Oklahoma State’s 2018 Recruiting Class Ranked Above Alabama, Michigan, UCLA

Oklahoma State’s 2018 class got off to a fast start this spring with a flurry of commitments in April and May from the likes of C.J. Moore, Kanion Williams, Bryce Bray and Tyrese Williams. While that momentum typically slows as signing day approaches, the coaching staff is still full steam ahead entering the dead period and the thick of the summer coming off a five-commitment June that addressed major needs in the class.

With 17 commitments, OSU holds more verbal pledges than all but three teams—Miami (18), LSU (22) and Minnesota (19)—all of which are ranked inside the top 25.

Where does OSU rank nationally?

National rankings are fluid and change as frequently as recruits change their mind, but the Cowboys rank No. 14 nationally as of June 27. The Pokes hold a slight edge over Michigan (No. 15), and sit just behind Texas A&M, which claims its spot at No. 13. For the first time since I can remember covering recruiting, Alabama’s class—which has finished No. 1 in the final 247Sports rankings every year since 2011—is ranked 59th nationally with just 5 commitments. That’s a mark good for 13th in the SEC.

Mike Gundy has a mullet and is outrecruiting Nick Saban (even if Saban has just a third as many commitments). What a world we live in!

Here’s the link to the full 247Sports rankings for 2018.

Where does OSU’s class rank in the Big 12?

For quite some time, OSU held the top spot in the Big 12 rankings. I wrote at that time that the advantage in the rankings was quantity over quality and that it wouldn’t hold through signing day, and thus far it’s played out as I projected. Texas is recruiting like Texas is wont to do, and under Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma appears to be on a level it hasn’t operated on in years.

That’s why the rankings are where they are now. Oklahoma and Texas are 1-2 at the top of the Big 12 and top-10 nationally, followed by OSU, Baylor, TCU, Kansas, Iowa State, Texas Tech, West Virginia and K-State.

Point of emphasis moving forward

As loyal reader Shane Hatfield requested this week, let’s take a look at what OSU needs to do moving forward. I won’t get to scholarship count (because that’s a much more fluid count in football than basketball), but he brought up an interesting point about what positions they might target with the dead period in effect and the staff regrouping for the summer.

By position, this is how many commitments OSU has…

By process of elimination, that leaves running back and defensive tackle among the most important positions just based on total commitments (and especially DT when you look at the defensive depth chart for the future). I believe both of these spots are where priorities lie right now, especially after missing out on running back targets Lyn-J Dixon, Tae Provens and Keaontay Ingram already in this cycle.

At running back, I expect OSU to continue targeting Fitzgerald (Georgia) running back James Graham. In the meantime, running backs coach John Wozniak is doing his best to gauge whether SMU pledge Jahmyl Jeter (what a name) is interested in flipping to OSU after a recent offer.

Defensive tackle is slightly more murky, but right now target No. 1 is junior college defensive tackle Tayland Humphrey. He appears intent on playing college ball with his younger brother, a high school senior offensive lineman from Klein Oak, and OSU jumped in the mix for him by offering a scholarship on a recent visit. The staff is hoping to package a deal for the brothers.

Past Humphrey, OKC area defensive tackle Israel Antwine remains an interesting option at defensive tackle. The Millwood product committed to Ole Miss over OSU early in the recruitment process in May, but the opportunity to play in Oxford where the NCAA is sniffing around following a foul odor over the last few years, might not be appealing for a player surely hoping to play for something more than a school likely to be hit with sanctions.