Oklahoma secured its newest prominent quarterback on Monday when Jaden O’Neal, a 2026 recruit known for his pocket passing skills and ranked 31st in the ESPN Junior 300, declared his commitment to the Sooners. O’Neal, rated as the third-best quarterback in his class, opted for Oklahoma over Ohio State, Miami, Florida State, and Washington. Standing at 6-foot-3, the four-star quarterback hails from Harbor City, California. His commitment marks the sixth top-10 quarterback from the 2026 class to announce his college choice this month. O’Neal represents the highest-rated quarterback commitment for Oklahoma since Jackson Arnold, the third overall prospect in 2023.
“I like the way they attack football,” O’Neal told ESPN. “Everybody there loves football. There’s not a lot of distractions in Norman. They have a good academic program. I’m a student-athlete and student comes before athlete. And then it was just the players that I’ll be surrounded with. They’ve got some top-notch quarterbacks.”
Gifted with one of the strongest arms in the 2026 class, O’Neal threw for 2,475 yards and 27 touchdowns as a sophomore at California’s Newport Harbor High School last fall. In March, O’Neal announced his transfer 40 miles up the Southern California coast to Narbonne High ahead of his junior season.
O’Neal began June with camp visits to Texas, Colorado and Florida State, then took an unofficial visit to Miami in the middle of the month before concluding his camp slate with Oklahoma and Ohio State in recent weeks. The series of visits left O’Neal with finalists on both coasts, but it was his latest trip to Oklahoma that helped seal his commitment to the SEC-bound Sooners.
“Norman, man, the experience alone was incredible,” he said. “The standard was just as high as the first time I visited. I was able to get out there and talk to the coaches and regroup. Just making sure the communication was still high and just making sure the relationships were still there.”
Oklahoma initially made its offered to O’Neal on Feb. 7. The relationships he forged with Brent Venables and first-year offensive coordinator Seth Littrell in the months since stood among the connections that ultimately pulled O’Neal to Norman.
“The energy wasn’t fake,” O’Neal said. “It was very authentic and real. I really like the strong tradition that they hold, the development opportunity and just what they can bring for my family and I, on and off the field. All of that was important to me.”
O’Neal noted the Sooners’ tradition of developing top quarterbacks, and he’ll step into a deep quarterback room when he arrives in Oklahoma.
The Sooners recently bolstered their quarterback lineup with the addition of two recruits: four-star passer Michael Hawkins and three-star newcomer Brendan Zurbrugg in the 2024 class. Looking ahead to 2025, Oklahoma has secured a commitment from four-star prospect Kevin Sperry, ranked as the 11th best quarterback in his class. Jackson Arnold, a former five-star recruit, is poised to assume starting responsibilities in the Sooners’ backfield this upcoming season.
O’Neal’s commitment follows announcements from three other top-10 2026 quarterbacks last week: Dia Bell from Texas (ranked No. 2 in pocket passing for 2026), Brady Smigiel from Florida State (No. 6), and Brady Hart from Michigan (No. 8).
Having made his decision, O’Neal intends to conclude his recruitment process and concentrate on his junior season at Narbonne this fall. “Now that I’ve made my decision, I’m sticking with it,” he stated. “I’m only planning on taking official visits to that one school.”
