Oklahoma State recruiting target Trae Elston to make college choice on ESPNU’s Signing Day special
Oklahoma State recruiting target Trae Elston is expected to make his college announcement during ESPNU’s National Signing Day Special, the network announced Wednesday.
Elston, a defensive back from Oxford, Ala., could visit either OSU or LSU this weekend. He played in the Under Armour All-American Bowl and is a three-star prospect, according to Rivals.
Rivals lists Mississippi as Elston’s current leader.
Oklahoma State is Wide Receiver (Recruit) U
Oklahoma State added its fifth wide receiver commit Sunday when Jhajuan Seales from Port Arthur Memorial High School in Texas switched his pledge from Houston to the Cowboys. And there could still be more commits at the position coming before Signing Day.
OSU is the leader for four-star receiver Jaydon Mickens of Dorsey High School in Los Angeles, according to multiple reports and his Twitter account. Javon Williams, a four-star receiver from Chandler, Ariz., visited OSU this past weekend.
(Updated: I missed a report by Scout.com’s Inna Lazarev yesterday that Williams is down to UCLA and Arkansas.)
OSU does have holes to fill at receiver, with Justin Blackmon, Josh Cooper, Hubert Anyiam and Colton Chelf all leaving.
But placing this kind of emphasis on the position—and adding a pass-catching tight end in JUCO All-American Blake Jackson and big-armed quarterback Wes Lunt—shows that Todd Monken likely won’t deviate much from the wide-open, spread attack post-Weeden2Blackmon.
Someone on Twitter brought up how using a tight end would be different, which is somewhat true. But, as I wrote Sunday, Monken plans to use Jackson much like Tracy Moore was this season. Jackson is a big target, but he runs the 40-yard dash in 4.6 seconds. He’ll find holes in the zone, create matchup problems, break tackles and stretch the field.
Still, it would be interesting if OSU signed five or six wide receivers and two tight ends, but no running backs in this class.
Here’s a look at the wide receivers OSU has signed over the past three seasons and their production in the 2011 season.
2011
Torrance Carr (Dallas)–no action at receiver
David Glidden (Mustang High School)—no action at receiver
Johnny Haynes (Irving, Texas)—wound up at Navarro JC
Isaac McCoy (Alma, Ark.)—no action at receiver
Josh Stewart (Denton, Texas)—19 catches, 291 yards, two touchdowns
2010
Chris Dinkins (Tyler, Texas)—moved to linebacker, no longer on roster
Kevin Johnson (Houston, Texas)—no action at receiver
Montra Nelson (Arlington, Texas)—moved to fullback, no longer on roster
2009
Michael Harrison (Dallas)—20 catches, 255 yards, three touchdowns
Charlie Moore (Bullard, Texas)—three catches, 56 yards
Tracy Moore (Tulsa Union)—45 catches, 672 yards, four touchdowns
Twitter tells us Michael Wilson, Chance Allen now Cowboys; Keon Hatcher a Razorback
Twitter gave us three pieces of recruiting news Saturday—two that are good for Poke fans and one that is not so good.
Bad news first?
Owasso wide receiver Keon Hatcher appears to be set on signing with Arkansas.
Hatcher has been committed to the Razorbacks since August, but OSU entered the running late, and he was very “vocal” (on Twitter) about how much he enjoyed his visit to Stillwater last weekend. But he took his official to Fayetteville this weekend and tweeted “IMA HOG 100% #WPS” and a photo of him in Arkansas gear in the Hogs’ locker room. Someone then asked him if that was an “official” commitment (he never decommitted, by the way) and he responded “Yessir.”
Now for the good: Blake Webb was breaking all kinds of news Saturday night.
First, he revealed that Michael Wilson, a 6-foot-6, 265-pound offensive lineman from Aledo, Texas, switched his commitment from Texas A&M to OSU on his official visit this weekend.
