On decision day eve, it’s a two-team race for one of the top blue chip EDGE prospects in the country
IMG Academy (Fla.) EDGE Jake Kreul is set to announce his commitment Tuesday August 12. The three finalists are the Oklahoma Sooners, the Ole Miss Rebels, and the Texas Longhorns. He will announce his decision live on College Football Live on ESPN at 1pm CT.This one has been a recruitment mostly dominated by the Sooners, […]
IMG Academy (Fla.) EDGE Jake Kreul is set to announce his commitment Tuesday August 12. The three finalists are the Oklahoma Sooners, the Ole Miss Rebels, and the Texas Longhorns. He will announce his decision live on College Football Live on ESPN at 1pm CT.
This one has been a recruitment mostly dominated by the Sooners, but the rival Longhorns have come on strong the last month.
Ole Miss is still hanging in there, but as of today it feels like a two-team race on the Red River.
Several prognosticators are working to try and predict which way this one will swing. Rivals’ John Garcia Jr., gives his thoughts.
“The clearest angle here is the contenders present. OU has been pushing for years, literally, while Texas and Ole Miss began their respective pushes in 2025,” Garcia said. “We see the Rebels running third at this stage of the game.
“Kreul has long wanted to play in the SEC, evident by not only the list of finalists, but even the top contenders prior to making his official list of top schools,” Garcia said. “He sees the competition and exposure as the best in the country.”
The Texas Longhorns have been coming on strong as of late.
“On the Texas front, Kreul very much believes in the battery between LaAllan Clark and Pete Kwiatowski in Austin,” Garcia said. “The instant impact of Colin Simmons has been brought up on several occasions, with the senior believing he can counter that splash on the other side soon after enrolling in Austin.”
Sources around Austin are cautiously optimistic the staff has done a great job making up ground in July. Right now, after talking with a few folks in and around the program, I would say Texas has a slight lead over the Sooners.
Oklahoma isn’t going to make this one easy, though.
“The Oklahoma angle is a longterm one, and it has led to varied levels of confidence inside Brent Venables‘ office and well beyond. The push Texas has made in recent months and weeks is noteworthy, but last we heard it didn’t deter Sooners staffers,” Garcia said. “The two-plus year courtship, which has led to true comfort on campus, has created a longstanding confidence in Norman.
“The long game was Kreul’s plan for the bulk of his recruitment, something that only enhanced the Oklahoma confidence, especially if the decision went into the season,” Garcia said. “But moving the timeline up by some two months allowed for the Texas pick to become more realistic, especially considering Kreul’s comments about OU needing to win this fall to remain in play for a commitment.”
The comments about winning being important to Kreul are interesting. There’s a ton of heat on Venables’ seat coming into the 2025 season. Will he still be in Norman if the Sooners flame out? How would this potentially affect Kreul’s decision? This recruitment, regardless of what happens Tuesday, will continue to go into the season and into national signing day in December.
