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
Power Lunch Chat with John Helsley
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.
OSU-KState: Five Things
By John Helsley
jhelsley@opubco.com
On Twitter @jjhelsley
Nearing tipoff here at Gallagher-Iba Arena, where the Cowboys are set to take on No. 25 Kansas State. Fans are slowing flowing in.
Here’s a quick primer, our Five Things, for a Big 12 game that means much to both teams. The Wildcats are trying to break through on the road in the Big 12, where they are 0-2 so far. That’s not good enough for a ranked team that considers itself in the top tier of the Big 12.
The Cowboys are trying to break through against a good team, having come oh-so-close at Iowa State on Wednesday night. Do they have what it takes?
1. Rebound. It’s going to be a regular item here during this season, but banging the boards is critical today, with the Wildcats leading the Big 12 in total rebounds and offensive rebounds, the latter a sore spot for the Cowboys this season. They need to limit second chance opportunities. Mike Cobbins and Philip Jurick can only do so much, athletic guards Markel Brown and Brian Williams need to chip in.
2. Good Nash, Bad Nash. Do we see the Le’Bryan Nash who scored 21 points and was most effective at Iowa State, or do we see the Nash who hit just 2-of-12 shots at Baylor and was a non-factor? That’s been the tale much of this season. Obviously, the Cowboys need the Good Nash.
3. Point Taken. The Pokes got a huge lift from Markel Brown at the point in Ames, with him producing 11 assists, the most since Byron Eaton’s days on campus. The Cats will adjust, so how does Ford and Brown adjust?
4. K-State Streak. Frank Martin has never walked out of GIA a winner and the Wildcats have lost 11 straight in Stillwater. The crowd is starting to fill in, and these young Cowboys need the support. Will it be there?
5. Don’t Reach. Battling the Cats’ athletic and aggressive forwards, Jamar Samuels and Thomas Gipson, and their reinforcements, will be a challenge on the boards and in the paint. The depth-strapped Cowboys can’t afford the cheap fouls.
Mike Gundy’s second national Coach of the Year award: What does it mean?
Mike Gundy picked up another national coaching honor late Thursday night, winning the 2011 Paul “Bear” Bryant Coach of the Year.
National Coach of the Year awards are a bit like All-America teams—there are a lot of them. But there are five “main” ones—Bear Bryant, Eddie Robinson, American Football Coaches Association, Associated Press and Home Depot.
This season, those five awards were split between Gundy and Les Miles. Gundy also won the Eddie Robinson Award, while Miles won the other three. Another connection between the former OSU colleagues.
I thought it would be interesting to go back and revisit the Coach of the Year awards from the past 10 seasons. You’ll see expected names like Nick Saban, Gary Patterson, Urban Meyer, Jim Tressel, Joe Paterno and Chris Petersen. You’ll see some “huh?” names like Charlie Weis and Tyrone Willingham.
But the only coach to sweep all five awards during that time? Mark Mangino in 2007. My friendly colleague Travis Haney put it best: “It’s that hard to win football games at Kansas. Take ‘em to a BCS game, you’re going to get love.”
2011
Eddie Robinson: Mike Gundy (OSU)
Bear Bryant: Mike Gundy
AP: Les Miles (LSU)
Home Depot: Les Miles
AFCA: Les Miles
2010
Eddie Robinson: Chip Kelly (Oregon)
Bear Bryant: Gene Chizik (Auburn)
AP: Chip Kelly
Home Depot: Gene Chizik
AFCA: Chip Kelly
2009
Eddie Robinson: Gary Patterson (TCU)
Bear Bryant: Chris Petersen (Boise State)
AP: Gary Patterson
Home Depot: Brian Kelly (Cincinnati)
AFCA: Gary Patterson
2008
Eddie Robinson: Nick Saban (Alabama)
Bear Bryant: Kyle Whittingham (Utah)
AP: Nick Saban
Home Depot: Nick Saban
AFCA: Kyle Whittingham
2007
Eddie Robinson: Mark Mangino (Kansas)
Bear Bryant: Mark Mangino
AP: Mark Mangino
Home Depot: Mark Mangino
AFCA: Mark Mangino
2006
Eddie Robinson: Greg Schiano (Rutgers)
Bear Bryant: Chris Petersen (Boise State)
AP: Jim Grobe (Wake Forest)
Home Depot: Greg Schiano
AFCA: Jim Grobe
2005
Eddie Robinson: Charlie Weis (Notre Dame)
Bear Bryant: Mack Brown (Texas)
AP: Joe Paterno (Penn State)
Home Depot: Joe Paterno
AFCA: Joe Paterno
2004
Eddie Robinson: Urban Meyer (Utah)
Bear Bryant: Tommy Tuberville (Auburn)
AP: Tommy Tuberville
Home Depot: Urban Meyer
AFCA: Tommy Tuberville
2003
Eddie Robinson: Nick Saban (LSU)
Bear Bryant: Nick Saban
AP: Nick Saban
Home Depot: Pete Carroll (USC)
AFCA: Pete Carroll
2002
Eddie Robinson: Jim Tressel (Ohio State)
Bear Bryant: Jim Tressel
AP: Kirk Ferentz (Iowa)
Home Depot: Tyrone Willingham (Notre Dame)
AFCA: Jim Tressel
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-Iowa State: Five Things
The Cowboys need Brian Williams -- and others -- to get active on the boards.
