Grading Oklahoma State’s 2020 Recruiting Class on Defense

Oklahoma State’s 19-man recruiting class for the 2020 football cycle filled a lot of needs for the Pokes, but especially so on the defensive side of the ball. Of those 19, 10 are expected to play on defense. Let’s take a look at the class and hand out grades for how the OSU staff did addressing roster holes.

1. Cornerbacks: Jordan Reagan, Jabbar Muhammad, Korie Black

Report card: Solid all the way around here. Jordan Reagan is the name I’m most intrigued with. He’s been overshadowed by what his teammate, Brennan Presley, has done at Bixby this season, but he’s a great ball-tracker who can play press coverage and has a lanky 6-foot-2 frame to grow into. Korie Black is rated a bit higher and has some nice upside as well. And then, of course, there’s Jabbar Muhammad, a relative of OSU corner A.J. Green. Muhammad is the only commit who did not sign with OSU.

Cornerbacks grade: B+

2. Safeties: Zach Middleton, Nicolas Session

Report card: Though it be a small group, this group be fierce. Middleton is a full blown dude. I’m all in. He primarily played RB in high school but is expected to play safety, where his elite closing speed should help him track plenty of field at the college level. Session, meanwhile is a late-riser whom OSU nabbed from Utah State late in the process. An all-state performer as a senior, sources have told PFB that OSU likes his upside and sees him as a future star on the back end of the Cowboys defense.

Safeties grade: A-

3. D-line: Grant Mahon, Tyren Irby

Report card: OSU is probably going to need to add to this two-man class after Sawyer Goram-Welch, a defensive tackle, flipped from OSU to Texas late in the process. Still yet, this two-man group is solid. Mahon’s high school career has been injury-riddled but he’s a guy OSU stole — he’d have been a double-digit offer guy if not for the injuries. As for Irby, he’s a pass-rusher who should be able to contribute early straight out of the junior college ranks.

D-line grade: C

4. Linebackers: Jeff Roberson, Cole Thompson, Mason Cobb

Report card: *stands up and claps*

My biggest gripe about the Glenn Spencer era was the lack of foundational recruiting at linebacker. And now two years in, it’s clear that’s been priority No. 1 for OSU defensive coordinator Jim Knowles.

Two of these guys are from within the state — Cole Thompson and Jeff Roberson — and both hover right around 6-2, 215. They should be able to fill in at several linebacker spots given how versatile they were in college. And then there’s Cobb, the late Utah addition. Cobb could grow into a safety but is slotted as a linebacker for now. He has good coverage skills and gives OSU a guy who could provide run support and also drop back into coverage.

Linebackers grade: A