Webb tweeted “Got my boy Big Mike Wilson Wilson to join tha brothahood #GoPokes.” Later, Cowboy wide receiver Charlie Moore tweeted “Big mike (Michael Wilson) joined cowboy nation today!! #bignight #okstate.”
Wilson, who committed to A&M last February, is a three-star prospect, according to Rivals.
Wilson isn’t the only A&M commit that OSU is trying to lure away. Five-star running back Trey Williams and three-star defensive back Corey Thompson, who have both pledged to the Aggies, will visit Stillwater next weekend.
Later, Webb tweeted “In case y’all were wondering, we got @DudaMcLovin Too!!! #cowboynation.”
@DudaMcLovin is Chance Allen, a three-star wide receiver from Missouri City, Texas. Allen is a high-school teammate of Thompson.
Wide receiver continues to be the most active position on the recruiting trail for OSU over the past few weeks, with Allen in and Hatcher out. The Cowboys now have four receiver commits in this class in four-star prospect C.J. Curry (Flowery Branch, Ga.) and three-star prospects Brandon Sheperd (Chesterfield, Mo.) and Blake Webb (The Woodlands, Texas) and Allen. Javon Williams (fours stars, Chandler, Ariz.) and Jhajuan Seales (two stars, Port Arthur, Texas) are among the wide receiver prospects that OSU is still targeting, according to Rivals.
This was a huge recruiting weekend for the Cowboys, as evidenced by the large number of prospects and their families sitting in Section 314 at Gallagher-Iba Arena for the men’s basketball game. I also spotted offensive coordinator Todd Monken, defensive coordinator Bill Young, offensive line coach Joe Wickline, wide receiver coach Kasey Dunn, linebacker coach Glenn Spencer, director of football operations Mack Butler and recruiting coordinator Jonny Barr at the game.
That means we should have plenty more news in the coming days as we enter the home stretch before Signing Day.
Wagoner’s Kevin Peterson visiting Oklahoma State
Wagoner’s Kevin Peterson, who committed to Oklahoma on Dec. 18, is in Stillwater this weekend on an official visit to Oklahoma State.
Wagoner football coach Dale Condict said in a text message that the departures of defensive coordinator Brent Venables and secondary coach Willie Martinez led Peterson to want to at least visit OSU. Condict also said that Cowboys coach Mike Gundy made an in-house visit to Peterson last Monday.
Peterson picked up offers from both OU and OSU after leading Wagoner to its first-ever football state championship with his play at both running back and defensive back. He was The Oklahoman’s 2011 Defensive Player of the Year.
Jhajuan Seales: the next Oklahoma State commit?
Jhajuan Seales, a wide receiver from Port Arthur Memorial High School in Texas, had no college offers coming into his senior year.
Now he has the opportunity to join a program that finished No. 3 in the final Associated Press and USA Today Coaches’ polls after its greatest season in school history.
Seales, who committed to Houston on Sunday, received an offer from Oklahoma State on Tuesday, according to multiple reports. He will visit Stillwater on Friday and Houston next weekend, a source told the Beaumont (Texas) Enterprise.
Credit my friend and former colleague, Beaumont Enterprise reporter David Henry, for being on this story since the beginning. Ditto for Sam Khan, the UH beat reporter at the Chronicle.
Rumors surfaced late Wednesday night that Seales had switched his commitment from UH to OSU after the offer came from the Cowboys. But the source told the Enterprise that Seales is still committed to the Cougars and that if he changed his mind, he likely would not say until Signing Day on Feb. 1.
Seales is a classic example of a late bloomer. After being used sparingly is junior season, he caught 54 passes for 1,207 yards and 13 touchdowns this past season for a Memorial team that advanced to the Class 5A state semifinals.
His recruiting interest then skyrocketed. He received offers UNLV and Houston, as well as FCS programs Lamar, Stephen F. Austin and Northwestern State. Seales first worked out for OSU about two weeks ago and is being recruited by Kasey Dunn.
