Jim Nagy has Oklahoma on its way to one of its best recruiting classes of the century

Recruitment of talent from the high school ranks has long been the lifeblood of college football. The teams that have done that the best over the years are generally the ones you see grouped among the very best in the sport year after year.

The transfer portal has added a recent new wrinkle to the process of recruitment and roster management, but future success is still highly dependent on how well teams are able to evaluate and develop high school talent moving on to the collegiate level.

With Early National Signing Day still several months away, Oklahoma's 2027 recruiting class is trending toward one of the Sooners' highest-ranked classes this century.

OU's 2027 class currently has 27 commitments and ranks No. 5 in 247Sports' team rankings. Oklahoma got off to a fast and productive start in the 2027 recruiting cycle, holding down the No. 1 or No. 2 spot nationally for a number of months before slowly dropping back a few spots as other top teams began to pick up their activity.

The 2027 recruiting class is the third one directly attributed to head coach Brent Venables with 25 or more commitments.

Sooners clearly benefiting from Jim Nagy hire with another top-5 class loading

The hiring of Jim Nagy as general manager of football in February 2025 has been a major boost to Oklahoma's recruiting efforts and the activities and responsibilities entailed. The Sooners were one of the first programs in the country to create a general manager position, and as a result, they were able to bring in one of the best fits in the country to fill that position.

Read more: Oklahoma already rewarding Jim Nagy with handsome payday after quickly proving his value

In several media interviews during SEC Media Days last week, Nagy explained the type of players the Sooners are looking for in their present recruiting efforts.

"You just gotta find guys that are about the right stuff," Nagy told On3's J.D. PicKell. "The money part (for NIL), we're gonna be competitive, but they gotta buy into what we're about, and that's the culture and the brotherhood and being developed and understanding guys that we recruit to Oklahoma should have NFL futures if they come in, if they put in the work, they allow themselves to be developed.

"Sunday money is always going to trump Saturday money."

Read more: Jim Nagy makes it clear playing for Oklahoma is a long-term investment

Oklahoma has registered 16 top-10 recruiting classes since 2000, based on the 247Sports Composite. Ten of those were recruited under Bob Stoops, four under Lincoln Riley and two by Venables.

The Sooners' highest-rated recruiting class this century was in 2005, a 21-member class that ranked No. 3 nationally. That decorated class included such names as wide receivers Malcolm Kelly and Juaquin Iglesias, linebacker Curtis Loftin, defensive lineman Demarcus Granger, defensive ends C.J. Ah Yu and Austin English, and defensive back Nic Harris.

Oklahoma also has had three different recruiting classes (2001, 2010 and 2023) this century rated as fifth-best nationally based on the 247Sports Composite. Two of the three were under Stoops and one belongs to Venables.

The average national class ranking for an Oklahoma football recruiting class over the past 26 seasons is 11th.

Oklahoma's 2027 commitments include two prospects rated as five stars in cornerback Gabriel Osborne Jr. and offensive tackle Kaeden Penny, both from the state of Oklahoma, along with 10 four-stars, according to 247Sports. There are 13 commitments on offense and 14 on defense.

Things are definitely on the upswing and headed in the right direction in Oklahoma football recruiting. As in the closing line from the popular Broadway musical "Oklahoma":

"You're doin' fine, Oklahoma! Oklahoma O.K."

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