Oklahoma State football early enrollees arrive this week. What to know about the newcomers.

STILLWATER — A collection of Oklahoma State’s latest football additions will report to campus this week to get enrolled before classes begin Tuesday.

Coming off a 10-4 season, the Cowboys are bringing in 12 new players at the semester break who will be around to take part in spring practice. That number could still grow by one or two more, depending on how things shake out in the next few days.

For now, the group includes all five transfer portal additions plus seven of the 18 players from the high school recruiting class who signed letters of intent last month.

Here’s a look at three things to know about the early enrollee group:

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Cowboys get key running back addition

OSU was in a difficult position recruiting running backs out of the transfer portal, faced with the challenge of selling a player on backing up the nation’s top back, Ollie Gordon II.

Yet the Cowboys found a player with local ties and experience in the Southeastern Conference, landing a commitment on Wednesday from Arkansas transfer A.J. Green — a product of Union High School in Tulsa.

The 5-foot-11, 205-pound back rushed for nearly 1,000 yards over the last three seasons, and he can get involved for spring ball to be settled in the offense in plenty of time for what will be a unique but important role next fall.

So the Cowboys will have three scholarship running backs in spring ball with Gordon, Green and redshirt freshman Sesi Vailahi. Two true freshmen — Rodney Fields Jr. and Jaden Allen-Hendrix — will arrive in the summer.

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Secondary focus for Oklahoma State

The biggest influx of early enrollees will be at defensive back, with three incoming freshmen and a transfer portal addition in Kobe Hylton from UTEP.

Among the high school players is Landyn Cleveland, who had perhaps the most impressive offer list of anyone OSU signed in this class. He had offers from Michigan, Washington, OU, Penn State, several SEC programs and many from around his home state of Texas, including the Longhorns.

The 6-foot, 183-pound defensive back from Mansfield (Texas) Legacy High School could fit multiple roles in the OSU secondary, and his early arrival gives the coaches an opportunity to find out where he fits best.

Two more Texas boys, Willie Nelson from Longview and David Kabongo from Roanoke, are in the mix for spring as well.

Hylton, with multiple years of college experience will have the edge in competing for a regular spot, having totaled 145 tackles over the past two seasons.

Young defensive backs have had the best opportunity for early playing time in recent years. This past season, Dylan Smith stepped into a part-time starting role at safety as a true freshman, and Kam Franklin appeared primarily on special teams in six games and still maintained his redshirt status due to postseason games no longer impacting eligiblity.

The Cowboys rotated several players in the secondary, and most of them return. Eight players started games at one of the five spots and only one is known to be gone, with D.J. McKinney having announced his transfer to Colorado.

The team’s top cornerback, Korie Black, has not made an official announcement on his status for 2024, and he has left open the idea he could declare for the NFL Draft when he last spoke to the media.

Either way, the competition for starting jobs will be intense based on the amount of experienced players in the group.

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Cowboys reboot tight end

Last year, OSU used the transfer portal to reform its tight end position, as well as the way it used.

But two tight ends and one fullback exhausted their eligibility this past season, including Josiah Johnson (698 snaps) and Braden Cassity (273 snaps), who were the two most-used players in the group.

Both of OSU’s tight end additions are enrolling early, with super-senior Tyler Foster coming in from Ohio, and Josh Ford making the move from Stillwater High School.

Foster and Ford are more traditional tight ends than Johnson, who began his career as a quarterback at UMass, and Cassity, who was recruited to OSU as a defensive end before switching to tight end then fullback.

And the newcomers bring good size. Foster is 6-foot-7, 249 pounds, and Ford is 6-foot-6, 252 pounds. They’ll both get a chance to work their way into the rotation in spring with Quinton Stewart and Tabry Shettron as the returning tight ends.

Jake Schultz, Bryce Drummond and Luke McEndoo will fill out the fullback depth chart.

While Ford will face the growing pains in making the jump to the college game, the early start should benefit him. Foster, on the other hand, seems likely to contend for a starting job right away.

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Oklahoma State football’s spring enrollees

Incoming freshmen

Name, Position, Height, Weight, Hometown (School)

Landyn Cleveland, DB, 6-0, 183, Mansfield, Texas (Legacy)

Josh Ford, TE, 6-6, 252, Stillwater

Tre Griffiths, WR, 6-3, 200, Keller, Texas

Temerrick Johnson, LB, 6-3, 209, Midlothian, Texas (Heritage)

David Kabongo, DB, 5-11, 185, Roanoke, Texas (Byron Nelson)

Willie Nelson, DB, 5-11, 170, Longview, Texas

Armstrong Nnodim, DL, 6-2, 257, Mesquite, Texas (Horn)

Transfer portal additions

Obi Ezeigbo, DE, 6-5, 252, Ewing, New Jersey (Gannon)

Tyler Foster, TE, 6-7, 249, Pickerington, Ohio (Ohio)

Isaia Glass, OL, 6-5, 295, Sun Tan Valley, Arizona (Arizona State)

A.J. Green, RB, 5-11, 205, Tulsa (Arkansas)

Kobe Hylton, DB, 6-0, 205, Snellville, Georgia (UTEP)

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State football 2024 spring enrollees arrive, including AJ Green