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When Jeff Lebby took over the offensive attack for the Oklahoma Sooners Brent Venables made it abundantly clear that Lincoln Riley’s previous strategy of taking a quarterback every other year would no longer fly. Since then, the Sooners have replenished the quarterback cupboard with talent every year, with at least two new quarterbacks joining the program via the high school ranks or transfer portal.
As Oklahoma heads into the 2024 season, it legitimately has three scholarship quarterbacks. Jackson Arnold leads the way for 2023, but the Sooners welcome two quarterbacks from the 2024 recruiting class: four-star Michael Hawkins and three-star Brendan Zurbrugg. Kevin Sperry is already committed to 2025, and now the Sooners can pivot to 2026.
This winter, they’ve offered a couple of the top quarterbacks in the cycle. Names like Jared Curtis and Faizon Brandon. Joining the list of signal callers the Sooners have offered in 2026 is Dereon Coleman out of Orlando, Fla. That Oklahoma offer has seemingly moved the needle for Coleman so much that OUInsider’s and Rivals recruiting analyst Parker Thune issued a futurecast favoring the Sooners Thursday evening.
Coleman is a smaller quarterback prospect, standing at six feet. He throws a nice tight spiral and showcases some arm strength, ripping passes over the middle of the field. He also showed the ability to buy time with his athleticism while simultaneously looking down the field to make plays with his arm.
Coleman is a solid prospect, and it will behoove many not to sleep on him as he continues to grow and improve. He isn’t currently rated for the 2026 cycle, but with programs like Oklahoma, Arkansas, SMU, Ole Miss, and Nebraska in pursuit, it’s only a matter of time until he receives an evaluation from the recruiting services.
