When Mike Gundy Knew He Needed Brennan Presley to Be a Cowboy

STILLWATER — Brennan Presley’s big break on the recruiting trail came on a hot day in Arkansas, but rather than worrying about whether his recruitment would take off, Presley was just busy competing against a friend.

Presley became Oklahoma State’s all-time leader in receptions in the Cowboys’ most recent game against TCU. That was a tall feat considering how many outstanding receivers the program has had over the years, but it was an even bigger feat considering Presley wasn’t a player many programs gave a genuine look at coming out of Bixby High School.

Listed at 5-foot-8, 175 pounds on OSU’s roster, Presley’s size was a major deterrent for college coaches despite him lighting up Oklahoma high school football at Bixby. Not even Tulsa offered the human highlight reel despite Presley playing in the Golden Hurricane’s backyard.

“I went to a Junior Day up there (at Tulsa),” Presley said Monday. “I’m like, ‘Bruh I’m in the town. Like, you guys didn’t offer me?'”

Presley did, though, garner offers to the likes of Arkansas State, North Texas, Memphis and others. He said he was about ready to commit to one of those schools when his dad told him to hold off. It ended up working out thanks in large part to a 7-on-7 tournament that OSU coach Mike Gundy attended.

“In the summer prior to his senior year, Gunnar (Gundy) was playing in 7-on-7 tournament in Arkansas, and Bixby was in the same tournament,” Gundy said. “It is a highly competitive 7-on-7 tournament they have over there in Fayetteville every summer. And they play about eight games a day, which is obviously just skillset. Each game is about 30 minutes, but essentially there’s a lot of running. And (Presley) played both sides of the ball in every game that he played that I saw. And then when we played against Bixby, he played offense and defense, in about 100 degrees. It was the latter part of June. Most of the young men that are in that have a hard time finishing that day, much less the second day. He played both ways. And then he made a lot of plays.

“At that point, I came home and visited with the staff that I just felt like that we needed to take him no matter how big he was, based on his level of competition, which is true even to this day. Saying that he wants to practice when I’m not trying to get him to practice.”

With a picture of Tulsa standout-turned Cowboy Justice Hill, Presley announced his OSU offer on June 25. Less than a month later, he committed to the Pokes, and the rest is history.

Some might’ve felt pressure in Presley’s spot with Gundy in attendance, but Presley said he was more focused on a Stillwater receiver — Anthony Bland, who would go on to play at Princeton.

“That 7-on-7 tournament, it was really just fun because we were playing against Gunnar, but my friend Anthony Bland, he was on the other side when we played Stillwater,” Presley said. “Of course, you want to win all the time, but when we played them, like, I’m not even thinking about Coach Gundy. I’m just thinking about (Bland). I’m like, I’m gonna have more catches than he is. I’m gonna try to lock him down on defense and stuff. So it was really more of that friend motivation thing.

“That day was fun. Whether it was OSU or any other school, I knew I could play, so it was just going out there and no pressure if you know how to do it. So just go out there and play my hardest every single time.”