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Between my 7,000 word Sooners' spring offensive intel writeup to go with scrimmage notes, plus,  Parker's spring scrimmage intel, you would be hard

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OUInsider

Sooner Scoop

SOONERS SPRING DEFENSIVE INTEL: Can 2026 Defense Be Close to 2025 Version? | Position Breakdowns | Standouts | More

Watching the initial drills at OU spring practice at defensive tackle, and, wait, that is Nigel Smith and Trent Wilson?  Yep, it is a different day

Nigel Smith

Sooner Scoop Football

Nigel Smith, other young OU defensive tackles with big opportunities

It's not every team who can lose a pair of draft picks in a position group and possibly be improved the following year. But that's a credit to the

Syndication: The Oklahoman

Sooner Scoop Football Recruiting

Oklahoma Football Focus: Defensive Line Has Stars and Questions

OUInsider VIP members asked around 80 questions in our mailbag and I will try to get to as many as I can answered here on 2027 recruiting intel and

Dec 19, 2025; Norman, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners general manager of football Jim Nagy against the Alabama Crimson Tide during the CFP National Playoff First Round at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images



OU GM Jim Nagy

OUInsider Mailbag Q&A: Portal Intel on numerous positions, 2026 Roster Strengths & Recruiting Intel on Rivals300 targets

There has been lots of movement and lots of buzz regarding several big-time portal targets since the transfer portal actually opened up on Friday.

Cole Sullivan

Monday Portal Intel: Latest on Visitors, Targets and More as OU Finalizes 2026 Roster

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Football

Nigel Smith II made a big impression early on in his high school career, especially since he arrived at Melissa (Texas) High School as a 6-foot-5, 250-pound 15-year-old freshman. “His dad is 6-9 and 280 pounds,” Melissa coach Matt Nally told Irish Sports Daily. “You think that his dad (former SMU basketball player Nigel Smith) could play for the Dallas Cowboys. He’s just a massive human being who is put together extremely well. But Nigel is a football player. You can't ask for a better kid as a player. His motor is unbelievable. He's just that prototypical coach's kid – works his butt off, gets up here before anybody else is up here, gets in a workout, goes through school and during the athletic period, works out again and then comes back and lifts after school. So, you just can't ask for a better kid in the situation that he is in. The work ethic that he has is just uncanny.” That work ethic helped Smith earn second-team Max Preps Junior All-American, Texas District 7-5A-II Defensive Lineman of the Year and Texas Sportswriters Association Class 5A first-team all-state honors in 2022. He was the Texas District 7-4A-I unanimous Defensive Lineman of the Year as a sophomore after being named the district’s newcomer of the year as a freshman. Smith enjoys playing basketball and gaming when he’s not involved with football.

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