Sooners finally land commitment from their top QB target

The Oklahoma Sooners and offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle took a gamble, but they eventually hit the jackpot.

OU's top 2026 quarterback target, Bowe Bentley, on Friday committed to the Sooners after narrowing down his choices between OU and LSU, according to Hayes Fawcett of On3, after every major recruiting service predicted that outcome throughout the day. Bentley then confirmed the news himself.

It wasn't a simple road to this point, though.

Bowe Bentley commits to OU after 2026 recruiting drama

Arbuckle saw something early in Bentley that he liked enough to risk the Sooners' future at the position. OU already had 2026 QB Jaden O'Neal locked in since last June, but shortly after taking over as OU's offensive coordinator, Arbuckle still offered Bentley, who at the time was still under the radar and even unrated by some recruiting services. On the day OU offered Bentley, Oklahoma State, Missouri and Virginia Tech also did.

The move stirred up recruiting drama for the Sooners as O'Neal started entertaining other options, though, while OU risked losing both targets with landing Bentley no guarantee. Ultimately, O'Neal decommitted from OU on Thursday night, five months after the Sooners offered Bentley. That briefly left the Sooners without a 2026 QB and Bentley as the only option.

OU's offer to Bentley was among a new flood of interest for the up-and-coming recruit at the time after a spectacular junior campaign, which was his first season as the starter at Celina High School in Texas. Bentley threw for 3,467 yards and 52 touchdowns last season, plus rushed for another 991 yards and 16 scores while winning a Texas Class 4A-I state championship and being named a Navy All-American.

Including his final two choices, Bentley also had offers from Georgia, Colorado, Florida State, Kansas State, Ohio State, Texas Tech, Wisconsin and more.

Bentley rocketed up recruiting rankings and even surpassed O'Neal as a consensus four-star prospect. According to the 247Sports Composite, Bentley is the No. 10 QB in the class and No. 14 overall prospect in the talent-rich state of Texas. On3 and 247Sports rank Bentley as the seventh-best 2026 QB. Every major recruiting service lists Bentley as the Sooners' highest-rated commit from 2026.

After a week of losses, Bentley gave the Sooners their biggest get yet from the 2026 class. With O'Neal's decommitment, OU lost two 2026 commits this week, along with three-star offensive lineman Will Conroy, who flipped to North Carolina. O'Neal's decision had foreshadowed what was ahead.

The Sooners tumbled in recruiting rankings after those deficits, but the addition of Bentley jumped them right back up. Starting the day outside of 247Sports' top 50, the Sooners jumped to No. 38 right away. On3 put OU's class back inside its top 20 at No. 19 and is still the highest on the Sooners' group.

More commitments are likely right around the corner with OU this weekend hosting its annual ChampU BBQ, the Sooners' biggest recruiting event of the year. After O'Neal's decommitment, according to ESPN's Eli Lederman, OU pushed hard to get Bentley back to Norman after he just took his official visit to OU last weekend to avoid any disaster of possibly missing out on both QB targets.

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