Every fan base celebrates when its program lands a commitment from a coveted five-star recruit with the expectation that a generational player is on the way, but it doesn’t always work out that way, even at Oklahoma.
Five-star recruits, even at 16 to 18 years old and still in high school, have the expectation as top-32 prospects in the class to ultimately finish their college careers as first-round NFL Draft picks one day.
Rivals’ latest set of rankings gives the Sooners three five-star commits in their 2027 class between offensive tackle Cooper Hackett, cornerback Gabriel Osborne Jr. and tight end Seneca Driver. While there’s obvious optimism for the trio and every other prospect in the class, some fans are rightfully cautious until seeing these players on a college field because of past five-star misses for the Sooners, no matter who was in charge.
Bob Stoops brought talent to Norman even before recruits were defined by stars, but Lincoln Riley and Brent Venables only know a recruiting world as head coaches with rankings and stars at the forefront, even in NIL negotiations today. Since Stoops left, under Riley and now already Venables, the Sooners have landed some five-star recruits who never came close to reaching their first-round NFL Draft pick potential at Oklahoma, or even anywhere else.
Read more: 3 NIL checks the Sooners never should have signed for disappointing transfers
For comparison's sake, all rankings and ratings for this ranking was based on Rivals, and all five signed as five-star recruits according to the outlet at the time.
Sooners' biggest recruiting disappointments under Brent Venables and Lincoln Riley
Quarterback Jackson Arnold had to make this list, and although recency bias will have some wanting him to top these rankings, the jury is actually still out on Arnold, no matter how grim things seem.
Arnold was a five-star prospect and No. 4 quarterback in the 2023 class behind Arch Manning, Dante Moore and Nico Iamaleava. Rivals went as far to compare him to Baker Mayfield in its analysis and OU fans really believed he could reach that Heisman Trophy level based on all the hype.
Brent Venables bought into the hype so much that he ran Dillon Gabriel out of Norman a year early to hand the reins to Arnold as a sophomore in 2024. He then proceeded to lead one of the worst offenses we've ever seen at Oklahoma while averaging 142.1 passing yards a game with 12 touchdowns compared to three interceptions in nine starts as the Sooners went 6-7. He also fumbled the ball nine times and lost six of them.
After the 2024 disappointment, Arnold transferred to Auburn as many blamed his situation at OU for his shortcomings. But then 2025 went almost as poorly for Arnold as he lost the starting job at Auburn and transferred again over the offseason as the former five-star recruit is now trying to revive his career at the Group of 6 level with UNLV. However, even if he ever comes closer to reaching that five-star potential, it won't be as a Sooner so he'll always remain a bust in Norman.
Depending on the day, Brendan "Bookie" Radley-Hiles was a five-star recruit as Rivals' No. 33 prospect in the 2018 class and No. 6 cornerback. Regardless, the hype was a five-star level for OU fans and he only disappointed.
Before transferring to Washington in 2021, Radley-Hiles spent three seasons at Oklahoma in Lincoln Riley's program that made tackling optional. He appeared in 37 games and made 32 starts during that time, but was still never impressive as his playing time actually reached a low his junior campaign.
Radley-Hiles ultimately ended up going undrafted in 2022, and after a cup of coffee with the Cincinnati Bengals, he ended up on Riley's staff at USC.
From what was supposed to be a loaded receiver class in 2019, Theo Wease Jr. was the No. 4 receiver in the country and No. 23 overall prospect. Wease immediately saw action as a freshman to give hope, but then ultimately finished his career somewhere else in the SEC.
Wease was actually impressive as a sophomore in 2020 with 530 receiving yards and four TDs as he was named an All-Big 12 honorable mention. An injury then squandered his 2021 season and his production dipped to 378 yards in 2022 before he transferred to Missouri. Although he was solid at Mizzou, including 884 receiving yards in 2024, the Sooners never got to reap the best of Wease and he ended his college career going undrafted in 2025.
For a 2019 class infamous for wide receiver busts that were supposed to catch passes from classmate Spencer Rattler, Jadon Haselwood was the leader of the pack as not only the Sooners' highest-rated signee, but the top receiver in the entire class and No. 3 overall player.
Haselwood immediately saw the field as a freshman, catching 19 passes for 272 yards and a touchdown. An injury then had him appear in only three games as a sophomore in 2020 before peaking in 2021 with a team-high 39 receptions for 399 yards and a team-leading six TDs. He then went off to Arkansas before ever reaching his five-star potential with the Sooners.
There's no denying Haselwood was a good receiver, especially after catching 59 passes for 702 yards and three touchdowns at Arkansas, but five-star recruits are supposed to be more than just good. That five-star status means a future first-round pick, but Haselwood went undrafted in 2023.
Who's Brey Walker? Exactly.
Before there was Michael Fasusi immediately reaching five-star expectations along the Sooners' offensive line, there was Walker never even sniffing them.
Walker was the Sooners' top signee in their 2018 class as the No. 32 overall prospect in the country. He then totaled 41 appearances and just two starts in five years at OU before finishing his college career at Texas State. He at least started every game at Texas State and was Third-Team All-Sun Belt, but those obviously are not the expectations for a five-star offensive tackle as he never made it to the NFL.
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