In-State Decisions Incoming for Sooners

So today is the day that a lot of people have waited for since Kaydin Jones first emerged on the scene in his freshman season of 2022. His name was known even before then as the son of Tulsa-area legend, as well as former Sooners running back, Kejuan Jones.

The talented back had been long considered a heavy Sooners lean for a variety of reasons. Not the least of which is his father’s influence but an underrated aspect has been his relationship with Demarco Murray. The Sooners running backs coach has spent several years bonding with the younger Jones and furthering his relationship with the elder.

And now that we’re here, it seems the Sooners are perhaps the most unlikely of all his options.

It seems that there are a variety of reasons for this reality and some will have to be visited after National Signing Day but the most notable seems to be simply the Sooners making decisions about where to put their focus and how to best allocate NIL.

Oklahoma’s got a running back room that could return a number of big recruits in 2026, can that really work with Jones? It is a point that seems up for debate.

And this, of course, calls the next question – where will Jones end up? There had been a lot of talk about Kansas over the past month but it seems that Oklahoma State has made a big closing run.

“They’ve worked hard ever since the new staff came in, they’ve been on him,” a source said.

As such I’ll be changing my prediction from Oklahoma to Oklahoma State.

A Sooners Prediction is Going In

While the Sooners look set to watch an in-state standout go by the wayside, another in-state star may be ready to make a decision and it’s time for a prediction. I’ll be honest, Mason James is a player I thought I’d put in a pick for quite some time ago and then as some things fell into question over the last six months it seemed a bit uncertain.

But after talking to James at the Dallas Under Armour camp last month it felt like he and the Sooners were very much connecting. James has made a number of visits to Norman since last summer and his connection to Emmett Jones seems unrivaled amongst his recruiters.

“That’s still my guy, from the past two years, he even told me good luck before camp this morning. I’m proud he has kept that relationship with me. Even coach [Brent] Venables, coach [Ben] Arbuckle the new OC, everything has been rolling good with the staff,” James said in Dallas.

And with James now saying ‘a decision could come sooner than I thought’ it seems that it’s time for me to correct my prior error – I’m picking the Sooners to swoop up the hometown standout who has been a priority for Jones since very early on.

The Next In-State Offers?

In keeping with the theme of Oklahoma in-state recruiting work, we’ve talked a lot about how the Sooners looked to have a standout in-state crop in 2027. And that was backed up earlier this week when On3 released updated rankings with seven Sooners state stars in the top 300.

Oklahoma has already offered five of those seven along with the state’s current No. 11, Joseph Graves from Booker T. Washington and Choctaw’s unranked tight end Titus Hawk. But that’s not to say that Oklahoma is done recruiting in-state and we thought we’d offer our next three predictions on who could be the Sooners next targets.

Kailib Dillard – S – Jenks

Dillard has been to Oklahoma repeatedly and loved his recent ‘Future Freaks’ visit. The Sooners could throw their hat in the ring for the talented defensive back and try to make their 2027 safety class a pairing of Dillard and his teammate Semaj Stanford.

Greydon Howell – ATH – Broken Bow

Howell is one of the most explosive athletes in the state. His ability as a potential slot receiver is impossible to ignore. But regardless of where you like him, the chance to put him on the roster seems irresistible.

Ben Kolar – TE – Norman North

The third Kolar brother for the Timberwolves is one the Sooners may end up hoping turns the tide. His older brothers, John, went to Oklahoma State, and Charlie was a standout for Iowa State. The family has plenty of connections to the Sooners and if they want to right prior mistakes, it would seem there is still time.