The Reload: Big Man Target Nearing Decision

The Reload is PFB’s recruiting recap catching you up to speed with the latest Oklahoma State recruiting news, with an ear to the ground for what to expect.

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Big man target has decision looming

As I talked about on The Reload podcast on Wednesday night, 6-foot-9 power forward Yor Anei — an Overland Park-area three-star prospect — is set to make his commitment on Thursday evening.

Anei is picking between OSU, Denver, Central Arkansas, and UAB. OSU is the presumptive favorite and it’s where I believe he’ll ultimately land.

Anei’s commitment would be the second big man commitment in the last week for OSU in its 2018 class joining 6-foot-10 Florida big man Duncan Demuth. How weird is it going to be to have two 6-foot-9 or taller commitments and zero guards?

OSU offers 2018 athlete

On Wednesday, Oklahoma State extended an offer to 2018 QB/WR/ATH Jordan Mann, a do-it-all high school prospect from Kipp Generation Collegiate High in the greater Houston area.

Mann’s offer is believed to be as RB, which I absolutely love. He’s a versatile athlete similar to current commit and high school QB Jaelyn Nolan who will be switching positions at the college level.

https://twitter.com/jaay4k_/status/923213048369876992

Mann is an absolute freak in space reminiscent of McLain’s Josh Jacobs, a late-rising Oklahoma prospect who signed with Alabama a year ago. He’s a QB because he’s by far the most athletic player on his team, but I think he’d be a plug-and-play at running back wherever he chooses to play.

OSU has one commitment at RB for 2018 in Jahmyl Jeter, a hard-nosed runner, and a potential commitment from Mann would give OSU a thunder-lightning punch out of the backfield, with Mann being the more elusive/explosive option of the two.

I get the feel that there’s not a major necessity to land another RB for the 2018 class just due to the overall depth and current outlook of the position in the immediate future. But in the case of Mann, it seems the coaching staff might feel he’s worth taking despite a crowded backfield.

OSU offers Russell Westbrook’s long lost nephew?

Fake news. I’m sorry! However it appears OSU has offered Jihaun Westbrook, a 2019 athletic guard cut from the same cloth of the OKC star. Westbrook is an unranked recruit on the rise with offers from Utah State, Cal-State Fullerton, OSU and Cal State Northridge.

Quite a mixed bag of schools for OSU to jump in the mix with, which is why I find this offer to the Cali native interesting.

OSU has more than a dozen offers out to small forwards in the class of 2019 between pre-Boynton targets and in the Boynton era, and Westbrook is yet another in that list that is littered with top-rated prospects.

I dig his game, though, and I dig that OSU is (and has been) willing to rely on their evaluation and scouting and hasn’t waited on other major programs to jump in the mix for some of these guys first.