2025 EDGE Alexander Shieldnight commits to Oklahoma

Wagoner (Okla.) three-star EDGE Alexander Shieldnight has committed to Oklahoma.

He chose the Sooners while also holding offers from the likes of Texas Tech, Arkansas, Tennessee and Oklahoma State.

Shieldnight is the No. 384 overall prospect and No. 27 EDGE in the 2025 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He’s also the No. 9 player in Oklahoma.

For more Oklahoma recruiting intel, check out Sooner Scoop.

The Sooners have had the in-state target on campus three times, including trips in June and at the end of July. Defensive ends coach Miguel Chavis led OU’s recruitment of the EDGE prospect.

“You won’t find a better technician in Oklahoma, and likely the surrounding states than Shieldnight,” Sooner Scoop’s Josh McCuistion wrote in July. “He’s outstanding at getting blockers hands off of him and creating the space he needs to work. He’s not a guy who overwhelms with his frame but his production and refined style of play stand out.

Shieldnight does not currently have an On3 NIL Valuation. The On3 NIL Valuation is the industry’s leading index that sets high school and college athletes’ projected annual value (PAV). The NIL valuation does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals an athlete has completed to date. It rather signifies an athlete’s value at a certain moment in time.

Sooners building 2025 class early

Oklahoma boasts an impressive 2024 recruiting class that has hovered in and around the top 10 of the On3 Industry Team Recruiting Rankings, but the Sooners are also already moving quick on building a formidable 2025 class.

Now with Shieldnight in the mix, the Sooners have eight junior pledges, six of whom are in-state. Headlining the class is Oklahoma City Millwood four-star wide receiver Jaden Nickens, the No. 119 recruit and No. 18 wideout in the cycle.

“Man really the coaches, they’re really installed into the program, and they just want to make kids like me better men in the world,” Nickens told On3 of Oklahoma upon his commitment.

Nickens is one of three WR commits for Brent Venables and Co. He’s joined by Checotah (Okla.) four-star Elijah Thomas and Ennis (Texas) four-star Gracen Harris, both of whom are also top-250 prospects.

The class is rounded out by the likes of Midwest City (Okla.) Carl Albert four-star quarterback Kevin Sperry, Shieldnight and Lee’s Summit (Mo.) North three-star defensive lineman Ka’Mori Moore. Sperry is the No. 16 signal-caller in the cycle.