While some other schools have already had large groups of high school recruits on campus for official visits, the Oklahoma Sooners are hosting their first big visit this upcoming weekend with eight high school players arriving on Friday and on Saturday. Despite a delayed start to summer visits, Brent Venables has already done well recruiting the 2025 class with commitments from 15 commitments and the fourth-ranked class in the country.
It’s hard enough to construct a national championship contender, but life for Venables and his staff will only be tougher in the SEC this season. He and offensive coordinator Seth Littrell are tasked with constructing an offense around Jackson Arnold in his first year as the starter. They began by rebuilding the offensive line through the transfer portal this offseason, and while those five veteran additions will help in the short term, quality O-linemen are still a priority in high school recruiting.
The Sooners don’t have an elite wide receiver room, but to thrive in the SEC, they need to be strong in the trenches, so these three recruits are the most crucial for Venables and his staff to land after their official visits this weekend.
For now, Boucard is still a three-star according to 247Sports, but considering the Miami product is being heavily recruited by Oklahoma, Alabama, Miami, and USC, that designation will likely soon change.
Boucard, originally from Canada, grew up playing hockey and has immense potential in his 6-foot-3 315-pound frame. He likely won’t make a huge impact right away in Norman, but Venables is still trying to build up his pass rush, and sticking an athletic player like Boucard on the interior will help the development of young edge rushers like Adepoju Adebawore who will be a junior in 2025.
Losing Tyler Guyton, Walter Rouse, and Andrew Raym all to the NFL this offseason was a huge blow to Oklahoma up front and means the Sooners will be introducing at least three new starters in front of Arnold this year. Activity in the transfer portal often tells you what a coach thinks about his roster and Venables’s aggressiveness in the trenches was revealing.
Haywood will still need to add a bit of weight to survive at offensive tackle in the SEC, but his movement skills and long arms give him immense potential for improvement once he’s on campus. Haywood has interest from plenty of high-level programs and this summer has or will visit TCU, UCLA, Alabama, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, and Florida State.
Like Haywood, Fasusi projects as a starting tackle for multiple seasons and is being recruited heavily by some of the best programs in the country. Fasusi has already visited LSU, Missouri, and Texas A&M and after his stop in Norman is heading to Austin. There are plenty of other SEC teams in the mix, but most of all, Venables can’t afford to let Fasusi play on the other side in future Red River Rivalry games.