What had long been rumored is now official, as four-star QB and longtime Oklahoma commit Jaden O'Neal is moving to the Sooner State.

As he prepares for a future in the crimson and cream, the blue-chip California native will play his senior season at Mustang High School in the western suburbs of Oklahoma City. It's the same school that produced former four-star recruit and current Oklahoma cornerback Jacobe Johnson.

"It just kind of made sense," O'Neal told OUInsider's Brandon Drumm. "Just to be able to line up right next to OU, it's definitely a blessing... I just feel like this is a good opportunity to showcase my talents to even more people, not just in Cali."

For some time, rumblings of O'Neal's relocation had been percolating, but as of Thursday, the move is finalized. The 6-foot-2, 208-pound signal-caller will immediately become the highest-rated 2026 prospect in the state of Oklahoma, as he's currently the cycle's No. 82 overall player in the nation according to Rivals. The state's longtime top recruit, Owasso DL Tajh Overton, is No. 210 overall in the latest rankings update.

The move to Oklahoma reiterates the solidity of O'Neal's commitment to the Sooners, which some had questioned in recent months as the program pursued uncommitted four-star Celina (Texas) QB Bowe Bentley. But O'Neal had never given any indication that he was wavering, and in fact had a major hand in Oklahoma's successful pursuit of four-star WR Daniel Odom, another California native who somewhat surprisingly committed to the Sooners in late January.

Ever since he locked in his own pledge to Oklahoma last June, O'Neal has been consistently active and vocal in recruiting his peers to Norman. He's made countless visits to campus, and attended virtually every single one of the Sooners' major recruiting events. Now, his work as a peer recruiter will get significantly easier, as he'll live and play just 45 minutes from his future collegiate home. He'll no doubt exert plenty of influence in the Sooners' recruitment of Overton, four-star WR Mason James and four-star RB Kaydin Jones, who are widely considered to be the state's premier trio of prospects in the 2026 cycle. All hold offers from Oklahoma, but are currently uncommitted.

"Some of those guys I'll be going against," O'Neal pointed out. "So just pre[game] or postgame, [I'll] just kind of talk to them for a little bit and see how they feel about OU. And if not, just talk to them throughout the summer, hanging out with them if they're close. I'm just glad I'm more local to some of those kids."

In his senior season at Mustang, O'Neal will be tasked with helping the Broncos get over the hump in Oklahoma's 6A-I classification, which has been dominated by Bixby of late. The Spartans have claimed six consecutive titles in 6A-I, while Mustang is still in search of its first state championship in football. The program has approached the mountaintop on two occasions, finishing as the state runner-up in 1980 and 2005, but has never hoisted the trophy.

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