Four-Star Corner Kobe Black Commits to Texas, Storylines to Follow Entering Signing Day

The Cowboys fought to the end for the services of four-star cornerback Kobe Black, but in the end, Black chose the Longhorns.

Black, the younger brother of Oklahoma State corner Korie Black, announced his commitment to Texas on Wednesday. The younger Black is the No. 41 player in the 2024 recruiting class, per 247Sports’ Composite rankings. Had he committed to the Pokes, his 0.9819 Composite score would’ve made him the highest-rated defensive recruit in program history.

The early signing period opens Dec. 20. OSU has 15 high school commits in its 2024 class after losing offensive lineman Semisi Tonga to Arizona State on Tuesday. Here are three storylines to keep track of over the next week.

1. Will OSU Add Another Defensive Back?

With Black now out of the picture, there are still a pair of high-upside corners that have OSU offers.

The first is Del City standout LaDainian Fields. Fields committed to TCU and has been since early August, but the Cowboys have some allure. Not only is OSU an in-state school, but 2024 OSU running back commit Rodney Fields is LaDainian’s cousin and high school teammate. OSU extended an offer to LaDainian on Monday.

Listed at 6-foot-1, 175 pounds, LaDainian is the No. 16 player in the state, according to 247Sports. Along with his TCU and OSU offers, he has offers to Kansas State, Washington, Washington State and others.

Another name to watch is Jacobi Oliphant, a 6-foot-4 corner out of St. Louis. Oliphant’s size is intriguing. It wouldn’t be the first time the Cowboys went to St. Louis to get a jumbo defensive back. OSU got the 6-foot-3 Cameron Epps out of the city in the 2022 class.

Oliphant is set to announce his college decision on Dec. 21 — the day after the signing period opens — with his top seven schools being OSU, Wyoming, UConn, Ball State, Arkansas State, Ohio and Colorado State.

The Cowboys have three defensive backs committed in their 2024 class: Landyn Cleveland (Mansfield, Texas), David Kabongo (Trophy Club, Texas) and Willie Nelson (Longview, Texas).

2. Will There Be Any Fallout from Semisi Tonga’s Flip?

Semisi Tonga and Nuku Mafi have a lot of things connecting them. They’re high school teammates. They visited OSU together. And they committed to OSU together. Now that Tonga has flipped to Arizona State, will Mafi follow? That’ll be an interesting situation to monitor as signing day approaches.

In a similar vein, will OSU try to add another offensive lineman from the high school ranks now that Tonga is headed to Tempe? With the portal’s existence, the Cowboys don’t have to make up those numbers through high school recruiting. They don’t have any offers out to uncommitted offensive linemen, per 247Sports, but just as Fields was offered this week, the Cowboys’ staff could still offer someone.

OSU has three committed offensive linemen: Mafi (Salt Lake City), Caleb Hackleman (Texarkana, Texas) and Chauncey Johnson (Lonoke, Arkansas).

3. Late Running Back Offer Still Out There

Lastly, the Cowboys extended an offer to South Carolina running back Jaden Allen-Hendrix last week.

Allen-Hendrix is a big-bodied back with a lot of high school production, but he has flown under the radar to this point. He is listed at 6-foot-2, 225 pounds and ran for 2,215 yards and 25 touchdowns as a high school senior. OSU is his only Power Five offer.