A Look at the Top Recruit in Each Oklahoma State Football Class

Mike Gundy has signed 14 recruiting classes in his time in Stillwater. Some have been better than others, but because all players are ranked, we’re left with a top player from each class. That’s 14 guys who were predicted to be the best player in their respective classes. Let’s look back at all 14, how they fared and how that top recruit slot has evolved over time. Note: All numbers according to 247Sports. These are high school players only. JUCO transfers are not included.

2005 — Jeremy Broadway (No. 352 Nationally)

Whoo boy, Broadway would have been the 15th-best player in this year’s class. Just behind Hunter Woodard and just ahead of Kolby Peel. We (OK, I) certainly complain a lot about recruiting around here, but I do not long for the early days of Gundy’s tenure.

2006 — Derek Burton (No. 118)

Burton didn’t do much, neither did No. 2 recruit Terrance Anderson. But OSU’s No. 3 guy that year was Perrish Cox. A genuine star in Year 2. Given the fact that OSU is continually getting thwarted by Baylor in recruiting, maybe it’s time to go back to the Waco billboard.

2007 — Richetti Jones (No. 46)

Jones was two spots ahead of Dez Bryant nationally and one spot ahead of him in the state of Texas. That means Gundy snagged two of the top seven players in the state of Texas in his third recruiting class. I’d take one of the top 10 these days.

2008 — Kye Staley (No. 130)

Kye was the only player in the top 150 that year for Oklahoma State. His career mirrored Terrence Crawford’s to me. Fun and heartening, but probably not fulfilling based on how good they were in high school.

2009 — Dexter Pratt (No. 105)

Pratt disappeared one year after he signed.

2010 — Shaun Lewis (No. 106)

Lewis was ranked ahead of Justin Gilbert, Joe Randle and Caleb Lavey. That was a pretty solid class for Gundy.

2011 — Herschel Sims (No. 61)

The second guy behind Sims in this class (General Walsh), you could say, stole the spotlight.

2012 — Michael Wilson (No. 276)

Wilson is the only offensive lineman on this list. Also solid that OSU scored a pair of top-300 recruits after back-to-back 10-win seasons and two massive bowl wins over Arizona and Stanford. Really cashing in on those Ws.

2013 — Ra’Shaad Samples (No. 225)

Marcell Ateman was No. 2 in this class. Jerel Morrow was No. 4. Vincent Taylor was No. 5. Jordan Sterns was No. 8. Tre Flowers was No. 15. And the GOAT Ben Grogan was No. 20.

2014 — Gyasi Akem (No. 214)

The class that also produced Devon Thomas, Mason Rudolph, Chris Lacy and James Washington.

2015 — Darrion Daniels (No. 269)

Sugar Loaf! John Kolar was No. 2 in this class. ?

2016 — Tramonda Moore (No. 112)

Calvin Bundage was the second-best guy in this class at No. 427 nationally. No. 427! Justice Hill was No. 963! Justice Hill might be a Heisman candidate!

Top 10 dark horse Heisman Candidates:
1. Myles Gaskin, UW
2. Jake Bentley, South Carolina
3. Justice Hill, OK State
4. Nick Starkel, TAMU
5. Kyle Kempt, Iowa St
6. Drew Lock, Mizzou
7. Devon Modster, UCLA
8. LJ Scott, MSU
9. Miles Sanders, PSU
10. Stephen Carr, USC

— Andrew Miller (@AndrewMillerSSC) February 25, 2018

2017 — Tylan Wallace (No. 121)

Tylan certainly looked worthy of the label in Year 1. Also, to give you some context for how hyped Richetti and Dez were, Tylan was the 20th-best prospect out of Texas last year. Spencer Sanders was No. 17 this year. Dez and Richetti were top seven.

2018 — CJ Moore (No. 147)

For as much as we’ve (I’ve) hyped this class, OSU only grabbed two top-400 guys in Moore and Sanders. Both might turn out to be superstars, but it seems like you should certainly be doing a little better than that a decade and a half into the tenure.