The Reload: Tyrek Coger Talks Pre-Visit Vibe, Ty Thomas Flips to Arizona State

The Reload is PFB’s recruiting recap, catching you up to speed on the latest news and rumors surrounding Oklahoma State recruiting, with an ear to the ground for what to expect in the future.

2016 Big Man Tyrek Coger Visiting OSU Today

2016 forward Tyrek Coger announced yesterday that OSU made his final cut of schools, and will visit Stillwater. Coger is a 6-9 junior college prospect who originally signed with Ole Miss, but did not meet SEC transfer requirements and is now shopping around.

I spoke with Coger this morning who told me his flight leaves at 12:40 today and he is expecting to be on campus around 5:00 this evening.

Since his top choices of K-State, Charlotte, OSU, and Rutgers was named yesterday, he has already dropped Rutgers from his list. Which seems to bode well for OSU, especially since he’s making his first recruiting trip to Stillwater with an announcement expected probably sometime next weekend at the latest.

“I’ve never been to Stillwater,” Coger said in a message to PFB. “I’m just looking to enjoy myself and see where I fit in the program. I’m excited to be visiting.”

Keep an eye on him as his visit transpires. He has already said he will make a decision sometime next weekend. But having him on campus, Underwood will likely pull out all the stops to try to sway him during his visit over the next day or two.

2017 safety commit flips to Arizona State

Ty Thomas, who was the first verbal commitment for Oklahoma State’s 2017 class, announced on twitter that he has decommitted from OSU and has closed down his recruitment now that he has flipped to ASU. After his ASU visit over a week ago, he said this about his status to scout.com: “I’m committed but I want to check out every school that gives me the opportunity to play for them that I have serious interest in. If there’s a decision to be made, it’ll happen later this month or early July.”

I immediately put him on decommitment watch following the visit, just based on his feel after the visit to the desert. And now my suspicion has come to fruition.

“I can’t thank the coaches and fans enough at Oklahoma State,” he said in an interview after his decision. “I just feel that Arizona State suits me better both as a player and as a student.”

Following his original commitment to OSU, it was somewhat evident that he was keeping his options open. Despite his pledge to the Cowboys, SMU, Wake Forest, Arizona State, Arkansas, West Virginia and UCF all extended offers and continued pursuit. Looks like OSU will have to move on down the scouting list.

2018 QB Cameron Rising Planning Summer Commitment?

Elite Cali quarterback Cameron Rising, whom OSU has been pursuing, could be eyeing a potential commitment later this summer depending on his feel for his schools. Rising is planning a summer visit tour that includes Alabama, LSU, Houston, TCU and OU. And originally, he had planned to visit Stillwater. But his recruitment with the Cowboys may have cooled. Rising told Scout this about his potential commitment to a school: “If I feel really good about a school, I’ll go ahead and pull the trigger and make an early commitment but if not, I have no problem going through the process and playing out my junior year.”

For OSU to get back into the mix, I think they’ll have to do everything in their power to stop an early commitment. Most schools like OU, Bama, and LSU take early commitments from elite quarterbacks because their spots fill up so far in advance. For OSU to land a recruit the caliber of Rising, they’ll need to drag out his recruitment and try to pull him away from deciding soon. Because if it happens soon, I would bet it comes after a visit from one of those schools or even UCLA, who recently extended an offer.