Hugh Freeze Déjà Vu? Oklahoma GM Jim Nagy Draws Heat as Brent Venables’ NIL Plan Backfires in Sooners’ Recruiting Collapse

The Oklahoma Sooners hired Jim Nagy to fix their recruiting problems. Instead, they’re watching top prospects pick smaller programs over them.

Sound familiar? It’s starting to look a lot like Auburn’s Hugh Freeze situation, and that’s got analysts worried about where this program is heading.

Why Are the Oklahoma Sooners Losing Recruiting Battles They Should Be Winning?

The Oklahoma Sooners have faced a tough stretch since leaving the Big 12 for the SEC. After Lincoln Riley departed for the USC job, the program hired former Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables as head coach.

Since Venables took over, the Sooners have gone 22-17 and have struggled on the recruiting trail. They brought in former Senior Bowl director Jim Nagy as their general manager to turn things around. Still, they continue to lose key battles for high school recruits, something analysts say cannot happen at a program like Oklahoma.

In February, Oklahoma hired Senior Bowl Director Jim Nagy as their GM. Nagy is a highly respected talent evaluator in college football, and Sooner fans were hoping he could help them on the recruiting trail.

However, while Nagy is a great scout, analysts wonder if his expertise in evaluating college talent hurts Oklahoma’s ability to recruit high school talent.

On the “Ruffino and Joe Show”, host Blake Ruffino explained that Nagy and Venables’ current strategy of pursuing the transfer portal more than high school talent could be hurting the Sooners more than helping them, reminding him of what is happening with Auburn’s Hugh Freeze.

“Either this is the Hugh Freeze type of situation, where people are starting to bail out on this situation, or you’re in a spot where they are going to attack it in a different way,” Ruffino said.

While Oklahoma has found success in the transfer portal, Ruffino’s cohost Joe Deleone is concerned that Oklahoma is losing high school recruiting battles to programs they should typically out-recruit.

“If a guy was down to his final schools, and he chose two much smaller, less brand-recognized programs than yours, there’s an issue,” Deleone said.

Deleone isn’t wrong about this. The Sooners recently lost two composite four-star recruits that they were pursuing in athlete Jacob Eberhart, who chose Illinois, and wide receiver Jordan Clay, who chose Baylor.

Can Oklahoma’s Transfer Portal Success Make Up for High School Struggles?

Despite the concerns raised by analysts, there are some questions about the Sooners’ overall recruiting success in the 2026 cycle. However, it isn’t as big of a deal as Deleone and Ruffino make it out to be.

Oklahoma brought in the No. 12 portal class in 2025 and finished with a top 20 overall class.

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Even with the recent recruiting woes in the 2026 cycle, the Sooners still have the No. 34 class, according to 247Sports, with seven composite four-stars, including Bowe Bentley, the seventh-best quarterback in the country.

The results aren’t where they need to be, but this is Nagy’s first recruiting cycle in his new role. The Sooners are expected to improve over time.

While high school recruiting remains essential, the transfer portal holds just as much weight. Even if Oklahoma doesn’t finish with a top-25 high school class in 2026, their success in the portal could help balance things out by next offseason.