Oklahoma has secured another recruit for the 2026 class, landing four-star linebacker from the Natural State.
Standing 6-foot-1 and weighing 195 pounds, Smith is the second defensive commitment of the cycle for the Sooners and the sixth overall pledge for Brent Venables’ program. Originally from Little Rock, Smith spent the first three years of his high school career at Parkview Magnet High before transferring to Bryant this offseason. His commitment also marks the first recruiting win for Nate Dreiling at Oklahoma. The Sooners’ first-year linebackers coach had been working tirelessly to bring Smith on board in recent weeks, and his efforts have now paid off.
“I didn’t know Coach Dreiling like that before he got to OU, but he has been on me and made it known he wants me,” Smith told OUInsider’s Brandon Drumm. “Can’t wait to get there, play and learn from him. Coach Dreiling came by last week to see me. I love his energy. Type of coach I want to play for. He and Coach Venables both have a lot of energy, and know the position and how to coach it.”
Smith selected Oklahoma over several strong contenders, including Nebraska, Kansas State, Arkansas, Notre Dame, Tennessee, and Michigan. He also has a prior connection to the Sooners through his former high school teammate, freshman safety Omarion “Man-Man” Robinson. The two played together at Parkview and will now reunite in Norman to play for the Sooners.
“Having Man-Man as a teammate again is something that played big into [my decision],” Smith admitted. “We go way back. Won a lot together in high school and he’s one of my close friends.”
Smith’s most recent visit to Norman was for the Crimson Combine in April, and he’s been a top priority for the OU staff for some time. As the Sooners intensified their recruitment of Smith during the spring evaluation period, he decided he no longer needed to follow through with his planned official visits to Kansas State and Nebraska. He was already set on becoming a Sooner.
“I’ve been up there [to Oklahoma] a lot,” he noted. “Coach Venables offered me. [It] was a big deal being offered by the head coach. Since then, me and Coach BV have been tight. He’s been on me since I was a freshman. He was one of the first.”
Smith joins three-star safety Niko Jandreau in Oklahoma’s defensive class, and represents a crucial addition at a position of need for the Sooners. In the past six months, the program has lost experienced linebackers Danny Stutsman (graduation), Dasan McCullough (transfer portal) and Jaren Kanak (position change). Oklahoma enters the 2025 season with just seven scholarship linebackers, three of whom are freshmen. With Smith on board, the Sooners will look to add more reinforcement in the likes of targets such as Beau Jandreau, Wisconsin native Ben Wenzel and/or another Arkansan thumper in Braxton Lindsey.
But Smith has his eyes set on another Oklahoma target that’s within his very locker room: defensive end Matthew Nelson, who’s got an official visit to Norman set for June 20.
“I’m gonna recruit my teammate Nelly hard,” Smith remarked. “He has OU way up in his list, too. Make sure he comes along with me!”
With Smith’s addition, Oklahoma has officially tapped into the state of Arkansas for the second straight cycle, as the Sooners landed Robinson and fellow blue-chip safety Marcus Wimberly in the 2025 class. That ended a six-year drought in the state for OU, as they previously hadn’t picked up a signee from the Natural State since Stacey Wilkins in 2019.
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