OU beats out Oklahoma State for Sooner State's top 2025 recruit, edge rusher C.J. Nickson

The recruiting battle was down to a Bedlam tug of war between Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, and on Tuesday, four-star 2025 defensive end C.J. Nickson ended the uncertainty committing to OU.

This is a giant pick up for Brent Venables and the Sooners (no pun intended). At 6-foot, 5-inches and 220 pounds, Nickson is ranked by 247Sports as the No. 9 edge rusher in the 2025 class and the No. 1 recruit in the state of Oklahoma.

Venables and his staff have been on a recruiting roll over the past 7 to 10 days. During the past week, the Sooners added a pair of four-star wide receivers -- Marcus Harris from Santa Ana, Californina, and Emmanuel Choice from Lancaster, Texas -- to its growing 2025 class. This week, its about defense,

Nickson is from, Weatherford, Oklahoma, the same home town that produced OU defensive end Ethan Downs. He is the fourth defensive lineman in the Sooners' 2025 class, joining defensive tackles Ka'Mori Moore and Trent Wilson and defensive end Alexander Shieldknight. And he is the sixth OU commitment in this recruiting cycle from the state of Oklahoma. All six rank from No. 1 in the state to No. 11, reinforcing Venables' emphasis on not allowing the top talent in the state to get away and sign elsewhere.

Nickson is a dual-sport star who was also recruited by Oklahoma basketball coach Porter Moser and will play basketball for the Sooners. He was in attendance at the ChampU BBQ recruiting event this past weekend in Norman, which may have sealed the deal.

John Williams, a recruiting analyst for the Oklahoma-dedicated website Sooner Wire, affiliated with the USA Today network, wrote this about Nickson's strength in an article back in April:

"His length is a problem for offensive tackles, and he has the quickness and agility to be a plus pass rusher at the collegiate level."

Nickson becomes the 18th commitment to OU's 2025 class. With his addition, the Sooners have moved up to No, 5 in the 247Sports 2025 recruiting class rankings and No. 4 in the Rivals team rankings.