The Oklahoma Sooners did plenty of work to improve their roster in both high school recruiting and in the transfer portal ahead of the 2026 season. OU has currently added a total of 43 players to the squad since last season ended. A 25-man recruiting class joins an 18-man portal class in Norman, as the Sooners try to make a return trip to the College Football Playoff this year.
With spring ball quickly approaching, and the lack of a spring portal window this year, roster construction is mostly set across the country. What you see is mostly what you’re going to get, and the Sooners are no exception. While Oklahoma feels that they’ve improved on the whole since their CFP loss, do folks around the country feel the same way?
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ESPN’s Craig Haubert and Billy Tucker took the task of ranking the top 25 newcomer classes in the nation for 2026, factoring in both recruiting and the portal. They believe that OU has the 15th best crop of newcomers in college football, and the seventh-best newcomer class in the SEC.
Haubert and Tucker began with Oklahoma’s true freshman class of ’26, highlighting a number of players that the Sooners were able to land, including defensive lineman Jake Kreul and running back Jonathan Hatton Jr.
“Oklahoma’s 2026 class got off to a slow start but picked up steam in late summer and ultimately added some dynamic playmakers and high-upside talent. Kreul, a five-star edge defender, brings an explosive first step, good bend and a relentless motor that should earn rotational snaps in 2026 and even further strengthen the Sooners D-line … Looking to bolster the Sooners’ rushing attack, Hatton is someone to watch in the running back mix, as he is big and physical and offers an excellent blend of size (200 pounds) and speed (21 mph on film).” – Craig Huabert and Billy Tucker, ESPN.
The duo also had good things to say about OU’s portal additions. They focused mainly on the offensive portal newcomers, and had high praise for two of the wide receivers that the Sooners added in Virginia transfer Trell Harris and Texas transfer Parker Livingstone.
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“Oklahoma hit the portal to bring in immediate starters and proven Power 4 depth. Trell Harris is a productive veteran from Virginia who can create underneath, take the top off coverage and win 50-50 balls with strong hands and physical yards after catch (113 career receptions, 1,604 yards, nine touchdowns), and he should start. Livingstone, coming from Texas, also helps rebuild that position as a speedy, 6-foot-4 target with great hands and route-running skills who stretches the field and tracks the deep ball exceptionally well (29 career receptions, 516 yards, 6 touchdowns).” – Haubert and Tucker, ESPN.
Oklahoma had a successful player acquisition portion of the offseason, and they retained and will return some key pieces from last year’s roster as well. With the coaching staff seemingly set under Brent Venables heading into spring ball, it’s up to the Sooners to get better between now and September, as they try to chase a championship in Venables’ fifth season at the helm.
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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Where is Oklahoma in ESPN’s ranking of 2026 newcomer classes?
