Sooners turning in-state Oklahoma powerhouse Bixby into newest recruiting pipeline

Although the Oklahoma Sooners' newfound recruiting pipeline out west to places like California and Arizona has garnered attention, Brent Venables is still using homegrown talent to build his roster and has finally started to tap into the best high school football program in the Sooner State.

Rivals Oklahoma recruiting editor Josh McCuistion recently logged an expert prediction for 2028 Bixby High School interior offensive lineman Gavin Wilson to eventually commit to in-state OU. If that prediction comes true, Wilson would make back-to-back classes that offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh adds a Spartan to his recruiting class. And that might not be all the future Sooners from Bixby.

Wilson, listed at 6-foot-2 and 255 pounds, is still unrated and unranked by 247Sports and ESPN, while Rivals has deemed him a three-star prospect. Rivals ranks him as the No. 19 player at his position in the 2028 class and No. 7 overall prospect in the state.

Those recruiting ratings and rankings will soon inflate, though, considering all the offers Wilson has already drawn heading into his junior season. His growing list of offers includes Arizona State, Baylor, Kansas State, LSU, Missouri, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Purdue, Arkansas State, North Texas and Tulsa.

OU is the clear early favorite after two unofficial visits to Norman and Rivals gives the Sooners a 99.5% chance of landing Wilson. At this point, it seems more like a matter of when Wilson will be a Sooner than if.

Wilson last season as a sophomore started at right tackle opposite of 2027 OU commit Kaeden Penny at left tackle as Bixby won its eighth state title in a row between time at both Class 6AI and 6AII. The Spartans have won a gold ball in 11 of their last 12 seasons, all under head coach Loren Montgomery.

Oklahoma's new emphasis on in-state recruiting starts at Bixby

Although Montgomery is known for making the most of what's on his roster, that success still proves there's a lot of talent coming out of Bixby that the Sooners can take advantage of. Penny could be the greatest talent Bixby has produced yet as a five-star recruit and No. 2 player in the state, per 247Sports. Penny, listed at 6-foot-4 and 280 pounds, hopefully starts a new trend of Spartans becoming Sooners instead of going to Oklahoma State or Tulsa or even out of the state.

That bad luck with Bixby seemed to start when four-star tight end Luke Hasz chose Arkansas despite a hard push from the in-state Sooners in 2023. Even when Hasz eventually transferred in 2025, he still went to Ole Miss instead of returning to his home state.

In the 2026 cycle, OU lost three-star safety Braeden Presley to Oklahoma State. He was the third Presley brother out of Bixby to sign with the Cowboys. However, both of his older brothers were under-recruited receivers and the middle, Braylin, eventually transferred to Tulsa. The oldest, Brennan, though, was a star at OSU as the program's all-time receptions leader.

Missing the third Presley brother was a blow for the Sooners at the time, mostly because it left Venables without an in-state commit from the 2026 class. But then the Sooners eventually discovered and offered Rejoice Christian receiver Xavier Okwufulueze, who almost immediately committed as the lone Okie in the class.

After the 2026 cycle had some fans concerned about Venables missing out on local talent, OU general manager Jim Nagy has used a historically great 2027 crop in the state to build a top-5 class in all of college football. The Sooners' 2027 group includes four Oklahomans. Penny and Fort Gibson offensive tackle Cooper Hackett making their decisions on the same day was the start to all of that.

Read more: Oklahoma is using homegrown talent to build the best 2027 recruiting class in the country

It's evident the Sooners are already looking to build their 2028 class in the same way with Owasso athlete Kamieon Compton-Nero and Stillwater receiver David Thomas seemingly destined to be Sooners.

Bixby's four-star tight end Connor Arant also has an OU offer and could end up being the best prospect out of the state in the class. Hopefully that doesn't end in deja vu with other SEC powers also after Arant. An early pledge from his teammate, Wilson, could go a long ways, though, in Arant being the third Spartan in just two years to sign with the Sooners.

The Sooners are clearly trying to utilize their own state to build the best rosters, and the greatest program Oklahoma has to offer could be the centerpiece.

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