OSU Football: A Recruiting Recap Of The Mike Gundy Era

<p>Heading into National Signing Day tomorrow, here&rsquo;s a look at Oklahoma State&rsquo;s recruiting classes since Mike Gundy became head coach.</p>

Tuesday, February 2nd 2016, 6:39 pm

By: News 9


Heading into National Signing Day tomorrow, here’s a look at Oklahoma State’s recruiting classes since Mike Gundy became head coach. The rankings are pulled from the 247Sports Composite Rating, which combines the rankings of the major recruiting services into one composite rank.

2005 – Nation Rank 51 – Ryan McBean was the top-rated recruit and only four-star in this class. Zac Robinson, Andre Sexton and Jacob Lacey among the rest of the three-stars.

2006 – National Rank 20 – The 2006 class featured Derek Burton, Perrish Cox, Ugo Chinasa and Alex Cate among several four-stars. Getting the top Juco running back, Dantrell Savage, didn’t hurt. Adding future NFLers Russell Okung, Keith Toston and Orie Lemon, all three-stars, was a nice touch.

2007 – National Rank 22 – Dez Bryant and Richetti Jones were the headliners. Three stars Kendall Hunter, Josh Cooper, Jamie Blatnick and unranked kicker Dan Bailey proved to be diamonds in the rough.

2008 – National Rank 33 – Gundy snared a pair of four-stars, athlete Kye Staley out of Guthrie and Juco running back Beau Johnson, but also got three stars Justin Blackmon, Markelle Martin, Lucien Antoine, Lane Taylor, Brodrick Brown and Quinn Sharp.

2009 – National Rank 35 – The 2009 class featured a trio of homegrown players near the top: Jeremy Smith and Tracy Moore from Tulsa Union and Daytawion Lowe from Carl Albert. Two-star Parker Graham became a starter at tackle while ESPN 150 running back Dexter Pratt, OSU’s top recruit, left after his redshirt year.

2010 – National Rank 32 – Linebackers Shaun Lewis and Caleb Lavey and running back Joseph Randle, all four-stars, were the top-ranked recruits in 2010. Three-star Justin Gilbert was also near the top of this class that didn’t really have many standouts near the bottom of the class.

2011 – National Rank 25 – OSU got big commitments from the No. 4 high school running back, Herschel Sims and the No. 7 quarterback, J.W. Walsh, along with upper three-stars Desmond Roland and Josh Stewart. Under-the-radar defenders Ryan Simmons and James Castleman didn’t get the national attention but they quickly became starters.

2012 – National Rank 32 – The top Juco tight end, Blake Jackson, along with fellow four-stars Michael Wilson and Brandon Sheperd were the top recruits in the 2012 class. Mid-range three-stars Emmanuel Ogbah and Kevin Peterson brought the most return. Also among those three-stars were Seth Jacobs, Calvin Barnett Jhajuan Seales and Ashton Lampkin. Three-star quarterback Wes Lunt was named the starter this season.

2013 – National Rank 30 – Of the top three recruits in this class (Ra’Shaad Samples, Marcell Ateman and Naim Mustafaa) only Ateman remains on the team. Three-stars Jordan Sterns and Tre Flowers are starting safeties and this was a great d-line crop with Vincent Taylor, Ofa Hautau, Vili Leveni, Sam Wren and Ben Hughes.

2014 – National Rank 28 – From a star-perspective this class was one of Gundy’s highest-rated. Devon Thomas never made it and Tyreek Hill provided one season of excitement, but fellow four-stars Mason Rudolph, Gyasi Akem and Keenen Brown are still around. The Cowboys found three-star James Washington in the small town of Stamford, Texas. Jordan Brailford, from Tulsa’s Booker T. Washington, also has the look of a future star.

2015 – National Rank 39 – The consensus top recruits from last year’s class were four-stars Darrion Daniels, John Kolar and Kevin Henry. Daniels earned immediate playing time when Vili Leveni went down in the preseason while Kolar and Henry sat out the season. Chris Carson was the fourth-ranked Juco running back in the country and Motekiai Maile was the No. 8 Juco defensive tackle. Three-stars Jordan Burton and Jalen McCleskey have already carved out roles as well. Gundy proclaimed two-star running back Jeff Carr the steal of signing day.

2016 – Current National Rank 55 – As of 6 p.m. on Tuesday this will be the lowest-ranked recruiting class of the Gundy-Era at OSU. The Cowboys still anticipate a few announcements in their favor before it's all said and done though. Follow News 9 (@News9Sport) or the News on 6 (@Newson6Sport) for updates on Wednesday.

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