4-star OLB Nik Bonitto commits to Oklahoma over Texas, Louisville

The Under Armour All-America game was a chance for several Texas Longhorns football signees to thrive, but not an opportunity for the ‘Horns to pick up another commitment.

Consensus four-star Fort Lauderdale (Fl.) St. Thomas Aquinas linebacker Nik Bonitto committed to Oklahoma on Thursday evening during the 11th annual game.

Bonitto chose the Sooners over Texas and Louisville. Bonitto held 28 total offers, including Alabama, Georgia, and Texas A&M.

The 6’2.5, 204-pounder was originally offered by the ‘Horns in September, and took an official visit to Austin in October. The Texas staff conducted an in-home visit with Bonitto in late November.

Texas’ recruiting momentum with Bonitto began to surge in mid December. At the time, four-star Texas LB commit Ayodele Adeoye was considered a candidate to flip to Oklahoma.

However, Adeoye ultimately signed with the ‘Horns on Early National Signing Day aafter Oklahoma surged with Bonitto when the Sooners coaches used some negative recruiting against the Longhorns aided by a report from a Texas media outlet.

Though Texas was able to secure the services of Adeoye, there’s no doubt that Texas would have also benefitted from landing Bonitto. The ‘Horns are in need of depth at the linebacker position following the announcement of star junior Malik Jefferson’s departure to the NFL.

Bonitto is ranked as the No. 218 player in the class of 2018 and the No. 15 outside linebacker, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.