What’s Next for Oklahoma State’s 2020 Recruiting Class?

On Wednesday, OSU signed 18 players for their 2020 class, with one commit — cornerback Jabbar Muhammad — reportedly holding off until February to sign.

The Cowboys picked up a day-of commitment from linebacker Mason Cobb, but other than that, it was a pretty uneventful early signing period for OSU. No late commitments, no players flipping at the last minute. It was all pretty much wrapped up before lunch.

So, with 18 signed and one to go, and six scholarships still available, where does Coach Gundy and the coaching staff go from here to complete their 2020 class?

Jabbar Muhammad

As of now, there’s no reason to be worried. From all that’s been reported, Muhammad just wants to wait until February to sign with some of his teammates, but is still committed to Oklahoma State.

He still has “Cowboy football commit” in his Twitter bio and his pinned tweet is still his commitment announcement.

But, two months is a long time. I’m sure OSU will stay in constant contact with him to keep him locked in. Considering the state of the cornerback position (we’ll get to that), it’s important to keep him committed.

Running Back

There is one glaring hole in this class, and it’s running back.

Isaiah Jacobs chose Maryland over OSU on Wednesday. According to multiple reports, the Cowboys are out on Daniyel Ngata. It’s been moving that direction for some time so it’s not terribly surprising to see.

That leaves two players OSU is pursuing; four-star Kevontre Bradford, and JUCO La’damian Webb.

I’ll be honest; I have no feel on Bradford, but looking at 247 and Rivals, Wisconsin is the favorite. Taylor winning the Doak Walker over Chuba probably doesn’t hurt the Badgers’ case any there. But it’s still early and my guess is OSU is putting the court press on him.

The kid is talented, and if he were to commit to OSU, would be the highest rated player in the class, and the highest rated RB to come to OSU since Tyreek Hill.

Webb isn’t signing until February so it could be that long until he even announces who he is committing too. OSU is in the running along with Ole Miss, West Virginia, and Louisiana.

Here’s the wild card in all of this; Chuba Hubbard. If he decides to stick around another season, OSU will be fine. They can focus on bringing in two backs in 2021. But if Chuba is gone to the NFL after the Texas Bowl, and OSU can’t land a back in the 2020 class, the running back position is going to be a real concern next season.

Defensive Tackle

Just days before the early signing period, Oklahoma State lost one of their two defensive tackle commits, Sawyer Goram-Welch, to Texas. Looking at OSU’s offer list, there isn’t another offered DT that didn’t sign with a team on Wednesday.

So, where does OSU go from here?

OSU isn’t desperate for a DT or DE to come in and play immediately next season. They return most of the line and have JUCO defensive end Tyren Irby who could come in and fill Mike Scott’s role.

I expect they hand out a few new offers. I don’t have any names and anyone they bring in is likely going to be a lower ranked prospect who needs some time to develop. They could also decide to stand pat, but I get the feeling they would like to bring in at least one DT to keep the position group stocked.

Safety

Similar to the defensive line, Oklahoma State isn’t exactly hurting at safety. But there is something interesting to note. OSU signed two safeties in this class in Zach Middleton and Jeff Sessions.

But, Middleton was listed on the signee roster as an athlete, and Gundy had some interesting things to say about him.

I’m not sure it’s guaranteed that Middleton plays safety at Oklahoma State. Not saying he won’t, but you could see him filling whatever role OSU needs filled.

Again, it’s not a position of need, but it wouldn’t surprise me if OSU looks to add another safety to the class.

Transfers

Obviously, between now and the end of Spring ball is a long time. Other players might decide to transfer away and the coaching staff will have a better idea of where they could use some help on the team after evaluating the roster.

But if there is one position where they need to bring in some immediate experience, it’s at corner.

As we’ve mentioned, OSU will bring back, at most, four scholarship corners next season. Three of them will be sophomores. Adding a transfer with immediate eligibility who could at least serve as a back-up with experience, would be huge for the position group.

It’s something OSU has done many times in the past with guys like Kemah Siverand, Lenzy Pipkens, and Tyler Patmon.

Pipkens is a perfect comp for what OSU should be looking for; a G5 starter looking for an opportunity to play at a Power 5 school so he can increase his stock ahead of the NFL draft.

I don’t have a list of candidates, mostly because the list of options is going to really grow after bowl season. But a “Pipkens” is what I would look for.

Wish List

Ryan put together a great list of guys OSU should look at offering (and I absolutely agree on Rakestraw), but I’d like to add one to the list. This one though is in the transfer portal.

Former four star defensive end Collin Clay.

Clay is originally from Oklahoma City, but played his freshman season at Arkansas. After the coaching change, he put himself into the portal and is now available.

Clay played in 11 of Arkansas’ 12 games, accounting for 17 total tackles, including five solo and 0.5 TFLs.

The kid was a talent coming out of Putnam City, and while OSU doesn’t need another DE this season, him sitting out 2020 and being ready for 2021 could be huge for the defense.

OSU offered him out of high school and was considered one of his final schools. If I’m OSU, I’m on the phone trying to get him to Stillwater.