Phil Steele’s latest preseason All-America teams gave Oklahoma an early nod of respect, with five Sooners landing on the 2026 lists.
The headliners were on defense and special teams. Defensive tackle David Stone and linebacker Kip Lewis both made Steele’s first team, while longsnapper Ben Anderson also earned first-team honors. Kicker Tate Sandell was placed on the second team.
That kind of recognition fits the buzz around Oklahoma heading into 2026. The Sooners are coming off a 2025 season that sent them to the College Football Playoff for the first time as an SEC member, and it was also their first playoff appearance in the Brent Venables era. With that breakthrough behind them, expectations are naturally high.
Oklahoma has plenty back from that playoff team, too. The list of returning names includes quarterback John Mateer, wide receiver Isaiah Sategna, defensive linemen David Stone, Taylor Wein and Jayden Jackson, linebackers Kip Lewis and Owen Heinecke and defensive backs Peyton Bowen, Eli Bowen and Courtland Guillory.
Still, Steele’s teams weren’t a clean sweep for the Sooners. Neither of the Bowen brothers, Wein or Mateer was included, and Oklahoma did not place an offensive lineman on the list even though it returns four of five starters up front.
Preseason All-America lists are only an early snapshot, but they do say something about how a roster is viewed before the first snap. For Oklahoma, five selections is a strong opening signal, and the Sooners have enough returning talent to keep building toward another run at the top of the SEC and the College Football Playoff.
In Other News...
Where Oklahoma Stands In The SEC Enrollment Size Debate
The SECs enrollment conversation has become another way to measure the conferences reach, and the latest fall 2024 figures show just how wide the range can be. Texas A&M sits at the top with 60,710 undergraduates, while Vanderbilt is at the other end at 7,221, a spread that helps explain why school size can matter well beyond the classroom.
For Oklahoma, the interest is in where it lands inside that mix as the Sooners settle deeper into the league. Enrollment does not decide games, but it can shape student sections, ticket demand and the size of the alumni base that follows a program into the 2026 college football season, which is why this ranking has become more than a curiosity for SEC fans. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma Could Be Sitting On A Late Summer Roster Opportunity
The late-summer roster market may not be done shifting just yet, and Oklahoma is one of the programs positioned to benefit if it does. The NCAAs new five-seasons-in-five-years rule is being challenged in court, and while the policy is not retroactive for now, the legal fight has already produced temporary injunctions in some cases, keeping the door cracked for former players to regain eligibility and re-enter the transfer portal.
For the Sooners, the timing matters because they still have one open roster spot and enough flexibility to create room for another if needed. If the court battles continue to tilt in that direction, Oklahoma could have a chance to take advantage of a late wave of available talent without having to scramble to make the numbers work. [Read more 🡒]