Three-star DE Matthew Nelson commits to Oklahoma after "confirmation" on OV

When Bryant (Ark.) DE Matthew Nelson decided to spend last Sunday morning competing at Oklahoma's prospect camp instead of following through on his scheduled official visit to Tulsa, that was the first real indication that he was imminently close to committing.

One week later, fresh off his official visit in Norman, Nelson is officially on board with the Sooners. He announced his commitment via social media on Sunday evening, and told OUInsider.com that the time spent with PJ Adebawore — his player-host on the visit — convinced him to shut down his recruitment.

“It was talking to PJ and all the other players and seeing how I fit in," Nelson explained. "And we connected, and it was just really confirmation… It was like, if Coach Chavis recruits like this, I’m gonna be all right here.”

For the second straight weekend, Nelson had brought his entire entourage to Norman with him. That included his father, his grandfather, his older brother and his younger brother. And according to Nelson, they were ready for him to commit to Oklahoma even before he was.

“They were saying it from the start," Nelson laughed. "They were saying, what are you waiting for? My younger brother said, if you don’t do it, I’ll do it.”

Thus, when Nelson stepped into Miguel Chavis' office to have his one-on-one meeting with his future position coach, he committed in rather casual fashion.

“We did it in Coach Chavis’ office," Nelson recalled. "They give us a poker chip, and it says All In. And I just flipped it to him, and he caught it, and he said, ‘What’s this for?’ And I said, 'What do you mean what’s it for? What’s it say on it? It says All In!’ So he was excited, and Coach V was excited too.”

And when asked what he'd remember from the visit besides his commitment, Nelson had an answer that's pretty quintessential for the 17-year-old fun-loving kid that he is.

“I think it’d be riding the go-cart at 11:00 at night, and then going to Popeye’s at 2 in the morning," he chuckled. "Just chatting it up with another player at Popeye’s at 2 in the morning.”

Nelson is the eighth commit of the 2026 cycle for Oklahoma, and the fourth on the defensive side of the ball. Remarkably, he's also the second commit from Bryant High, as his teammate Jakore Smith pledged to the Sooners last month — and immediately turned around and began helping OU to recruit Nelson. That effort proved successful over the weekend, and Nelson adds to the nucleus of an Oklahoma class that is poised to expand over the next several weeks.

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