“He’s a big-play receiver with great speed, great hands and a heck of a vertical leap,” Memorial coach Kenny Harrison told The Enterprise. “He is just explosive. He knows how to read coverages and has a great knowledge of the game.”
OSU loses four receivers in its two-deep in Justin Blackmon, Josh Cooper, Hubert Anyiam (who missed half the season with a broken foot) and Colton Chelf. The Cowboys already have three wide receiver commitments in this class in C.J. Curry (Flowery Branch, Ga.), Brandon Sheperd (Chesterfield, Mo.) and Blake Webb (The Woodlands, Texas).
Here is Seales’ highlight video.
OSU football commitment Trace Clark video highlights
I realize that high school recruiting videos showcase only a player at his best. But this video features eight and a half minutes of Wichita, Kan. defensive end Trace Clark, Oklahoma State’s latest commitment, mauling people. That’s a lot of mauling.
Clark comes from a family of athletes. His father, Stevan, was played at Kansas State and was as defensive end for the New England Patriots in the early 1980s. His brother, Zac, is a senior defensive tackle at Oregon. His two sisters are or were Division I volleyball players. Here’s an interview with Trace Clarke as a sophomore talking about his football future.
Cool love hair, sort of an Anderson Varejao look.
Power Lunch Leftovers
I’ve had two live chats in less than a week, and a lot of great questions that I could not get to in the 30 minutes allotted. It also didn’t help that the site we use for live chats went down in the middle of my chat yesterday.
Here are some leftover questions that I thought I’d answer.
Has anything the Cowboys accomplished this season been unexpected?
It’s funny, because I asked Mike Gundy a very similar question after the Texas A&M game—more specifically, if anything had surprised him so far this season. His answer was no. My answer is not much, but yes. In my last edition of the Power Lunch Leftovers, which I did the night before the A&M game, I said that getting off to a fast start would be a huge key against the Aggies and that the Cowboys probably wouldn’t be able to climb out of a big hole in College Station. And then when it happened, I did not expect OSU to win at halftime. Well, I was obviously wrong about that. I also didn’t expect Daytawion Lowe to have the impact he’s had this season—mostly because I, like everyone, thought Johnny Thomas would be the Cowboys’ starting free safety.
Will Justin Gilbert break OSU’s record for kick return touchdowns?
A quick perusal of the media guide tells me that the record for kickoff return touchdowns in a career is four, set by Perrish Cox from 2006-09. Right now, Gilbert has three scores in his career with eight games still to go this season, and the full 2012 season (and possibly 2013 if he’s not NFL-bound after his junior year). I’d say it’s a very strong possibility that he’ll break that record. He should already be tied for it if not for that holding penalty that called back that touchdown return against A&M.
Who have been the offensive and defensive MVPs so far?
Offense: Is it anybody but Weeden? He’s at or near the top of the NCAA rankings in almost every passing category and has done a great job distributing the ball to OSU’s wide array of weapons. And he’s the unquestioned leader of this team.
Defense: This one I had to think about a little bit. You could honestly make an argument for any of the four starters in the secondary. Lowe leads the team in tackles (30) and has two forced fumbles and three pass break-ups. Gilbert and Brodrick Brown both have two interceptions apiece and are developing into lockdown corners. But I’m going to go with Markelle Martin because of his leadership quality back there to go along with his 27 tackles, five pass break-ups and one forced fumble. He’s the most valuable. Most outstanding so far? I’m not so sure.
Will we see the freshmen running backs get some snaps?
I’d imagine we will this Saturday if the game turns into the blowout that many expect it to. I’ve been asked a lot about Herschel Sims, and right now he’s still behind Desmond Roland on the depth chart. He was hampered at the start of the season by injury, then was climbing stairs as punishment for his Twitter outburst after the Louisiana-Lafayette game, and that caused him to get behind. If we don’t see him this week, it’s safe to assume he’ll redshirt. It might already be safe to assume he’ll redshirt. That said, I’d expect Roland to get some snaps in the second half Saturday unless this game is unexpectedly close.
