Sooners Have Their Quarterback of the Future

Bowe Bentley. Remember the name, Sooners fans.

The summer months are pivotal for a college football program. Not only is the kickoff of a new season just a couple of months away, but head coaches and their staffs are able to make major progress on the high school recruiting trail.

With the transfer portal being as lucrative as it is in terms of entries and talent pool, the viability of the recruiting trail has been in question.

However, strong success on the high school recruiting trail remains a pillar to a program sustaining a winning culture.

With the Sooners eyeing the upcoming season, aiming for a turnaround following a forgettable first year in the SEC, they are getting hot on the recruiting trail.

Sooners getting hot on recruiting trail

There was some movement in the quarterback room of the 2026 recruiting class for OU. It started with Jaden O’Neal — a California native who moved to Oklahoma — decommitting from the program and pledging to Mike Norvell and Florida State.

The Sooners then landed a commitment from Bowe Bentley, who hails from Celina, Texas. The 6-foot-2, 200 pound signal-caller is the No. 7 ranked quarterback in the 2026 class and ranks No. 78 in the nation among all players.

Brent Venables and Ben Arbuckle landed Bentley, the future of the quarterback position in Norman, over the LSU Tigers.

On Monday, just a day after the Oklahoma City Thunder secured their first title in franchise history, the Sooners got good news on the recruiting trail — giving even more life to the state’s sports scene.

Daniel Norman, a defensive end from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, committed to the Sooners following a pledge from linebacker Beau Landreau.

Landreau is the brother of Niko Landreau, a defensive back already committed to the Sooners’ 2026 class. Hailing from Chandler, Arizona, he is an underrated 6-foot-1, 215-pound talent.

The two three-star commitments might not be the fireworks that Sooners fans were expecting, but the two talents certainly hoist plenty of potential.

Currently, Venables’ class ranks No. 39 for the 2026 cycle in the nation, though there’s plenty of time for the program to climb the ranks — and OU receiving five pledges in the past two weeks proves exactly that.

*All rankings provided by 247Sports

The offseason will bring plenty of recruiting news and notes. Sooner Lounge will have you covered on all the changes within the program’s 2026 class (and beyond). Be sure to subscribe to receive the updates directly in your inbox.