Arkansas Defensive Line Prospect Eli Thornton Includes Oklahoma State in Top Group, Sets Commitment Date

The Cowboys are finalists for one of the top players in Arkansas.

Eli Thornton is down to six schools and will announce his commitment on July 4. The schools: Oklahoma State, Arkansas, Kansas State, Illinois, Wisconsin and Vanderbilt.

‼️Commitment Date set for July 4th‼️ https://t.co/cnWEGfA0DH

— Eli Thornton (@EliThornton27) March 17, 2026

Listed at 6-foot-3, 315 pounds, Thornton hails from Jonesboro, Arkansas by way of Valley View High. The 247Sports Composite system lists Thornton as the No. 3 player in the state of Arkansas and also tabs him as the No. 934 overall player in the 2027 class.

Thornton has an official visit scheduled to Stillwater starting June 4. He also announced visits to Illinois (unofficial on April 1), Wisconsin (May 28), Kansas State (June 12) and Arkansas (June 19). Thornton had previously released a Top 5, but it looks like the Fighting Illini have made a push since and joined that other group of five.

Thornton was in Stillwater earlier this month for OSU’s Elite Junior Day, where he posed for photos with OSU’s defensive tackle coach Mike O’Guin and OSU DC Skyler Cassity.

Had an amazing day with @CowboyFB ‼️‼️🟠⚫️⚪️ @CoachMikeOG @__CoachMorris @CoachSkyCassity @coach_ikeDL @WesDr8ke @OKState247
Can’t wait to be back in Stillwater 🔥 pic.twitter.com/IJCbQiTLQ7

— Eli Thornton (@EliThornton27) March 7, 2026

Thornton’s recruitment has started to take off ad of late. Before the turn of the calendar, he had announced offers to Wyoming, Stephen F. Austin and Lindenwood. Since the turn of the calendar, he’s announced 17 offers, many of which came from Power Four programs.

OSU jumped on board on Feb. 2, which was third among those six finalists behind Wisconsin and Vanderbilt.

His Hudl tape shows that Thornton is athletic for his size, swimming past would-be blockers to deflect pitches. There’s also a play where he’s on punt return, running out in front of the return man as a lead blocker. Oh, and there’s plenty of him dominating his high school competition.

The Cowboys appear to be circling their first commitment here in the early portions of the 2027 cycle — Eric Morris’ first full cycle as the Cowboys’ coach. As of now, OSU is one of two Big 12 squads (along with BYU) without a 2027 commit, but five other Big 12 schools have just one commit.