The second Union Redhawk on this breakdown is Daijon Gaines Daijon Gaines 6'1" | 160 lbs | DB/WR Union | 2026 State OK and coincidentally, like Smith, Gaines is a secondary prospect. Gaines lines up primarily as a safety but he can be moved around and has shown versatility to his game. The biggest key for him this season has been health. Last year, he had nagging injuries that kept him sidelined. This season, he’s been able to be an impactful player on this Union defense. Back in the spring, Gaines committed to Tulsa. But here in the last month, he has reopened his recruitment and he could end up with a Big 12 program. He had a handful of offers from those teams before committing to Tulsa. It wouldn’t be surprising to see a commitment coming soon.

Senior Daijon Gaines Daijon Gaines 6'1" | 160 lbs | DB/WR Union | 2026 State OK is near the top of the list when it comes to comeback players to watch in 2024. Simply put, Gaines had about as bad of luck as you can get when it came to injuries last season. But Gaines is back to 100% and if he stays healthy, he’s going to be one of the best defensive backs in Class 6A-1. Now, an interesting development took place this spring when we got a chance to watch Gaines in person at a team camp. He was playing offense and making plays at the wide receiver position. There’s no doubt that Gaines, a Tulsa commit, is a terrific athlete. He’s also a standout in track. So finding new ways to get him involved is a smart thing. 

There are a handful of players that we have circled going into the 2025 season that we are fired up to see after they dealt with nagging or season-ending injuries in 2024. Union defensive back Daijon Gaines Daijon Gaines 6'1" | 160 lbs | DB/WR Union | 2026 State OK is one of those guys. When Gaines is healthy, he’s one of the best safeties in the state. Union’s coaches pointed to him as being the next guy up for the Redhawks very early on in his high school career. While Choctaw is developing a reputation for producing DB’s at a high level, Union has been doing that for a while now. Gaines is definitely a name to know moving forward and it’s been good to see that despite dealing with injuries, he’s still getting recruited at a high level.

Earlier this year, Union junior Daijon Gaines Daijon Gaines 6'1" | 160 lbs | DB/WR Union | 2026 State OK had to watch from the sideline as he was still nursing an injury. He returned to the field a few weeks ago and he’s already making up for lost time. Gaines is a player that was pointed out to us during the 2023 offseason. He had just finished up his freshman year and Union coaches were very excited about his potential moving forward. Gaines has definitely looked the part every time we’ve seen him in person and there are two things that really stand out to us when you look at him as a prospect. Size and speed. Gaines is a member of the very successful Union track team so the legitimate track speed is there. But Gaines also has the size to play at the next level and he’s already gotten several programs very interested in him.

Union defensive back Daijon Gaines Daijon Gaines 6'1" | 160 lbs | DB/WR Union | 2026 State OK has been a 2026 prospect that we’ve known about for about 18 months now. Union coaches were excited about his potential from an early age and Union is definitely a program that knows what they’re doing when it comes to defensive backs and producing them at a high level. Gaines has seen his recruitment absolutely explode over the last six months and he’s going to be one part of a Redhawk secondary that is extremely talented. And this is a secondary that lost a player to graduation that signed with OU. Gaines appears to be ready to take that next step this season.