ESPN Junior 300 QB O’Neal devotes to Oklahoma

• Eli Lederman, ESPNJun 24, 2024, 05:54 PM ET

Oklahoma landed its most current prominent quarterback Monday when class of 2026 pocket passer Jaden O’Neal, No. 31 in the ESPN Junior 300, revealed his commitment to the Sooners.O ‘Neal, the third-ranked quarterback in his class, picked Oklahoma over finalists Ohio State, Miami, Florida State and Washington. The 6-foot-3, four-star passer from Harbor City, California, is now the 6th top-10 quarterback from the 2026 class to announce his choice this month, and O’Neal is the Sooners’highest-rated quarterback pledge considering that 3rd general possibility Jackson Arnold devoted in 2023.”I like the way they assault football,”O’Neal told ESPN.

“Everybody there likes football. There’s not a lot of distractions in Norman. They have an excellent scholastic program. I’m a student-athlete and trainee comes before athlete. And then it was simply the players that I’ll be surrounded with. They have actually got some superior quarterbacks.”Talented with one of the greatest

arms in the 2026 class, O’Neal tossed for 2,475 yards and 27 touchdowns as a sophomore at California’s Newport Harbor High School last fall. In March, O’Neal revealed his transfer 40 miles up the Southern California coast to Narbonne High ahead of his junior season.Editor’s Picks 2 Associated O’Neal began June with camp visits to Texas, Colorado and Florida State, then took an informal see to Miami in the middle of the month before concluding his camp slate with Oklahoma and Ohio State in current weeks. The series of check outs left O’Neal with finalists on both coasts, but it was his most current journey to Oklahoma that helped seal his commitment to the SEC-bound Sooners.”Norman, guy, the experience alone was incredible,”he said.”The requirement was simply as high as the very first time I visited

. I was able to go out there and talk with the coaches and regroup. Just making certain the interaction was still high and just making certain the relationships were still there.”Oklahoma initially made its offered to O’Neal on Feb. 7. The relationships he created with Brent Venables and first-year offending planner Seth Littrell in the months since stood among the connections that eventually pulled O’Neal to Norman.”The energy wasn’t phony,” O’Neal said.”It was extremely genuine and genuine. I truly like the strong tradition that they hold, the advancement opportunity and just what they can bring for my household and I, on and off the field. All of that was necessary to me. “O’Neal kept in mind the Sooners ‘tradition of establishing leading quarterbacks, and he’ll enter a deep quarterback space when he shows up in Oklahoma.The Sooners included two quarterbacks– four-star passer Michael Hawkins and three-star beginner Brendan Zurbrugg– in the 2024 class. In 2025, Oklahoma holds a commitment from four-star possibility Kevin Sperry

, the 11th-ranked quarterback in the class. Arnold, the previous luxury hire, is set to take over beginning duties in the Sooners’backfield this fall.O ‘Neal’s commitment follows 3 of his fellow top-10 2026 quarterbacks announced their commitments last week: Texas ‘Dia Bell(No. 2 pocket passer in 2026), Florida State’s Brady Smigiel(No. 6 )and Michigan’s Brady Hart(No. 8).

Now that he has devoted, O’Neal prepares to close down his recruitment and focus on his junior season at Narbonne this fall.”Now that I’ve made my choice, I’m sticking with it, “he said.”I’m only planning on taking main check outs to that a person school. “