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Oct 11, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Oklahoma Sooners head coach Brent Venables before the game against the Texas Longhorns at the Cotton Bowl.
Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect The Oklahoma Sooners landed in the top eight among the schools Jordan Hicks is interested in, but USC and UCLA are leading the way.
The Oklahoma Sooners find themselves in the mix for four-star safety Jordan Hicks, the 2028 recruit out of Mission Viejo, California, who recently trimmed his list to eight schools.
Hicks, a top-150 player nationally and the No.
17 safety in his class according to the composite rankings, holds a 90.56 composite rating and ranks as the No.
6 player in California.
His finalist list includes Texas A&M, Miami, USC, UCLA, Alabama, Oregon, Ole Miss, and Oklahoma.
NEWS: Class 2028 4 defensive back Jordan Hicks has his top-eight schools list, he tells @CfbRalb & me for @247Sports !! He shares why each program made the cut, the latest in his recruitment & more..
READ HERE: https://t.co/AeW8n3irWV pic.twitter.com/q0FMniLVY5 Collin Kennedy (@CKennedy247) July 17, 2026 USC and UCLA hold the early edge The two schools that stand out most on Hicks list are USC and UCLA, both sitting in his home state.
He has already taken five visits, four to USC and one to UCLA.
That visit disparity tells you where his attention has been so far.
Oregon is another school that could factor in given its relative proximity to Southern California, but the in-state programs appear to have a significant head start.
According to Rivals, USC leads the prediction at 47.2%, with UCLA second at 11.8%.
Oklahomas chances sit under 1% on the Rivals industry rankings.
Thats a steep hill to climb for the Sooners.
Oklahomas California pipeline could help Oklahoma will have some catching up to do if the coaching staff truly wants Hicks.
However, the Sooners have recruited California well over the past few years.
In the 2027 recruiting class alone, Oklahoma has three players committed from the state.
That pipeline matters.
It shows recruits like Hicks that the Sooners are willing to go across the country to find talent, and that California players have found a home in Norman.
The challenge is obvious.
Hicks has yet to visit Oklahoma, and hes already been to USC four times.
When a recruit visits one school that many times, it typically signals strong mutual interest.
The Sooners need to get him on campus and let him see what the program offers firsthand.
What Hicks would bring to Oklahomas secondary Hicks has the size, speed, and length you look for in an SEC safety.
That combination of physical tools is what makes him a top-150 prospect nationally.
For an Oklahoma program that continues to build its roster for SEC competition, adding a player with his profile would be a significant win in the secondary.
"He has the frame and athleticism to play either spot in college and offers the kind of positional versatility you love in your secondary.
At safety, he showed a lot of range and made some really nice plays on the football.
He closes well and looks noticeably quicker than he did a year ago.
That's a likely a combination of not just getting faster but improved football instincts as well.
Greg Biggins, Rivals That said, this recruitment feels like its trending toward an in-state school.
The visit history, the proximity, and the Rivals projections all point in that direction.
Oklahoma may not have the strongest hand right now, but stranger things have happened in recruiting, and the Sooners ability to pull talent from California in recent cycles at least keeps the door cracked open.
Either way, Hicks is a name worth tracking as the 2028 cycle develops.
If Oklahoma can get him on campus and make a strong impression, theres a chance this one gets more competitive than the early numbers suggest.
This article was originally published on A to Z Sports.
Read the full story here: Oklahoma Sooners land in the top eight of an elite 2028 recruit, but they may not stand a chance 2026 A to Z Sports.