Why Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy gives ‘good hard looks’ to local recruits
STILLWATER — The Oklahoma State football program signed three in-state players on Wednesday’s National Signing Day — Del City star running back Rodney Fields Jr., his cousin and Del City star defensive back LaDainian Fields and Stillwater tight end Josh Ford — but again focused heavily on north Texas.
Cowboys coach Mike Gundy said he considers that area local along with the in-state players.
“We take a lot of players that are within a three-hour drive that may not be recruited very highly because we try to give the local guys, for lack of a better term, really good hard looks,” Gundy said.
OSU added eight players from the Dallas-Fort Worth area, which fits in Gundy’s local radius.
Gundy and his coaches hope that landing guys within that area lead to them remaining with the Cowboys longer.
He was also asked if recruiting Oklahoma has gotten tougher with the increase of focus from OU and Tulsa.
“I don’t see that," Gundy said. “I think we’ve had as much access as we've had over the years. I don’t think it’s been much different for us.”
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Cowboys hold onto Landyn Cleveland
Perhaps the biggest win for the recruiting class was maintaining the pledge of defensive back Landyn Cleveland, a star at Mansfield (Texas) Legacy.
The 6-foot, 183-pound, three-star recruit committed to the Cowboys in April, choosing them over Michigan, Texas, Texas A&M and others.
But other big programs did not back off.
Cleveland added offers from Alabama, Missouri and OU throughout the next several months. Still, he never wavered on choosing OSU.
A big reason was first-year defensive coordinator Bryan Nardo.
“Once he was committed to us and everybody starts evaluating who we have committed and then they saw some games he played through the first three or four games of the year, they realized that in their opinion, ‘We should have been recruiting this guy,’” Gundy said. “The schools that came in on him in most cases there’s a high percentage that we have lost those guys. But he has been very loyal and stayed with us from Day 1.
“Nardo recruited him and has been on him and has a really good relationship with him, we have a good relationship with his home base and we were able to keep him for that reason.”
OSU also held off a late push by others to sign offensive lineman Nuku Mafi, who is from Salt Lake City.
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Gundy has ‘soft spot’ for East Texas
Not only does new defensive back Willie Nelson have a famous name, he has a special place in Gundy’s heart.
“I have a soft spot in my heart for East Texas kids just based on the history that we’ve had,” Gundy said. “You can go all the way back to (Brandon) Pettigrew and those guys.”
The Cowboys signed two from the area.
Nelson, who is from Longview, and offensive lineman Caleb Hackelman, who is from Texarkana. Hackelman attended Pleasant Grove, the same high school as linebackers Nick Martin and Xavier Benson.
More: Why Ollie Gordon II is excited about future of Oklahoma State football's offensive line
Extra points
OSU is expected to have 10 signees graduate early and enroll in January, including quarterback Maealiuaki Smith, the last player to sign Wednesday since he was in California.
The Cowboys signed just one receiver, 6-foot-3, 200-pound Tre Griffiths out of Keller, Texas. “He could be a 215-pound guy in a year and a half, which gives you a thick receiver who can hold some leverage on the edge. But he ran very well for us and he’s a very productive athlete.”
Temerrick Johnson, a 6-foot-3, 209-pound linebacker from Heritage High in Midlothian, Texas, has a similar projection as Collin Oliver. He played stand-up defensive end in high school but Gundy also said he could move inside with the Cowboys’ defensive scheme, “depending on what he does in the weight room in 18 months. But what we like about him is he’s active, he’s a good tackler and he can run.” Gundy also compared Johnson to Martin, Benson and Malcolm Rodriguez.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy explains recruiting approach