By John Helsley
follow on Twitter @jjhelsley
OSU’s Big 12 road slump has reached 12 games.
The last time they won in a conference locale: Feb. 17, 2010.
At Iowa State, where the Cowboys will be tonight. Tipoff 8 p.m.
Obi Muonelo went off for 31 points (23 in the second half and 21 straight at one key point) that frigid night in Ames – I was there, freezing on the long walk back to the rental car. And boy, couldn’t the Cowboys use Obi now, lugging this losing steak into Hilton Coliseum tonight?
Still, Ames represents a return to the scene of better times, at least for Keiton Page, the only current Cowboy who was there that night.
“A good place to start back up,” Page said the other day.
Five things worth watching tonight:
1. White(Out). No, blizzard conditions aren’t expected. But warnings have been issued about ISU’s Royce White, a Minnesota transfer who has bolstered the Cyclones, leading the team in scoring (13.4), rebounding (9.6) and assists (4.3) per game. The biggest problem comes with the matchup, as White, at 6-8, 270 pounds, will frequently bring the ball up the floor. And he’s more than capable, reminding Travis Ford of one of his old Kentucky teammates, Jamal Mashburn.
“Maybe not as good a shooter as Jamal Mashburn, he handled the ball like a guard,” Ford said. “Jamal brought the ball up as much as I did when I played. Royce White is going to bring the ball up as much as anybody on their basketball team. His ballhandling skills are as good as any of the point guards I’ve seen in the league. He understands angles, understands drawing contact. He’s a very, very impressive basketball player. And he makes everyone else around him better.”
So who gets White? Not Page. Maybe Brian Williams or Markel Brown. It’s a critical matchup.
2. Cover Up. White isn’t the only Cyclone creating concern. ISU has six players averaging 7.5 points or more, and a deep and versatile bench. And after facing a barrage of 3-point shots by Baylor Saturday, the Cowboys get the Big 12’s best 3-point shooting team tonight, with the Cyclones averaging 9.1 long balls a game.
3. Don’t Underestimate. The ’Clones are just 2-2 in the Big 12 and enter on a two-game losing streak, but the setbacks came against two top-10 teams, No. 5 Missouri and No. 7 Kansas.
4. Stepping Up. Le’Bryan Nash’s roller-coaster ride of a rookie season continues. After a strong performance in a win over Oklahoma, Nash took a step back at Baylor, making just 2-of-12 shots and backing down from the challenge. The Cowboys need the good Nash tonight. And the good Page, Brown, Williams and Cobbins, too.
5. Board Wars. Lacking height, the Cowboys routinely have trouble on the boards. Even when OSU got stops at Baylor, it frequently struggled to secure rebounds, leading to too many second chances. Brown and Williams, while guards, can help on the boards by crashing and using their leaping ability. And they’ll need to, with the Cyclones outrebounding 14 of 17 opponents thus far.
Power Lunch Chat with John Helsley
Travis Ford Balancing Tough Love
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Travis Ford, still clearly agitated by Saturday’s lopsided loss at Baylor, reiterated his stance Monday that he doesn’t believe in brushing off such performances as simply a bad day at the office.
Ford said the Cowboys shouldn’t forget, but rather remind themselves of how bad that 106-65 beating felt and tasted, using the stat sheet as a reference, perhaps taped prominently in their lockers as “a challenge and fuel.”
And he said that extends to him, too.
“I got it home on my mirror,” Ford said. “I put it right where I brush my teeth.”
School was out at OSU on Monday, in recognition of the MLK holiday, but it was no off day for the Cowboys. They practiced – twice – and spent extra time reviewing the video.
Ford called it a “spirited film session.”
Clarifying later, Ford said he raised his voice frequently, “something I haven’t done a whole lot with this group.”
Freshman forward Michael Cobbins confirmed: “It was pretty intense. Film doesn’t lie, I can tell you that. A lot of mistakes made from everybody on the team.”
The fourth-year coach is treading carefully with what remains of this team – five freshmen among an eight-man rotation – trying to balance encouragement and hard-edged teaching techniques with such a young squad.
He doesn’t want to squash their confidence, yet must push and press them to make progress. There are no shortcuts.
And while Ford allows that it won’t be easy stacking wins the rest of the way, he won’t allow the Cowboys to just accept that.
“It should be that, ‘Hey, I don’t care how old you are, how weak you are right now, how small you are, it don’t matter.’
“Doesn’t mean that you are going to win every game, but you sure can compete.”
Some degree of reality is setting in with Ford, if not a portion of the fan base. The Cowboys are in a rebuild. They’re going to have major matchup problems with bigger teams. And with so many young players in key roles, not complementary roles, there are going to be rough nights.
That doesn’t mean Ford is willing to surrender, far from it.
And that’s what irritated him most Saturday, when the game got out of hand and his guys bowed out instead of bowing up.
“I told our guys and I want them to understand this, ‘It’s not about winning and losing at this point, it’s about how you are playing,’” Ford said. “Because we can play well and still not maybe win the game.
“About eight to 10 minutes to go in the (Baylor) game, we didn’t have much fight in us.”
