Portal Peek: Quick Looks at Some of the Portal Players OSU has Been Linked To

TRANSFER PORTAL TRACKER

The transfer portal has been open for a week, and it’s been moving quickly.

Oklahoma State has already landed a handful of prospects out of the portal, but here are looks at a few more guys that have been linked with the Cowboys over the past week.

Grantham after Former Florida Player?

Rivals announced Monday that former Florida defensive lineman Justus Boone will have a busy week with six visits schedule. One of those is to Oklahoma State, reportedly coming Wednesday. He also has visits scheduled to Houston, Georgia Tech, Pitt, Mississippi state and UNLV.

A 6-foot-4, 266-pound edge rusher, Boone was recruited to Gainesville under new OSU defensive coordinator Todd Grantham. A member of the 2021 recruiting class, Boone was ranked as highly as the No. 136 player in the entire class. Out of Sumter, South Carolina, he had high school offers to Georgia, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Arkansas, South Carolina and others.

Boone played in two games as a true freshman under Grantham during the 2021 season, and Boone has been with the Gators ever since.  In 2022, he made 24 tackles, including a sack. He missed the 2023 season with injury but did play for Florida in 2024, making 10 tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack.

Big Ten D-Lineman Also Reportedly Visiting

The Cowboys are also set to have a Wisconsin transfer lineman on campus this week, as James Thompson tweeted out that he’ll be in Stillwater on Thursday.

Listed at 6-foot-5, 295 pounds for the Badgers this past season, Thompson has also tweeted out portal interest from Tennessee, Oklahoma, SMU, Texas A&M and others. In five seasons with the Badgers, Thompson has made 59 tackles, 13 tackles for loss and five sacks.

Out of Cincinnati, Thompson chose Wisconsin over offers from Iowa State, Akron, Coastal Carolina and others.

Three Linebackers

Based on reported offers, the Cowboys seem to be making an emphasis on rebuilding their linebacker room with Collin Oliver and Nick Martin heading to the NFL while Kendal Daniels hit the portal. The Cowboys have already landed one commit at the position in Akron transfer Bryan McCoy, who committed Sunday, but here are three other names to watch.

Andrew Jones, Grambling State: Jones was named the SWAC’s Co-Defensive Player of the Year this past season after making 122 tackles, including 20.5 (!!) tackles for loss. OSU got in on Jones early, being the first offer he announced out of the portal. The competition for Jones could be tough, though, as he has since also announced offers to South Carolina, Ole Miss and others. Out of Louisiana, Jones was listed as a 6-foor-2, 220-pound redshirt junior last season with Grambling.

Alex Mitchell, Chattanooga: Listed at 6-1, 230 pounds, Mitchell led Chattanooga with 100 tackles in 2024 while intercepting two passes and forcing a pair of fumbles. OSU was the first Power Four program Mitchell announced he had received an offer from, but Virginia, Kansas, Wisconsin and Cincinnati have since joined the fold. Mitchell is reportedly set to visit Stillwater on Wednesday. He also reportedly has visits scheduled to Wisconsin and Virginia.

Zakye Barker, East Carolina: The Cowboys might have an inside track with this former Pirate, as OSU hired Jules Montinar as a defensive backs coach from East Carolina. As a sophomore in 2024, Barker made 86 tackles, including 12 tackles for loss and a pair of sacks. In nine games as a true freshman, Barker made 20 tackles. That’s some quality production from an underclassman. He was listed at 5-11, 225 pounds this past season. Since hitting the portal, Barker has also announced offers to Georgia Tech, West Virginia, SMU, NC State, Houston and Wake Forest.

Temple O-Lineman Reportedly Visiting

Having talent in the offensive line room is important for any program, but it’s particularly important in Stillwater with all the experience that the Cowboys will lose going into next season.

One of the guys the Cowboys appear to be after is Melvin Siani, a Temple transfer. Siani started nine games at tackle as a redshirt freshman for the Owls this past season. He also earned a pair of starts in 2023 as a true freshman while redshirting. He’s listed at 6-foot-6, 300 pounds.

Siani reported last week that he was set to take a visit to Stillwater this past weekend. He’s also tweeted out portal interest from Kansas, San Diego State and others.