Oklahoma leading the way to get four-star defensive lineman recruit

The Oklahoma Sooners are closing in on their first defensive commitment from the 2026 class.

The Sooners are front-runners to land consensus four-star defensive lineman Deuce Geralds, according to Steve Wiltfong of On3 on Monday.

Brent Venables, Sooners top contenders to land four-star DL Deuce Geralds

Geralds is one of the best defensive tackles in the 2026 class out of Collins Hill High School in Georgia. On3 and Rivals rank Geralds as a top-3 defensive lineman prospect, although 247Sports has a drastically different opinion on Geralds, putting him at No. 20 in position rankings.

The 247Sports Composite still has Geralds as the No. 6 defensive lineman in the 2026 class and No. 63 overall recruit.

Geralds on Wednesday released his top -10 school choices. The impressive group included OU, Clemson, LSU, Oregon, Florida State, Ohio State, Michigan, Miami (FL), Georgia Tech and Ole Miss. He also held offers from the likes of Texas, Texas A&M, Tennessee, South Carolina, Penn State, Notre Dame, Missouri and Florida.

Geralds just visited Norman this past weekend. He was also at Ohio State earlier in the week. So far, Geralds hasn't taken or reportedly scheduled any official visits yet.

The Sooners haven't landed any defensive players yet for their 2026 class. So far, the class consists of four offensive players in quarterback Jaden O'Neal, wide receiver Daniel Odom, offensive lineman Will Conroy and tight end Ryder Mix.

OU is still in contention for several big-time defensive players, though. Recently, four-star defensive end Kevin Ford included OU in his final 12 school choices and four-star linebacker Talanoa Ili had the Sooners in his top 7.

The Sooners' 2026 class will really start to take shape once official visits ramp up in May and June.