Football Recruiting: Mike Gundy uses helicopter, Oklahoma State to host recruits at Junior Day

From now until Feb. 2, Oklahoma State football coaches will continue to focus their efforts on recruiting as Groundhog Day is the last day of the the “contact period” for the recruiting calendar.

OSU coaches are taking full advantage of it. So far, they’ve offered north of 20 prospects in the 2020, 2021, and 2022 classes.

Let’s take a look at all the latest news surrounding OSU football, including head coach Mike Gundy using a helicopter and a big weekend for visitors.

Gundy Copter makes multiple stops

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s a mullet in a helicopter!

Gundy spent Tuesday flying around the state checking on commits and prospects.

Plainview High School | Ardmore

Gundy made a stop to check in on 2020 four-star offensive tackle commit Eli Russ, one of the Cowboys four commits in the class.

Weatherford High School | Weatherford

It’s likely Gundy made a visit to class of 2021 4-star defensive end Ethan Downs during a visit to Weatherford. OSU is one of three schools — and the first — to have offered the No. 6-ranked player at his position, though that list is expected to grow soon.

Broken Arrow High School | Broken Arrow

Gundy was likely checking in on a couple of the state’s best players and OSU’s top targets: Four-star guard Andrew Ryam and four-star cornerback Myles Slusher.

Ryam recently posted on Twitter that he would be announcing his top five schools “SOON.” If I had to guess, the No. 3 ranked guard in the 2020 class will likely include OSU, Georgia, Michigan, Notre Dame and Oklahoma.

As for Slusher, he is one of a number of players planning to be in Stillwater this weekend for Junior Day. Considering he made the announcement after Gundy’s trip, you have to wonder if the coach hand delivered the invitation.

On Wednesday, Gundy reportedly took his ride north to Kansas where he likely checked in on 2019 signee Joe Michalski and 2020 players the Cowboys have offered. That probably included 4-star offensive tackle Turner Corcoran,

According to GoPokes, Gundy plans to make stops in New Mexico, California, and along the west coast the rest of the week, checking in on a variety of commits and recruits.

OSU holding Junior Day

This weekend will be the first of two big weekends for OSU with dozens of recruits coming to Stillwater. Along with the chance to get a look at the program, recruits will attend OSU’s home basketball games against South Carolina on Saturday, and Kansas State on Feb. 2.

Here are some other confirmed recruits that will attend:

2020 4-Star DE Alec Bryant - Along with Slusher, this is the other big name recruit we know about. Bryant picked up his offer last week. He has 16 offers, including from Arizona, LSU, Nebraska, Oregon and OU. The Sooners are currently the 247Sports favorite to land the Pearland, Texas recruit.

2020 3-Star CB Dontae Manning - The 6-foot, 170-pound cornerback from Kansas City, Missouri, currently does not have an offer from OSU, though that might change this weekend. He does have offers from six other programs: Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, Minnesota, Missouri and Virginia Tech. The Cyclones are the current favorite.

2020 OT Monroe Mills - a 6-foot-7, 280-pound tackle from Columbia, Missouri. Mills currently has offers from Kansas and Dartmouth.

2020 ATH Christian Lee - a 6-foot-4, 200-pound athlete from Friendswood, Texas. Lee, who played quarterback as a sophomore, moved to tight end for his junior year where he recorded 37 catches for 569 yards and five touchdowns. He currently has an offer from Western Kentucky.

2020 OLB Malik Williams - Williams played on both sides of the ball for Gilmer High in Gilmer, Texas, last season. The 6-foot-1, 195-pound prospect had 93 yards on two carries and eight receptions. But, as a linebacker, Williams racked up 51 tackles, including two sacks, plus two quarterback hurries and two interceptions. He has previously visited Arkansas, SMU and Texas Tech.

2019 JUCO DE Soni Fonua - Fonua is set to visit Friday, one day before the big Junior Day, and it is the biggest visit of the weekend. Fonua is OSU’s main target to fill it’s final 2019 scholarship and provide an immediate impact on the defensive line for next season. Expect OSU’s Director of Oklahoma State Player Development, Beni Tonga, to be his host and make a strong push for a commitment before Fonua’s final official visit to LSU. Fonua has already visited Central Florida and Nebraska.

*You can keep track of each classes’ offers here: 2020 offense, 2020 defense, 2021, 2022)