Cowboys Liven Up Recruiting "Dead Period" with Offers to Top 2021 D-Linemen
STILLWATER -- I was driving into Stillwater this morning and listening to satellite radio, the Big 12 channel on Sirius-XM and heard a recruiting expert discussing the lack of talented defensive linemen in Texas. Texas, you know there used to be all kinds of good defensive line prospects in Texas, but the belief now is they are more concentrated in the deep South and more prone to go to places like Alabama, Georgia, LSU, and if not in the SEC then to Clemson. Apparently, Oklahoma State's coaching staff is getting that feeling or like Mike Gundy said at the recent pep rally inside The Student Union, "we should make people happy because we're recruiting more four and five-star guys."
Gundy's staff has been on the "bit" in getting offers out there and going after higher ranked recruits. On Thursday, two of the best 2021 defensive line recruits in the South were offered by the Pokes as Alabama's Super All-State defensive end Dylan Brooks out of Roanoke's Handley High School and Terrebonne High School massive defensive tackle Maason Smith both reported on Twitter offers from the Cowboys.
Smith is 6-4, 316-pounds and now has 28 offers with Oklahoma State the most recent. His other offers include Alabama, LSU, Texas A&M, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Houston, Kentucky, Michigan, Nebraska, Penn State, Tennessee, Texas, and Vanderbilt.
Smith is a powerful force in locking down the middle of a defense, as a definite two-gap defender. Last season he had 82 total tackles, huge for an inside defensive lineman. He had 24 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, and nine passed defended or batted away. As a sophomore, he had 59 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, and a pair of sacks.
Brooks is so athletic that he also caught seven touchdown passes this season as a jumbo wide receiver. His high school wears Alabama look-a-like uniforms, so you think of him as a Bama player and he looks the part. He is 6-5 and now closing in on 235-pounds.
Brooks offer total is now 29 with Oklahoma State just added. The schools list is similar with most of the SEC and ACC; Oklahoma State, Texas, West Virginia, Oklahoma out of the Big 12; Indiana and Nebraska out of the Big Ten; and Arizona State, Southern Cal, and Oregon out of the Pac-12.
He is a two-time All-State player making first-team after this past fall with 64 tackles and 15 tackles for loss. As a sophomore, he had 55 total tackles, 17 tackles for loss, and nine sacks. His freshman season he had 27 tackles and nine sacks.
Both players are the real thing, difference makers if you can sign them.