What does Justin Blackmon need to do to for the national media to forget about his fumble out of the end zone?
Keep performing at a high level. Unfortunately for Blackmon, he’s picked some big stages to make his two most boneheaded plays on—the Alamo Bowl and a nationally televised game between two top-10 teams. Trust me, Blackmon isn’t a bad dude. And if he keeps putting up big numbers, then people will forget about the fumble. But I’ve said this numerous times before—he’s just lucky the Cowboys won that ballgame.
Do you think the future of OSU’s offense is with a Weeden-type quarterback like Wes Lunt, or a Zac-type quarterback like Clint Chelf and J.W. Walsh?
The best quarterback is going to play next season. Would it be “easier” to keep with the Weeden-type offense? Sure. But obviously the spread can work, and work wonderfully, with a quarterback that can run. It will certainly be something interesting to watch in spring ball and fall camp.
Any chance of J.W. Walsh getting reps if it gets really out of hand Saturday?
I wouldn’t think so. Clint Chelf was firmly established himself as the backup quarterback and needs to get as much game experience as possible.
Do you think we will see the Diamond formation more this week? Seems like they went away from it against Texas A&M.
Good observation. Overall, that has been a successful formation for the Cowboys this year and one that can be utilized for a variety of different run plays and some play action. Look for the Cowboys to run the ball more than usual against Kansas. With how bad the Jayhawks’ run defense has been so far this season, it would be silly not to. And that will open up the play action pass. Presto!
I feel like (Todd) Monken has a better feel for the game as a whole than Dana (Holgorsen) did while at OSU. Is this assumption true to any extent?
That’s a hard question for me to answer since I was not here during Holgorsen’s tenure at OSU. I honestly think it’s about time to stop comparing the two, though. My partner in crime, John Helsley, wrote about that in his Monday Insider. Both Monken and Holgorsen are very sharp offensive minds and know how to put a talented group of players in the right positions to succeed. With that said, I think the added tight end sets for short-yardage and goal-line situations that Monken has implemented have added a nice wrinkle to what was already there.
If OSU ever needs a quick score they should try a Jet sweep reverse from Blackmon to Gilbert! Right!?
I like that thinking! Gilbert is certainly quick enough to get out to the edge and make something happen. Sometimes you wonder what Gilbert would look like as an offensive player.
Given your short amount of time in Stillwater, what are your top 3 restaurants?
I always love the food questions! Keep in mind that I have not been to every restaurant in Stillwater yet, but here’s my top 3 right now.
1. Hideaway: This is by far and away No. 1. I haven’t had anything but pizza yet, because it’s just so gosh-dang delicious. The crust, the sauce options, the toppings…pretty much perfect. Anytime a family member or friend comes to visit, this is where I will take them.
2. Mom’s Place: I’m a sucker for good breakfast. This place totally has a greasy spoon vibe—but in the best way possible. Good food, big portions and a nice wait staff that knows all the regulars by name. Great for people watching, too!
3. Eskimo Joe’s: For the cheese fries and the atmosphere. I had a burger the other night for the first time and was honestly underwhelmed. But it has a great vibe and is a fun place to go. Did I mention cheese fries?
Any of you that follow me on Twitter knows I’m also extremely excited that Johnny Rockets is now open at the OSU student union. I will probably wait a couple weeks before I go, because I’ve heard it’s been absolutely packed these first few days, but that place was one of my favorite chains while growing up.
If you have any restaurant suggestions, feel free to throw them my way! My only rule is I’m not too big on sushi or seafood.
Looking at OSU’s recruiting from Scout.com (No. 41) and Rivals.com (No. 21)—is there something the other website knows the other doesn’t? And that leads into my second question. It looks like Bill Young is kicking it into gear with more defensive recruits than in the past, so is he flipping the team from high octane offence to a stonewall defense team?
