Oklahoma is on the board again in the 2026 class, as the Sooners have dipped back into the Natural State to land four-star linebacker Jakore Smith.

The 6-foot-1, 195-pound phenom is the second defensive commit of the cycle for the Sooners, and the sixth overall pledge for Brent Venables' program. A native of Little Rock, Smith spent his first three years of high school at Parkview Magnet High before transferring this offseason to Bryant. His commitment marks the first-ever recruiting triumph for Nate Dreiling at Oklahoma, as the Sooners' first-year linebackers coach had been working fervently to get Smith on board in recent weeks — and the effort paid off.

"I didn’t know Coach Dreiling like that before he got to OU, but he has been on me and made it known he wants me," Smith told OUInsider's Brandon Drumm. "Can’t wait to get there, play and learn from him. Coach Dreiling came by last week to see me. I love his energy. Type of coach I want to play for. He and Coach Venables both have a lot of energy, and know the position and how to coach it."

Smith chose Oklahoma over a list of contenders that prominently featured Nebraska, Kansas State, Arkansas, Notre Dame, Tennessee and Michigan, among others. He's a former prep teammate of OU freshman safety Omarion 'Man-Man' Robinson, as the two starred together at Parkview and will now reunite in the crimson and cream.

"Having Man-Man as a teammate again is something that played big into [my decision]," Smith admitted. "We go way back. Won a lot together in high school and he’s one of my close friends."

Smith was most recently in Norman for the Crimson Combine in April, and has been a longtime priority for the OU staff. When the Sooners ramped up their pursuit of Smith during the spring evaluation period, he realized he didn't need to follow through on his scheduled official visits with Kansas State and Nebraska. He was ready to be a Sooner.

“I’ve been up there [to Oklahoma] a lot," he noted. "Coach Venables offered me. [It] was a big deal being offered by the head coach. Since then, me and Coach BV have been tight. He’s been on me since I was a freshman. He was one of the first.”

Smith joins three-star safety Niko Jandreau in Oklahoma's defensive class, and represents a crucial addition at a position of need for the Sooners. In the past six months, the program has lost experienced linebackers Danny Stutsman (graduation), Dasan McCullough (transfer portal) and Jaren Kanak (position change). Oklahoma enters the 2025 season with just seven scholarship linebackers, three of whom are freshmen. With Smith on board, the Sooners will look to add more reinforcement in the likes of targets such as Beau Jandreau, Wisconsin native Ben Wenzel and/or another Arkansan thumper in Braxton Lindsey.

But Smith has his eyes set on another Oklahoma target that's within his very locker room: defensive end Matthew Nelson, who's got an official visit to Norman set for June 20.

"I’m gonna recruit my teammate Nelly hard," Smith remarked. "He has OU way up in his list, too. Make sure he comes along with me!"

With Smith's addition, Oklahoma has officially tapped into the state of Arkansas for the second straight cycle, as the Sooners landed Robinson and fellow blue-chip safety Marcus Wimberly in the 2025 class. That ended a six-year drought in the state for OU, as they previously hadn't picked up a signee from the Natural State since Stacey Wilkins in 2019.

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