Can Oklahoma State's Mike Gundy continue developmental recruiting method in portal era?

STILLWATER — A few minutes after noon Wednesday, Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy stepped to the podium to discuss his football program’s latest signing class, which included 16 players at the time, but seems likely to reach 18 before the weekend.

It’s a typical Gundy recruiting class.

What does that mean? Basically, it won’t pop up high in national recruiting rankings or satisfy the fans who expect a truckload of four-star players every National Signing Day.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the Cowboy class ranked a few spots outside the top 50 in the 247Sports composite rankings.

Yet this is how Gundy has not only built but also maintained a highly regarded program on the national landscape.

Next Wednesday, the 20th-ranked Cowboys will face Texas A&M in the Texas Bowl at NRG Stadium in Houston, with OSU chasing its 10th win of the season — which will be the eighth such season under Gundy since 2010.

So his results are hard to argue with.

Gundy’s philosophy has long been for him and his staff to identify players that fit the culture and playing style of OSU football, who have untapped potential and are comfortable living in Stillwater.

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How Rob Glass, Mike Gundy develop OSU football players

Then they nurture the natural talent and develop those players into four-star quality, even if they weren’t so highly recruited out of high school.

Yet the bigger looming question is whether Gundy’s development strategy can sustain in the transfer portal era.

“This hasn’t changed for us,” Gundy said of his recruiting philosophy. “The challenge is keeping them. So we bring these young guys in to develop them in the program. The majority of these players are gonna start to show up in two-to-three years. But as it is right now, some of them might not be here.

“So the process to get to this point and develop them has not changed. The change is, how many of them will be here? Which I’ve jokingly said, ‘We could be developing young men for somebody else these days.’ But it is what it is.”

Of the seven OSU players to enter the transfer portal this month, six have played three or fewer seasons of college football. And of those six, five are players who came to OSU out of high school.

Last year, OSU had 11 departures who fit those categories.

So Gundy’s concern is real. But he has also shown an evolution in his view of the effort he must put into retaining players since the rise of the name, image and likeness marketplace.

The Cowboys made efforts to keep key young players a year ago, and similar work is being done to assure Doak Walker Award-winning running back Ollie Gordon II sticks around this winter.

Additionally, Gundy and Co. have shown a knack for finding incoming transfers to fit in and contribute when players depart.

And those two developments become central to Gundy’s ability to maintain his discover-and-develop recruiting philosophy.

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OSU not focused on recruiting rankings

Based on national rankings, this class could end up being one of the worst-ranked recruiting classes Gundy has assembled. But it also seems ripe for a developmental rise.

Defensive back Landyn Cleveland is one of the top-ranked prospects in the class as a highly graded three-star. He committed to OSU in April and stayed loyal after Southeastern Conference programs, including OU and Alabama came in with offers.

Gundy alluded to some of his recruits from programs that are less advanced than schools, for instance, in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.

So someone like offensive lineman Chauncey Johnson, a 6-foot-5, 290-pound offensive lineman from Lonoke, Arkansas, could see quick and significant physical development in the strength and conditioning program with Rob Glass. And he’s not the only one.

“It’s always fun for me to watch these guys develop,” Gundy said. “I’m hoping the large majority of them will be with us all the way through. Sometimes we don’t get to see it now, with the portal. But it’s fun to watch the guys come in and change their bodies, drop their speed, see them learn to grow up, take care of themselves, all that. For me, that’s a very enjoyable time.”

Glass’ value to the program overall, but specifically player development, has remained a steadfast component of Gundy’s overall success. That’s why Glass was given his five-year contract in 2022.

And with nine of the Cowboys’ new signees set to arrive on campus next month, Glass can get to work on them right away.

“The funny thing is, we’ve got 16 of them here, and you can’t predict which ones are gonna do anything,” Gundy said. “For so many years, we tried to do that as coaches, predict guys we thought would play within two years, guys that would play and be starters for three years. It’s hard to tell.

“We know a lot about these young men, but we won’t know until they get here. That’s the fun side of this part of recruiting.”

More: Ollie Gordon II’s announcement on Oklahoma State football will come 'on my own time’

Oklahoma State football 2024 recruiting class

Here’s a look at Oklahoma State’s football recruiting class of 2024:

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

• Jonathan Agumadu, LB, 6-1, 220, McKinney, Texas

• Jaden Allen-Hendrix, RB, 6-2, 225, Columbia, South Carolina (Irmo)

• Landyn Cleveland, S, 6-0, 185, Mansfield, Texas (Legacy)

• LaDainian Fields, DB, 6-1, 175, Del City

• Rodney Fields, RB, 5-9, 187, Del City

• Josh Ford, TE, 6-6, 250, Stillwater

• Tre Griffiths, WR, 6-3, 205, Keller, Texas

• Caleb Hackleman, OL, 6-6, 275, Texarkana, Texas (Pleasant Grove)

• Chauncey Johnson, OL, 6-4, 295, Lonoke, Arkansas

• Temerrick Johnson, OLB/DE, 6-3, 205, Midlothian, Texas (Heritage)

• David Kabongo, S, 5-11, 180, Trophy Club, Texas (Byron Nelson)

• Nuku Mafi, OL, 6-4, 295, Salt Lake City (West)

• Willie Nelson, DB, 5-9, 170, Longview, Texas

• Armstrong Nnodim, DL, 6-2, 250, Mesquite, Texas (Horn)

• Maealiuaki Smith, QB, 6-4, 210, San Mateo, California (Junipero Serra)

• Luke Webb, DE, 6-3, 280, Deer Park, Texas

• Gunnar Wilson, LB, 6-2, 210, Melissa, Texas

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State football, Mike Gundy eye developmental recruiting route