Four-Star Cornerback Recruit Kobe Black Sets Commitment Date, Includes OSU in Top 5

Kobe Black, the younger brother of Oklahoma State corner Korie Black, released a top five in August that didn’t include the Cowboys, but as signing day draws near, the Pokes are still in the running.

Black will announce his college decision Dec. 13, according to On3’s Hayes Fawcett, and Black updated his top five to Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M, Oregon and LSU. That decision will come just a week before the early signing period opens.

Black is a consensus four-star recruit. He is the No. 35 player in the 247Sports Composite rating. His 0.9820 Composite score would make him the second-highest rated commit in program history if he chose OSU, according to 247Sports, behind only Bobby Reid. OSU was the first Division-I program to offer Black a scholarship.

Black was initially set to pick a program on Wednesday before delaying that announcement. Texas seems to be the leader in the clubhouse, as four people from 247Sports, five people from Rivals and five people from On3 all predicting Black to wear burnt orange. But it doesn’t appear the Cowboys have given up in the fight, just as they didn’t when they weren’t among his initial top group in August.

He has spent a ton of time in Stillwater this season watching Korie, including being at the Cowboys’ 40-34 double-overtime win against BYU to clinch a spot in the Big 12 title game. He was also in Boone Pickens Stadium to see the Cowboys beat Oklahoma in the final Bedlam game. Korie is a senior this season, but he still has a year of eligibility remaining because of the pandemic should he choose to use it.

Korie came to OSU as a three-star prospect, the No. 560 player in his class and has developed into one of the best corners in the Big 12. This season teams have thrown at Korie 33 times resulting in just 14 completions for 216 yards and a touchdown. The touchdown was a funky 75-yard play in the rain at UCF. Among Big 12 corners with at least 260 coverage snaps this season, Korie’s 42.4% completion percentage allowed ranks second in the conference, while his 216 yards given up ranks third.

All that is to say that Korie has developed into a great corner in Stillwater.

OSU has three defensive backs committed in the 2024 cycle: Landyn Cleveland, David Kabongo and Willie Nelson. Texas has four DBs committed this cycle. The Cowboys’ class ranks 51st nationally, as of writing. If Black committed, it would bump the Pokes up to 41st nationally.