As of Friday morning, the Oklahoma Sooners are without a quarterback from the 2026 class.
The Sooners' pursue of two different quarterbacks in the same class, at least briefly, has blown up in their faces. Thursday night, longtime commit Jaden O'Neal decommitted from OU, so now, the Sooners' future at the position is in limbo of Bowe Bentley's looming decision.
Sooners awaiting Bowe Bentley's decision
Bentley has narrowed his choices down to OU and LSU, and after taking official visits to both recently, a decision is expected to be announced anytime. The fact O'Neal finally abruptly decommitted might even foreshadow a decision that favors OU is right around the corner.
The Sooners offered Bentley in late January shortly after Ben Arbuckle took over as offensive coordinator despite already having a quarterback committed in O'Neal. Bentley was rather unknown at the time, but OU was among a tidal wave of offers for Bentley and he has since rocketed up recruiting rankings as a consensus four-star prospect.
Bentley has emerged as the No. 10 quarterback in the class, according to the 247Sports Composite. And his stock has only increased this week while impressing at the Elite 11 Finals.
OU didn't completely forget about O'Neal, though. The staff made a visit to O'Neal's home this summer after he moved from California to Mustang, Oklahoma, and O'Neal was scheduled for an official visit to Norman this weekend before his decommitment. But after five months of entertaining other options because of OU's fascination with a new quarterback, O'Neal finally backed out and left the Sooners without a 2026 QB.
That has the Sooners bearing down on what's now their only quarterback target from the 2026 class. According to ESPN's Eli Lederman, OU is pushing hard to get Bentley back on campus this weekend during the ChampU BBQ, which is the Sooners' biggest recruiting event of the year, for a last-ditch effort.
OU possibly scrambling to find a new high school quarterback wouldn't be as dire if it hadn't also just let its top 2025 target slip away. Kevin Sperry was committed to the Sooners for over a year before flipping to Florida State just days before Early National Signing Day. That led OU to swipe Jett Niu from Oklahoma State on the eve of signing day. Time will tell, but Niu didn't draw near the same interest as Sperry, O'Neal or Bentley as a last-minute replacement.
Bentley seems to be OU's No. 1 option since Arbuckle took over, but now with Plan B falling through and no Plan C, Plan A is not just the Sooners' top option, but the only.
Throughout Friday at some point, every major recruiting service logged a prediction for the Sooners to land Bentley, so with Bentley likely in Norman this weekend, a decision could now be coming sooner than later.
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