Oklahoma Sooners bolster pass rush with underrated recruit who could be a splash player in the future

The Arkansas native is teammates with Oklahoma commit linebacker Jakore Smith, who committed to the Sooners in May and started the ball rolling on their 2026 summer class. Nelson is Oklahoma's fourth commit since May 13th.

In a somewhat surprising move, Nelson is a completely unranked recruit in the class. No major service has any rankings for Nelson. However, it's clear the Sooners saw something in his game.

The staff was enticed by his intriguing athletic upside. Nelson is a raw player, but his 6'5 215 215-pound frame and his ability as a three-sport player (football, track, wrestling) appealed to the Sooners coaching staff, who have done a tremendous job developing at defensive end under position coach Miguel Chavis. 

Oklahoma beat out two other SEC schools to secure his commitment, as Missouri and Mississippi State had also extended an offer to the Arkansas product. A slew of other FBS schools like Houston, Tulane, and Cincinnati have offered Nelson as well.

While the Sooners are still in pursuit of other talents on the defensive line in the 2026 class, it's clear they see something with Nelson's upside. Given their success on the defensive side of the ball and on the defensive line, this could be a commitment we look back on as a steal in a few years. 

Nelson is notably raw and will have to add weight to his frame before he is ready for consistent SEC action, but you can never have too many pass rushers in this conference.