SI All-American: Oklahoma State Cowboys Commitments and Targets in the 2021 Football Recruiting Class
STILLWATER -- Sports Illustrated/Maven has launched an exciting new facet of the network that will change the way you look at and the way you expect your recruiting coverage, news and evaluations for football recruiting.
In a short period of time, SI/Maven has become a leader in college basketball recruiting news, coverage, and evaluation under the leadership of Jason Jordan. Jordan was all over the recruitment of Oklahoma State prize addition and the nation's top basketball prospect in Cade Cunningham.
Now, John Garcia and his staff launched the massive list of SI All-American prospects in football. SI All-American has extensive coverage on Oklahoma State's 2021 football commitments and their targets on the board as you will see with links in the very story.
Here on Pokes Report, you will always get Robert Allen's stars. That is something we had added when we came into the SI/Maven network.
A brief background for the Cowboys on this recruiting cycle ... Oklahoma State came into June on a roll with a rush of seven pledges jumping the Cowboys 2021 recruiting class up to 11 commitments. The negative is the situation with the Cowboys players and head coach Mike Gundy. The players claimed to be looking for stronger and closer personal relationships, outside of football, with Gundy and the coaching staff. The publicity was not good on either a national or local front. However, the national media primarily failed to make the connection that the players were looking for more with Gundy, not less. Several players told Pokes Report that they believe in Gundy as a coach, a leader, and a mentor. They wanted more influence from him on a daily basis.
One committed prospect told us that they felt the situation was only going to create a better environment and culture for them when they get to the Oklahoma State campus. In fact, none of the committed players have budged since the incident started on June 15. The Cowboys added their most recent commitment on Tuesday, July 14 with the addition of receiver John Paul Richardson, the son of former Texas A&M and NFL quarterback Bucky Richardson.
The commitments began with linebacker Kolbe Fields from Archbishop Rummel in Metairie, La., who just de-committed on Sunday, July 12. The early part of the class had a decided defensive flavor and Oklahoma State will lose four senior linebackers after this upcoming season and that includes Calvin Bundage, who has not played since midway through the 2018 season.
Besides Fields, Oklahoma State gained a commitment from Edmond Santa Fe's highly regarded Collin Oliver, who is compared by his high school coaches to Trace Ford, who jumped in as the hybrid "Leo" playing defensive end and linebacker as somewhat of a hybrid rover in the defensive front as a freshman last season for the Cowboys. Oliver plays a similar role for Santa Fe.
Oklahoma State also loses a senior cornerback in Rodarius Williams and a grad transfer in Christian Holmes from Missouri. You have to look at safety Kolby Harvell-Peel and realize that he could be a prospect for the NFL Draft.
The class already has three cornerbacks in Texans Raymond Gay (Red Oak) and Cam Smith (Braswell H.S.) and Midwest City, Okla. product Makale Smith. There is also a safety prospect in Muskogee two-way player Ty Williams, who plays quarterback, but also has 14 interceptions as a defender in the past two seasons.
The offense kicked in with Frisco Lone Star explosive speedster Jaden Nixon, who is a running back that can do a lot of things on offense and on special teams.
Kasey Dunn is now offensive coordinator as well as wide receivers coach for the Cowboys and he can still evaluate and recruit talented wide receivers. Getting the Green twins is a big recruiting win as the twins are virtually the same size, possess the same abilities, and have put up the same stats at Allen High School. Add a big long target in Jaden Bray and that position is loading back for 2021 following the loss after this season of the likes of Tylan Wallace, Dillon Stoner, and Landon Wolf.
The most recent addition of Richardson give the Pokes a likely replacement for the very productive Stoner.
2021 Oklahoma State Football Commitment List (11)
* Robert Allen stars
***Jaden Bray, WR, 6-3, 192, Norman, Okla. - A basketball player most of his high school career, he returned to football last season as a junior and was a freak with 40 receptions for 936-yards and 11 touchdowns. His teammates say he is amazing.
***Raymond Gay, CB, 5-11, 172, Red Oak, Texas - Played mostly receiver last season with 38 receptions for 758-yards and nine touchdowns, but likes the idea of moving to cornerback, which is where Oklahoma State evaluated him to play. He will play some defense this season.
