OSU signing day update
By Scott Wright
At this point, it appears all of OSU’s 19 high school commitments have signed letters of intent today, joining the four junior-college players who signed early and are already attending classes.
There was plenty of drama from Saturday-Tuesday, but so far, signing day has lacked any surprises.
As for the spot vacated when Demontre Hurst jumped ship to sign with Oklahoma State, right now it looks unlikely that the Cowboys will add another recruit. So 23 might end up being the final tally on this class.
Guthrie prospect Donte’ Foster could still be a candidate for the final spot, if there is one. The biggest concern with Foster is that OSU coaches had anticipated he wouldn’t sign anywhere to play football. They didn’t bring him in for a camp, so they don’t have much of an idea what he looks like on the field, other than his highlight tape. And that almost completely consists of him playing offense, not defense. So there’s some fear of the unknown there.
I don’t necessarily see a lot of risk, because from all accounts, Foster is a good kid who attends class and stays out of trouble. And there’s no arguing that he’s got some special athletic skills, along with a knack for making big plays.
But to paraphrase Colorado coach Dan Hawkins, this is the Big 12, not intramural football. Coaches can’t be tossing around scholarship offers if they’re not 100 percent confident in the situation.
For those fans who are worried about the prospectus at cornerback, here’s an idea where that position stands.
The primary guys at that position will be seniors Perrish Cox, Terrance Anderson and Maurice Gray, with sophomore Markelle Martin also in the rotation. So cornerback isn’t an issue this fall, but next. That’s where Hurst’s defection is most damaging.
But Brodrick Brown redshirted last season and will get some valuable work in the summer and fall. Andrae May signed on Wednesday and should be ready to contribute after redshirting this fall. And Andrew McGee, the junior-college transfer from Mississippi, can play anywhere in the secondary. He plaeyd cornerback and safety at Copiah-Lincoln Community College.
So the position isn’t in total disarray. Defensive tackle is far more questionable right now, without a lot of significant experience represented on the depth chart.
That’s one reason it won’t hurt OSU to hold its 24th scholarship from the 2009 class for next year, to add one more spot for a better player at a position of need.
As of now, OSU has 23 players who will be seniors this fall. But with the signing class of 23 today, the Cowboys are four scholarships over the limit of 85. Ryan Robinson has yet to qualify and could end up at a junior-college, but that still leaves three spots to open up by the end of spring.
That leaves 20 scholarship spots to fill next year. And let’s toss Dez Bryant in as an early departure for the NFL — that makes 21 scholarships available for next year’s class.
Not a huge class, so keeping that extra spot around might be a bigger benefit than filling it this late in the recruiting process.
Top WR prospect cancels OSU visit
By Scott Wright
Former Oklahoma State assistant coach Trooper Taylor came in as an ace recruiter, and though he never landed the big fish from the recruiting sea, Taylor did make players who wouldn’t generally look at OSU to consider the Cowboys.
Meet Rueben Randle.
Ranked by Rivals.com as the No. 1 prospect in the nation at any position, the receiver from Bastrop, La., had scheduled a visit to Stillwater this weekend. On Monday, Taylor took a job at Auburn, and on Thursday, reports surfaced that Randle had decided not to visit OSU. Instead, he has scheduled an official visit to — you guessed it — Auburn.
Sources have confirmed the reports, so it looks like OSU will have to look elsewhere for another receiver in the 2009 class.
The top candidate in that group is Cobi Hamilton from Texarkana, Texas, who is expected to visit this month.
In coaching news, there’s nothing new regarding positions being filled, but Robert Matthews’ future continues to be a mystery. OSU’s current recruiting coordinator is a candidate for a promotion, either to an on-field position or the vacant director of operations position. But his wife and former OSU women’s golf coach, Laura Matthews, is among the candidates and has interviewed for the same position at Oregon. Laura Matthews resigned during the fall at OSU.
