Six Recruiting Battles Where A Bedlam Win Would Boost OSU (PFB+)

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Bedlam on Nov. 21 will be for much more than just bragging rights. It will be for the right to claim frontrunner status in the Big 12. It will be for bragging rights (of course). And it will also be for a boost in perception on the recruiting trail.

Claiming a win over a ranked opponent tends to get the attention of recruits.

In the case of Oklahoma State, a win over Oklahoma is the equivalent of two wins over ranked foes. OU is a national brand. It is viewed as the top dog in the state. But to disrupt that perception, especially in the region, would give OSU an elevated standing in the state, and also in Texas and the surrounding area.

So what’s at stake for OSU in two weeks? (No pressure!) but actually, quite lot! As for the recruiting side of things, here are five battles that would help OSU’s standings with a W.

1. Gentry Williams, 6-0, 170, ATH, 2022: The Booker T. Washington (Okla.) standout suffered a season-ending ACL injury that hurt his stock a tad, but prior to that, he was viewed as the no-doubt-about-it No. 1 prospect in the state. In fact, he’s still ranked by 247Sports as the No. 1 talent in the state and the No. 15 prospect overall nationally. Most folks saw him as a virtual lock to land with OU, but no doubt his recruitment has cooled of late in the wake of his injury, potentially opening a door for OSU to make a late run at the 2022 standout.

2. Maurion Horn, 5-11, 175, CB, 2022: Horn is the superstar corner from Broken Arrow High School whose stock is soaring, with offers from Kansas, Texas, Iowa State, Michigan State, USC, Nebraska and Texas Tech since the new year. But worth noting here that OSU was the first Big 12 program to jump in the mix for the in-state standout last spring, offering him just a day before OU got involved with their own offer. All the crystal ball predictions on him read OU for now, but they’re dated at this point and I think it’s still a wide-open race.

3. Chris McLellan, 6-3, 260, DT, 2022: A Tulsa Edison standout, McLellan has been on OSU’s radar for years now. The staff formally offered this spring, and right now it looks like a recruitment that could go national, with Ole Miss, Oregon State, SMU, Iowa State and Memphis already pushing for his services. OU isn’t involved yet, but a win over OU on the field could help if they one day do get involved.

4. AJ Green, 5-11, 194, RB, 2021: This is a dream that feels a bit pipey – Green has already committed to Arkansas – but it doesn’t seem totally impossible. OSU was among the final schools in the mix to land him when he committed this fall. And it’s still clear that right now, OSU needs to take at least one more running back commitment in this class to feel good about the position group moving forward. I suspect OSU will continue to stay in contact with the Tulsa Union standout in the hopes that, if he has a change of heart, they’ll be waiting with open arms. It may take a little unexpected momentum to get there, but a win over OU – or better yet, a regular-season win over OU and a postseason win over OU – would do wonders to potentially reach that point.

5. Alton McCaskill, 6-1, 200, RB, 2021: Speaking of running backs, McCaskill is an uncommitted target on the board who could wind up as the prized jewel of OSU’s class if he went that direction. The Oak Ridge, Texas standout has 32 (!!) Division I offers, but it appears to be down to Houston, Ole Miss, OSU, USC and Vanderbilt for now, with no clear favorite.

6. Braylin Presley, 5-8, 165, RB, 2022: Look, the offer sheet doesn’t reflect this now, but I think we’ve reached the point where people believe with all their hearts that Braylin Presley is the best athlete in the state of Oklahoma. Maybe not national analysts. But definitely people in the state. And Presley is right down the road at Bixby High School … and he’s also the younger brother of OSU freshman Brennan Presley. If I’m OSU, I’m winning Bedlam then calling Braylin from the locker room to offer on the spot. They can’t afford to dilly-dally and should cut to a full-on pursuit before it’s too late and he starts to feel slighted.

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One: we’ve done this before right? We obviously do better than ou, would be a better landing spot, and then the kid picks ou. I think most of those kids have been more douche-y than what we take in. That being said, KB, which one of these guys is the most and least douche-y?

Two: AJ Green v McCaskill - I don’t feel like this is as close as it should seem. AJ is going to Arkansas and McCaskill has OSU in his final. Is there really the opportunity to flip AJ? Wouldn’t we be all-in on McCaskill? The dude is big.

Three: how ballsy would it be for Braylin to get a Facetime from his brother from the locker room with the whole team just hootin and hollerin and then all of a sudden MG gets on like, “Hey Braylin, we were thinking we could continue having this much fun with you here with us. We’re offering you a scholly. Be a man.” [mic drop] every starts hootin and hollerin again as MG breaks it down with his goofy a$$.

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I … don’t know how to answer your “douchey” question. But Braylin seems like the nicest kid to me, which is probably because I see the most news coverage of him living so close to him.

AJ Green vs. McCaskill is playing likelihood. OSU’s best shot is McCaskill since AJ Green has already committed. But OSU I think prefers Green. It’s one of those things where it doesn’t hurt to stay in contact with Green and hope that, potentially something changes. (I.E. Arkansas takes another RB in the class without telling him or Arkansas goes in the pooper and loses out.)

Third, that does seem like something Mike Gundy would do, but he tends to make offers very personalized. So doing it on a whim via facetime is probably not super on brand, though I’d definitely be here for that.

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Thank you for saying pooper.

I would expect nothing less than 17 articles if video did surface of MG doing such things as described in my comment. And I’d be here for it.

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Love the pfb+ only mini-article! Would love to see more of these.

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How much of an impact on recruiting decisions do we seriously think a single Bedlam win could have? I really don’t see that being a huge factor.

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Losing Bedlam 58-23 in 2015 eventually led Levi Draper, a four-star linebacker who had been committed to OSU for months, to decommit and ultimately flip to OU within a week of the outcome.

Would he have flipped eventually anyway? Maybe, maybe not. But had OSU won, I doubt he does all that within a week of the game. At least not without some serious criticism and questioning. When he did it, though, it was pretty accepted because OU was clearly superior to OSU.

Bedlam matters in recruiting.

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I certainly agree Bedlam matters in recruiting. I just question how much a single game matters.

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I honestly think, in the case of defensive players like Maurion Horn or Gentry Williams (ATH, but whatever), given that we have a heavily improved defense, if it shows up and we beat OU because of it, I could see them leaning toward us.

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