The Reload: OSU Hitting Texas Hard in Football Recruiting

The Reload is PFB’s recruiting recap, filling you in on the latest news surrounding Oklahoma State recruiting with an ear to the ground for what’s to come.

The NCAA evaluation period in the recruiting calendar won’t kick off for another two weeks, but the football coaching staff is getting a jump on some guys ahead of time before the contact period with several new scholarship offers out the door this week. The calendar indicates this is the quiet period, but OSU coaches are making some noise of late. Here’s the latest offers out:

Reese Moore — Offensive Lineman

Moore is a 6-foot-6 265-pound prospect who is listed as both a tight end (!) and an offensive tackle.

Oklahoma State wants him at tackle.

The Seminole, Texas recruit has 16 scholarship offers that includes Baylor, Oklahoma, Texas, TCU and more — nine of which have come in the 2017 calendar year. He’s a bully of a lineman with obviously above average agility, given his versatility, and would make for a solid fit at a number of positions. He plays both tackle positions, defensive end and even tight end. But I presume he would be best suited for the right tackle spot.

Tate Wildeman — Defensive End

Out of Parker, Colorado — an area OSU coaches don’t typically recruit  — 2018 defensive end prospect Tate Wildeman anounced this week he’d been offered by Joe Bob Clements. The 6-foot-5, 225-pound recruit holds offers from Arizona State, Colorado State, Nevada and Wyoming, and is not ranked by recruiting services at this point.

This one seems a bit curious to me. OSU is emphasizing Texas recruiting this cycle as much as it has before, but to throw a curveball in Colorado is a strange one — especially for a prospect many wouldn’t consider to be a “can’t miss.”

A lot of times OSU will offer high profile guys regardless of geography, but Wildeman doesn’t seem to fit into that category. Perhaps Clements is simply expanding his recruiting base, or perhaps OSU feels they can nab a sleeper prospect who might not choose to stay in state.

Rodney McGraw II — Safety

The safety position was a big priority in the 2017 class, and I presume the 2018 class will feature at least two. One new target emerged when Rodney McGraw II, an unranked prospect from Missouri City, Texas, announced an offer from OSU on Tuesday.

This is arguably his biggest offer to date. He already holds offers from UTSA, Louisiana-Monroe and Tulane, but OSU hopping on board is a sign of more to come. He has excellent size for a safety, he plays a little cornerback so he has nice versatility similar to what Ramon Richards offers, and he’s an instinctive football player. By my count he had 4 interceptions in his junior season, one of which went back for a touchdown on the other end, and is also a proven special teams player.

Israel Mukuamu — Safety

Oklahoma State’s recent recruiting win in Bossier City in pulling out quarterback Keondre Wudtee has the staff back in familiar territory, with an offer to three-star safety Israel Mukuamu on Monday. He is built like small forward at 6-foot-4 but plays like a safety. In addition to his offer from Oklahoma State, he also holds offers from SMU, Indiana, Southern Miss, South Carolina and Wake Forest.

South Carolina appears to be the leader in his recruitment, and having been the first to offer last summer the Gamecocks have a considerable jump on him.

Starrland Baldwin — Cornerback

Baldwin is a late bloomer on the recruiting trail, and a perfect example of what a big school uncovering a gem can do for a prospect in recruiting. Since the Oklahoma Sooners offered in mid-February, he’s picked up 11 scholarship offers and has gone from unranked to the 87th best prospect in the state of Texas.

McNeese State was the first school to offer him, but the Sooners were the first major school. They lead in Baldwin’s recruitment, according to the 247sports crystal ball. The 5-foot-10 return man and cornerback is one of the hottest names on the market out of Cy Falls.

Kanion Williams — Safety

Since Oklahoma State offered Williams on Monday, four Division I schools have also hopped on board, leading to recruiting analyst Brian Perroni to make the assessment that “schools seem to value #okstate evaluations.”