****Blaine Green, WR, 6-1 1/2, 205, Allen, Texas - Slightly bigger than his twin, Blaine had his bigger season as a sophomore with over 1,000-yards receiving. He has career numbers of 71 receptions for 1,255-yards and 13 touchdowns. Both were recruited by just about any school that you could name.
****Bryson Green, WR, 6-1, 200, Allen, Texas - Cowboys get the twins from Allen, Texas that are virtually identical in skill sets, stats, and enthusiasm. Bryson has career numbers of 65 catches for 966-yards and 11 touchdowns. He helped Allen to a 14-1 record and state championship as a sophomore starter.
****Aden Kelley, DT, 6-3, 285, Thomas-Fay-Custer, Okla. - He is rated a four-star on the 247 Composite. I don't need that verification. I can see it with my own two eyes. Plays both ways, but will be better on defense. He is a big explosive athlete.
***Jaden Nixon, RB, 5-10, 174, Frisco (Lone Star), Texas - Electric player that was way under recruited for a championship team. He was first-team All-District with 90 carries for 821-yards and 14 touchdowns along with 18 catches for 262-yards and a pair of touchdowns. He has times of 10.62 seconds in the 100-meters and 21.72-seconds in the 200-meters.
***Logan Nobles, OL, 6-6, 260, Jenks, Okla. - Recent commitment that Oklahoma State jumped in on and he grew up an Oklahoma State fan making it a match. Watch his tape from last season and you find good technique backed up with the kind of enthusiastic effort that will always make a good offensive lineman. He is very athletic for his size and the frame will fill out.
****Collin Oliver, DE/LB, 6-3, 220, Edmond (Santa Fe), Okla. - Oliver plays for Santa Fe and plays very much like current Cowboys hybrid defensive front standout Trace Ford. He is athletic with a 6'2" high jump and a 21'0 1/2" in the long jump. He has 86 career tackles with eight tackles for loss and five sacks. He is a ball hawker with multiple fumbles caused and recovered along with an interception.
***John Paul Richardson, WR/Slot, 6-0, 180, Missouri City (Ridge Point), Texas - Richardson chose the Cowboys over TCU and Arkansas at the end. He ended up with a bunch of Power Five offers and all came in after he was offered by Oklahoma State. Last season he hauled in 38 receptions for 707-yards, and five touchdowns. He also ran for 191-yards on 24 carries and six touchdowns. He even threw for a score.
****Cam Smith, CB, 6-1, 170, Little Elm (Braswell), Texas - Another receiver that projects for the defensive side of the football. He is a two-sport athlete that runs the 200-meters and also jumps long jump and triple jump. His career receiving numbers for a career that already includes back-to-back All-District honors are 114 catches for 1,703-yards and 14 touchdowns.
***Makale Smith, CB, 6-0, 173, Midwest City, Okla. - A Midwest City Bomber that plays both ways as a receiver and corner also plays basketball. He chose Oklahoma State over Oregon State among others. He was picked out from tape evaluation by the Cowboys secondary coaches.
****Ty Williams, Saf., 6-1, 192, Muskogee, Okla. - A four-sport letterman (football, basketball, wrestling, and track) he starts at quarterback, which limits his defensive participation, but his sophomore season have five interceptions in 10 defensive snaps total. Last season he had nine interceptions playing defense a lot more and still accumulating over 3,000-yards of total offense. OSU beat a number of good schools that jumped on Williams late.
Oklahoma State still has plenty of work to do in the 2021 football recruiting class. The 11 commitments that head coach Mike Gundy and recruiting coordinator Todd Bradford have combined with the staff to garner leaves the Cowboys with plenty of work to do on the offensive line plus additional players to pick up at defensive tackle, linebacker, running back, cowboy back (tight end/fullback), and perhaps kicker.
Sports Illustrated All-American, the recruiting division of the SI/Maven Network has been working overtime on a launch of evaluations and videos for the top prospects in the country including many of the prospects that Oklahoma State is pursuing.
We'll make it simple and break down the top prospects on the Cowboys big board by looking at offensive and defensive prospects.
Oklahoma State Offensive Targets in 2021 Class that made SI All-American List
Note - All prospects listed here have received offers from Oklahoma State
* Robert Allen stars
****Savion Byrd, OL, 6-5, 280, Duncanville, Texas - Byrd hit it off well with Oklahoma State offensive line coach Charlie Dickey. He is a beast who has started since his sophomore season for the Panthers. His recruiting list is a who's who in college football.
