Brent Venables is going the distance to get talent to Norman for the Oklahoma Sooners.
According to Hayes Fawcett of On3 on Tuesday, Valdin Sone, a towering defensive lineman originally from Sweden, has narrowed his college choices down to an impressive eight that includes Oklahoma, Nebraska, USC, Auburn, Texas, South Carolina, Florida and Georgia.
Valdin Sone includes Oklahoma in loaded final group
Coming from Europe and of Cameroonian descent, Sone has played American football for only a few years and has already risen to be one of the top recruits in the 2026 class. He grew up playing soccer and participating in martial arts, but has all the natural traits to succeed in football at 6-foot-5 and 323 pounds with excellent footwork. And he has that size already after reclassifying from the 2027 class to 2026.
Sone is a consensus four-star defensive tackle who's now at Blue Ridge High School in Virginia. The 247Sports Composite ranks Sone as the No. 21 defensive lineman in the 2026 class and fourth-best prospect in the state of Virginia. He also played in the Navy All-American Bowl at the end of his junior season.
Sone started out as an offensive tackle prospect but recently swapped sides after impressing on the defensive side of the ball. Some still believe Sone has the potential to play both sides of the trenches in college.
The Sooners just landed their first defensive commitment from the 2026 class on Tuesday in three-star safety Niko Jandreau. That put OU's class at five commits, with four being on the offensive side of the ball.
OU has some work to do to secure Sone, though, because on Wednesday, On3 predicted him to choose Florida. Sone has an official visit scheduled to OU on June 20 during the Sooners' ChampU weekend. He'll be in Florida the week before.
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