Oklahoma is Running Laps Around the Big 12 on the Recruiting Trail

Is Oklahoma State that far behind in the 2019 recruiting cycle, or is Oklahoma just that far ahead? That’s a question I’ve had posed to me several times over the last few weeks about the state of in-state recruiting.

While OSU has bridged the gap considerably of late, landing three commitments in May to race up into the top-35 nationally, the answer is a mixture of both.

OU is way ahead of the pack, and OSU’s off to a more sluggish than usual start.

OU currently boasts the No. 2 class in the country according to 247Sports, and has flirted off and on with the 1 spot over the past several months. Comparing its class to OSU’s is startling in two ways: it not only has more commitments (11) than OSU (7), but the depth of the bunch is absurd.

OU’s lowest-rated commitment would be the second-highest pledge for OSU.

That’s a fantastic start for OU any way you slice it, and mostly on pace with OSU’s annual finishes, really. In 2018, the class ranked 33rd nationally; 2017 was 38th, and 2016 was 45th.

Even more stunning with OU’s pace among the elites is that it is obviously in a class of its own in the conference. The closest challenger, for now, is TCU, which ranks 16th nationally. Texas and Baylor both remain inside the top-30 of the rankings.

I’d be surprised if Oklahoma finished in that same spot by the cycle’s end, with Georgia, Texas A&M, Clemson and others challenging Alabama for that top spot, but the Sooners are nearly a lock to be top-5 with the way they’ve started and the amount of stars they’ve accumulated.

OSU, meanwhile, appears to be a lock to finish right around where it typically does just outside the top-25. The good news is that May has been plenty fruitful for the Cowboy coaching staff, and things could improve soon with a number of long-time targets likely to make their commitments before the end of summer.