***Erick Cade, OL, 6-5 1/2, 313, Little Elm (Brasswell), Texas - It would be great for Oklahoma State to double up their take from Brasswell. Cade is huge, strong, and really good with his feet for his size. His recruiting has really ramped up.
****Dametrious Crowover, TE, 6-6, 235, Gradview, Texas - He has a stellar final four with Oklahoma State in there with Ohio State, Oregon, and Texas A&M. Crownover is the full package with athletic and ball skills and the strength and toughness to be a powerful blocker.
***Logan Diggs, RB, 6-0, 195, Metairie (Archbishop Rummel), La. - He is down to a top six with Arizona State, Arkansas, Michigan State, Oklahoma State, Mississippi, and Southern Cal. Diggs can run it and catch it with 1,110-yards of total offense and nine touchdowns.
****Tavierre Dunlap, RB, 6-0, 196, Del Valle, Texas - Dunlap has lots of options with 35 offers including the likes of Oklahoma State, Iowa State, Kansas, TCU, and Texas Tech in the Big 12 and then Arizona State, Arizona, Colorado, Duke, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Southern Cal, and Washington. Dunlap had 128 carries for 1,341-yards and 20 touchdowns rushing last season and 20 receptions for 208-yards and three touchdowns as a receiver.
***Donovan Edwards, RB, 5-11, 195, West Bloomfield, Mich. - Edwards has an impressive offer list and an even more impressive set of skills. He has speed, vision, can catch the ball, and power is increasing. Last season he rushed for 1,326-yards and 16 touchdowns with 419-yards receiving and five more scores.
***Isaia Glass, OL, 6-5, 257, Queen Creek, Ariz. - Underweight prospect that has the frame to develop and has offers from the likes of Oklahoma State, Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, Iowa State, Kansas State, Utah, and Washington State.
***Alton McCaskill, RB, 6-1, 197, Conroe (Oak Ridge), Texas - McCaskill is down to Michigan, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, and Virginia Tech. He is a big back with track speed who had 845-yards and 10 touchdowns last season.
****Cam'Ron Valdez, RB, 5-10, 190, Rockdale, Texas - Down to a top seven and Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, and Arkansas have consistently been in his top three. Arizona State, Nebraska, Purdue, and Utah are the others in his recent top seven. He is a speedster with 1,697-yards and 26 touchdowns as a junior.
Oklahoma State Defensive Targets in 2021 Class that made SI All-American List
C.J. Baskerville, Saf., 6-2, 180, Richland (North Richland Hills), Texas - He moved in from Katy, Texas prior to last season and has earned offers from Houston, Duke, SMU, Kansas, and Syracuse among others. He is an excellent student and his on the field numbers are good with 85 tackles last season along with seven passes defended, a fumble caused, one recovered, and an interception.
***Jabril McNeill, LB, 6-4, 225, Raleigh (Sanderson), N.C. - Oklahoma State fairly early and may make another push with the loss of Fields. McNeill is a rangy kind of linebacker that fits the way the Cowboys play the Leo position. He had 145 tackles, five sacks and five fumbles caused last season. NC State and South Carolina are the main competition.
***Melvin Swindle, DT, 6-0 1/2, 290, Oklahoma City (Heritage Hall), Okla. - He plays both ways for one of the top private school football programs in Oklahoma and has been a force. He will get much better when he becomes a one-platoon player. Defensive tackle is the projection.
****Landyn Watson, DE, 6-5, 235, Hutto, Texas - Big-time player with 31 scholarship offers. Watson started as a freshman and earned Defensive Newcomer of the Year honors in District 19-5A. He has been All-District in 11-5A the last two seasons. In 2019 he had 50 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, seven sacks, caused a pair of fumbles, recovered four fumbles and took two of those for touchdowns. He has 143 career tackles with 41 of those for loss, and 19.5 sacks.
Players whom we feel will be included in SI All-American updates are surely TE Gunnar Helm of Cherry Creek, Colo., Jeffrey Basso of Salt Lake City (Karns) in Utah, Aden Kelly of Thomas, Okla., and Donovan Stephens of Del City in Oklahoma. Those are a few.