Updated Look at the 2020 Signing Class: Offensive Line

A thorough look at the offensive linemen in Oklahoma State's 2020 signing class.

STILLWATER – With the ink of the three expected signatures for Oklahoma State during the February signing period now dry, we’re going to be taking an updated look at the complete signing class.

We’ve published the late signing period additions of quarterback Ethan Bullock, linebacker Lamont Bishop, cornerback Jabbar Muhammad, as well as offensive lineman Josh Sills and defensive lineman Collin Clay that transferred into the program in January.

We’ve taken the time to go back through the profiles of the athletes that signed in December and updated the necessary stats to give everyone a refresher course on the guys that Mike Gundy and Co. are bringing in in the 2020 class.

We’ll also be breaking down each player into positions groups just as we did in December.

Mike Gundy discusses the three athletes that signed during the late signing period.

Cade Bennett, OL, 6-5, 300, Scottsdale (Notre Dame Prep), Ariz.

Let’s start with Bennett having played on teams in high school that went 37-4 over his three seasons on varsity for Notre Dame Prep. Bennett is a mauler of an offensive lineman, very physical with excellent feet. He gets off the ball quickly and into his target. He is outstanding at run blocking and can block on the run, generally taking his defensive target off his feet. You can see a little “nasty” in Bennett as he shows some of his defensive attitude while playing offense. He is good on pass protection too. Bennett was 13-1/4-0 as a sophomore in 2017. He earned both first-team 5A All Northeast Valley and first-team All-Arizona from the Arizona Republic newspaper as a junior. The Saints went 13-1/6-0 that season. This past season he has already repeated as both first-team 5A All Northeast Valley offensive lineman and first-team All-Arizona team member. He blocked for a 1,854-yard rusher in Dominick Mastro, who also scored 22 touchdowns. The team finished 11-2/5-1 and had 3,249-yards rushing and 1,742-yards passing while averaging 41.2 points per game. Oklahoma State got Bennett over offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Purdue, Iowa State, Syracuse, BYU, Army, Boise State, San Diego State, Georgia Tech, UNLV, Vanderbilt, and Colorado State.

Monroe Mills, OL, 6-7, 295, Columbia (Father Tolton Catholic), Mo.

Mills missed his entire senior season when he tore his ACL in the preseason. Mills had committed just three weeks prior to the injury and he should be recovered full speed in time for spring football as he is going to enroll at Oklahoma State for the spring semester. Mills is long with long arms and is a devastating blocker, especially at the Class 2A level in Missouri. Those long arms make him a really impressive pass protector. He has good feet and good athleticism and you have to credit some of that to wrestling. He finished third in state as a junior with a 41-8 record. His junior season his team went 4-7 and had a lot of success on offense. He earned All-State Class 2A honors, All-District, All-Area in the Columbia Daily Tribune newspaper. He was also named Academic All-State for the second season in a row. Mills is strong, as mentioned, with a 350 pound bench press max and a 450 pound max in the squat prior to his knee injury. Mills has started on the varsity at Father Tolton Catholic since his freshman season.

Defensive Statistics from his Junior season

62 tackles, 9.0 tackles for loss, 4.0 sacks, 3 fumbles recovered, 2 fumbles forced

Trent Pullen, OG, 6-3, 285, Waco (Connally), Texas

Pullen is a beast of a lineman that is capable of playing tackle, guard, or center. He has played tackle in starring for Connally and this season the Cadets finished with a 12-1 record and were perfect at 6-0 in district. Cadets running back Jay’Veon Sunday and quarterback Kavian Gaither combined with more than 3,600-yards rushing and 50 rushing touchdowns. Impressive numbers running behind Pullen and an accomplished offensive line. He has excellent feet, blocks well on the move, and often blocks multiple defenders at more than one level on rushing plays. He has not had as much experience in pass protection, but his fundamentals lead you to believe that will not be a problem. He was a unanimous selection as a senior to the 8-4A All-District team. In his junior season, Pullen helped Connally to an 8-4 record and 4-2 in district. The Cadets averaged 272.1-yards a game rushing the football. He was named the Outstanding Offensive Lineman and first-team 8-4A All-District lineman. He was also named a second-team All-State lineman on the Padilla Class 4A-II All-State team. He is said to be one of the most popular players on the team and a real leader on and off the field. He chose Oklahoma State and Cowboys offensive line coach Charlie Dickey over offers from Baylor, Boston College, Colorado, Houston, Kansas State, LSU, Purdue, SMU, and Texas A&M.

Eli Russ, OL, 6-5, 310, Ardmore (Plainview), Okla.

Russ was first-team All-State as a junior and senior by The Oklahoman and as a senior by The Tulsa World. Plainview went all the way to the Class 3A State Championship before losing to Lincoln Christian 42-21, but they finished with a 11-2 record and Russ was a big part of that. He played more defense this season and was sensational in the State Championship running down ball carriers and putting pressure on the quarterback. He is still best at blocking and it is so hard to tell how good he has become because he rarely sees competition that can challenge him. He is usually able to put his assignment on the ground and either bury him or go on to block a second or third defender on the play. He has excellent athletic ability and can run a 5.2 forty, which is good for a 6-6, 310-pound force. His vertical is 26 inches. That is also very impressive. He has the strength with a 320-pound bench max and he can do the 185 pound rep test 25 times. He has a 530-pound squat max and can deadlift 585-pounds. The best news is he will be on campus and in school at Oklahoma State this spring to get a head start on his career. He might be gifted enough to push for the two-deep as a freshman. The first commitment in the 2020 recruiting class back in April of 2018, you can’t get enough Eli Russ-type players in your program. He was a four-star when he committed to Oklahoma State and then somehow was downgraded to a three-star by those “experts”. Shame on them, Russ is clearly a four-star and will prove it throughout his college career. I’m sworn to call out those bozos as often as I can.

Josh Sills, OL, (RS-Sr.), 6-6, 326, Sarahsville (Meadowbrook), Ohio/West Virginia University

He gives the Cowboys a graduate transfer on the offensive line that is All-Big 12 caliber having been named by the Big 12 coaches to their second-team All-Conference team after his sophomore season. He has one year to play, but he missed all but two games of his junior season in 2019 with a shoulder injury that needed surgery, so he has a strong case for another season of eligibility. He played in 27 games at West Virginia and started 24 of those. In 2018 as a junior, paved the way for the offense to average 512.3 yards of total offense per game, ranking No. 2 in the Big 12 and No. 8 nationally, The offense ranked second in the Big 12 and fourth nationally for most passing yards per game (351.3) and produced 500 or more yards of total offense in eight games, including two with more than 600 yards. As a red-shirt freshman played in 13 games and started five. Sills finished with a team-leading 13 knockdown blocks and was second on the team with 13 domination blocks, according the WVU coaching staff. The offense rushed for more than 200 yards in six games and 250 in two games. The Mountaineers offense produced 500 or more yards of total offense in six games, including the first five games to begin the season. Sills red-shirted in 2016. In high school he was a two-year starter for at Meadowbrook where in addition to playing on the offense line he also handled kicking and punting duties, averaging 41.9 yards per punt and connected on 2-of-2 field goal attempts with a long of 43 yards and had 18 touchbacks on kickoffs. Sills was named AP All-Ohio Division IV First Team (2015) and AP All-Ohio Division IV Honorable Mention (2014), selected to play in the North-South All-Star Game (2016), and a two-time AP All-East Division IV District First Team (2014-15).