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The late signing period begins Wednesday, Feb. 5 and while Oklahoma State has mostly completed its 2020 class, the Cowboys still have some work to do.
With 20 players already signed for 2020 — including two transfers — and commit Jabbar Muhammad expected to sign, OSU’s class is pretty well wrapped up. That said, OSU has four scholarships available and is expected to use them all.
Where might the coaching staff look to utilize those remaining scholarships?
That’s what we plan to run down the next few days, starting with an area fans are concerned about right now — wide receiver.
It’s not a glaring need for 2020 despite OSU losing four pass-catchers to the transfer portal as 2018 Biletnikoff finalist Tylan Wallace, Dillon Stoner, Landon Wolf and Braydon Johnson are all back. Plus, if former four-start receiver Langston Anderson is ready to go, that’s a solid five-deep.
That said, there’s a strong chance OSU will look to bring in someone with some experience for one season, like they did with Jordan McCray this past season.
Jordan Jones | Arkansas
The 6-foot-1, 185-pound former three-star prospect from Smackover, Arkansas missed the 2019 season while recovering from an ankle surgery.
He has a strong redshirt freshman season, playing in nine games and starting in four. He had 252 yards and two touchdowns on 16 catches. His numbers dipped in 2018 with 191 yards and one TD on 17 catches.
His recovery is something to be concerned about, but he’s a proven player who’s drop in production could be an attributed to bad quarterback play in 2018.
OSU reportedly had some interest in him during the recruiting process, but never made an offer. This might be the right time to do so.
Aaron Cephus | Rice
Cephus is a former two-star prospect from Houston, Texas who became the team’s leading receiver his freshman season, nabbing 25 catches for 622 yards, and five touchdowns. He was one of the leading pass catchers as a sophomore.
Here’s the concern with Cephus; he was suspended for his entire junior year for “a violation of team policies.” Without knowing what went down, it’s hard to gauge if it would be a good move bringing Cephus in. But, if the Cowboys were looking for an immediate contributor with experience, he’s a guy to keep an eye on.
Dee Anderson | LSU
Similar to Cephus, Anderson was suspended last season. Unlike Cephus, Anderson was suspended for a “conditioning issue.” I have no idea what that means.
The former four-star receiver from Desoto, Texas appeared in 19 games catching 27 passes for 392 yards and a touchdown.
The best thing about Anderson is that he’s not only immediately eligible, he has two years of eligibility remaining.
Aaron Young | Duke
Young, a three-star member of the class of 2015 from Murrieta, California, is an interesting guy. He entered his name in the transfer portal ahead of the 2019 season, before deciding to stick with Duke. The decision to return led to his best season at Duke.
In 10 games, Young had a career high in catches (29), yards (367), and touchdowns (3).
There’s nothing connecting him to OSU, and at the moment 247Sports National Writer Chris Hummer has made a crystal ball prediction for Young to end up at Florida Atlantic, but I would consider him if I was OSU.
Roshauud Paul | Texas A&M
The former three-star prospect has seen his production levels at A&M drop each season since he caught 16 passes for 187 yards as a freshman. Since then, he’s caught seven passes for 81 yards.
However he has also been a solid return man for the Aggies with 34 punt returns for 353 yards.
Unlike the others names we’ve listed Paul might be required to sit out a year. However, if he could get a waiver to play immediately, as a true senior, he could potentially be in Stillwater for two seasons, though that would require him to redshirt 2020 and only appear in up to four games.
OSU was among the 14 schools to originally offer Paul, so the connection is already there. This one isn’t my favorite option, but if it turns out they don’t need him as much, it would add some much needed depth of experience for 2021.