I am no recruiting expert, so I don’t know why there’s such a discrepancy. That is a pretty wide margin, though—usually both those sites tend to be pretty close in rankings. All I know is a lot of times those star rankings don’t end up mattering much. That’s no knock on people who evaluate/rank high school talent for a living. I just think kids grow and mature, both as players and as people, at different rates during college and it’s difficult to predict how someone will react and perform in the new environment on the field and off the field.
To answer the second part of your question, I think everybody realizes that defense is the side of the ball that needs more improvement at this point. I don’t see this program shifting from an offensive power to a defensive power anytime soon, but of course there’s always room to bolster the talent on that side of the ball. That starts with recruiting.
Can you do “The Gundy?”
Ha! I can’t say that I’ve tried. I actually was a competitive dancer growing up, but I definitely never learned that move. Maybe Gundy can teach me someday and I can teach him some new moves.
Which up coming game are you most looking for to covering?
Honestly, all of them. Big 12 (10/9/8) football is still so new to me that I get excited anytime I see a new team come into BPS or get a chance to go on the road. I’m genuinely looking forward to all the remaining trips and getting a chance to experience all those unique atmospheres. And, of course, the thought of Bedlam and all the implications that game could have this season excites me quite a bit.
Do you think OSU should be undefeated going into Bedlam?
Could? Absolutely. Should? Not so sure. As mentioned above, that road schedule will not be easy. But the Cowboys will be favored in every game they play until Bedlam and are more than capable of winning all those games.
Thanks for all your questions! Looking forward to getting back to BPS on Saturday. Feels like it’s been forever.
Texas wide receiver Blake Webb commits to Oklahoma State
Blake Webb, a wide receiver from The Woodlands High School in The Woodlands, Texas, became the latest Oklahoma State commitment Wednesday, Scout.com reported Thursday.
Webb, who is rated a two-star prospect, was offered a scholarship by OSU coach Mike Gundy Wednesday night and committed almost immediately, according to Scout.
Webb also had offers from Air Force, Boston College, Duke and Rice and was being recruited by Notre Dame and California, according to Scout.
Webb is likely to fill one of the inside receiver spots, a unit that loses Josh Cooper and Colton Chelf to graduation after this season.
Webb is the 14th commitment for the 2012 class, according to Scout, and the third wide receiver, joining C.J. Curry of Flowery Branch High School in Flowery Branch, Ga. and Kendall Sanders of Athens High School in Athens, Texas.
Defensive end Eric Davis switches commitment from Texas A&M to Oklahoma State
Tyler, Texas, defensive end Eric Davis switched his commitment from Texas A&M to Oklahoma State on Monday. PHOTO BY JAIME R. CARRERO, TYLER MORNING TELEGRAPH
Three-star defensive end Eric Davis of Tyler, Texas, has switched his commitment from Texas A&M to Oklahoma State, Rivals.com reported Monday.
Davis, of John Tyler High School, committed to Texas A&M in February. He becomes the Cowboys’ third defensive end commit for the Class of 2012, joining Emmanual Ogbah (Richmond, Texas) and Victor Irokansi (Pflugerville, Texas).
Davis had 63 tackles, 12 sacks and three interceptions last season as a junior. This year, he has 10 tackles through three games.
Russell Okung helped Emmanuel Ogbah make his decision
Seattle Seahawks offensive lineman Russell Okung helped recent commit Emmanuel Ogbah make his decision. AP PHOTO
George Bush High School (Richmond, Texas) defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah got some advice from another Bush alum before making his decision to commit to Oklahoma State last week.
Ogbah told The Oklahoman he called former OSU offensive lineman and current Seattle Seahawk Russell Okung three days before making his college choice.
“He said it was a good school, and they’ll treat you real good,” Ogbah said. “He said it’s a great football program and that they have a good academic program, too.”
Ogbah, who said he plans to study business and marketing, said he has never been to Stillwater but plans to attend a game at some point this season.
“It’s hard right now with football season going on,” Ogbah said.
