Oklahoma vulturing more elite talent from Penn State’s remains

The Oklahoma Sooners are still circling State College like sharks in the water.

According to Rivals, the Sooners are among a few programs in the mix to flip four-star running back Messiah Mickens from Penn State after the Nittany Lions recently fired head coach James Franklin and prompted commits to look elsewhere.

Sooners in mix for Penn State commit Messiah Mickens

Rivals in a post on Wednesday mentioned the Sooners with Georgia, Missouri, South Carolina, Miami and Indiana as programs with a chance at Mickens, then later that same night, Mickens posted a picture of himself in an OU uniform outside of Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium to further ignite speculation he could be seriously considering the Sooners as a new home.

Mickens is the No. 13 running back in the 2026 class, according to the 247Sports Composite. He’s also the No. 3 overall prospect in the state of Pennsylvania out of Harrisburg High School.

Luring Mickens out of his home state would be a massive feat for the Sooners, especially considering he’s been committed to Penn State since August 2023, when he was just starting his sophomore season of high school. No matter who ends up coaching the Nittany Lions, Penn State still has the upper hand in getting Mickens to stay put.

The Sooners will get help with their recruiting pitch, though. Four-star wide receiver Jahsiear Rogers just this week flipped his commitment from Penn State to OU after visiting Norman over the weekend. Mickens then mentioned Rogers in his post with the two reportedly being close.

OU currently has one 2026 running back committed in four-star DeZephen Walker from Peculiar, Missouri. According to the 247Sports Composite, Walker is the No. 25 running back in the class, which is 12 spots behind Mickens.