Football Recruiting: Offers, Official Visits, and PWOs, Oh My!

The countdown is on to the start of the early signing period for the 2019 class, and the Oklahoma State coaches are hard at work trying to fill out the class with the final missing pieces, not to mention continuing to work on future classes of Cowboys.

Gundy Pays Top Targets a Visit

Coach Gundy has been busy in the Gundy-copter checking in on all of Oklahoma State’s 2019 commits. He has also took the time to check in on two of the Cowboys’ top remaining offensive targets; 4-star running back Deondrick Glass and 4-star receiver Langston Anderson.

Oklahoma State made the final cut for Glass, who is planning to announce his decision on January 14th. Joining the Cowboys are Alabama, Ohio State, Georgia, Miami, and Texas.

The situation is fluid and a little omplicated. Bama is the favorite, but will likely be out of the running if 5-star back Trey Sanders commits to the Crimson Tide as expected.

Similarly for Texas, four-star, top-150 running back Noah Cain is considered to be leaning Longhorns, but also has Auburn, LSU, Georgia and others on his final list. His commitment could knock Texas out of the running for Glass.

Miami was a late addition to the party but is getting an official visit this weekend, making them a legit contender.

Personally, I don’t like OSU’s chances as much as I once did, especially with the serious consideration the Hurricane are getting despite joining the party late. That said, it’s good to see the coaching staff, and Gundy himself, going all out to try and land Glass’ commitment.

In the case of Anderson, Gundy didn’t go alone. He brought the big guns in offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich and receivers coach Kasey Dunn.

Anderson is scheduled to announce his commitment on Wednesday, the first day of the early signing period, and as of now, all signs point to him staying in-state and committing to Baylor. Along with the Bears and Cowboys, Washington State, Ole Miss, and Auburn made Anderson’s last final five.

I’d be surprised if Anderson picked the Cowboys as the Baylor lean has been pretty strong ever since he took his official visit.

Bedlam Battle for JUCO DE Target

Oklahoma State played visit to LaRon Stokes Jr. on Thursday, as the battle for the rising JUCO defensive end continues.

The NEO A&M defensive end prospect is originally from Tulsa, where he started for Noah. Along with the visit to Stillwater, he’s expected to make an OV to Norman this weekend as well.

Along with OSU and OU, Oregon and Virginia Tech are in the mix. Stokes made an official visit to Eugene last week which seemed to go well.

“I enjoyed everything we did,” Stokes said. “The family atmosphere (was important) because that [is] one of the most important things when looking at a school for me.”

Stokes would be a big get for Oklahoma State, with as much experience as they are losing on the defensive line. He would very likely be in line for early playing time with the Pokes, which is a great selling point for the Cowboy coaches.

Cowboys Offer Two 2020 Prospects

While the press is on to wrap up the 2019 class, coaches aren’t ignoring future classes. They extended scholarship offers to two 2020 prospects this week in 4-star running back Teriyon “Mookie” Cooper and 3-star linebacker Jeremiah “Jay” Harris.

Cooper, a 5-foot-9, 178-pound back from Saint Louis, MO already has offers from 27 programs, including a whos-who of Blue Blood programs like Ohio State, Michigan, Texas, Alabama, Georgia, Auburn, Florida, Oklahoma, Penn State, and Nebraska.

At the moment, Texas is listed as the favorite on 247 with all six crystal balls leaning Longhorn. Cooper has made multiple trips to Austin and currently has a teammate, senior receiver Marcus Washington, committed to Texas.

He’s listed as a back but did more damage his junior season as a receiver than he did on the ground: 28 receptions for 834 yards and nine touchdowns compared to 17 carries for 261 yards and three touchdowns.

He’s an electrifying prospect, and after watching his highlights, it’s no wonder he’s so highly sought after.

On the other side, Oklahoma State is getting in early on Jeremiah “Jay” Harris, a 6-foot-1, 195-pound inside linebacker. The Cowboys are just the second program, joining Tulsa, to offer the Pearland, Texas prospect.

As a Junior, Harris wracked up 67 tackles, including 54 solo, 15 TFLs, and 11 sacks for Shadow Creek High School.

Oklahoma State Targets Preferred Walk-Ons

While all the focus is one scholarship athletes, another area of Oklahoma State’s recruiting that has produced real talent has been their PWOs or preferred walk-ons.

This year is no different as the Cowboys have already locked up at least one commitment and are targeting others as well.

Senior Hunter Bowers plays quarterback and outside linebacker for Crescent, Oklahoma. My guess is that, with Cowboy Back coach Jason McEndoo mentioned, that the Cowboys are looking to bring him in as a CW. Size-wise, at 6-foot-4, 220-pounds, that makes sense as his height and size would make him a great blocker and a tall-match-up for defenders to deal with in the passing game.

The Cowboys also made a PWO offer earlier this month to Zack Appiah, a senior tight end at Edmond High School.