaps turn a familiar rivalry into something more personal on both sidelines. Steve Sarkisians acknowledgment that some departures were made to create room for new transfers only underscores how modern roster building now bleeds into one of college footballs most traditional games, making the next Red River showdown feel even more charged. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma Transfer LB Is Earning Praise Before A Very Personal Test
Cole Sullivan has settled into a useful role for Oklahoma as the Sooners continue building depth on defense, and his work in the 51-0 win over UTEP drew a little more attention than usual. The junior linebacker finished with one tackle and one pass breakup, and Pro Football Focus gave him a 71.2 grade, a small but encouraging sign for a player who has made his value by being athletic, reliable and quick to process the action in front of him.
Now comes a much more personal matchup. Sullivan is getting ready to face Michigan, the program he transferred from, and the Sooners will be watching to see how he handles a game that carries more meaning than the average nonconference date. He has been backing up at middle linebacker while fitting smoothly into Oklahomas defense, but this one gives him a chance to show how far he has come since leaving Ann Arbor. [Read more 🡒]