Gundy Talks Up Cowboys First 2024 Signing Class

Mike Gundy and the Oklahoma State football program announced the signing of 16 players to the 2024 signing class Wednesday morning.

Gundy met with members of the media to discuss the signing class prior to the Cowboys leaving for Houston and the TaxAct Texas Bowl. Here is some of what Gundy had to say: 

On the signing class: 

“Most of these guys have been committed to us for a long time. We really like it. It’s balanced. It’s a good number for the direction that we’ll go as we try to manage through the changes with rosters and such. Fifteen was the number we felt like would be fairly close to where it needs to be. This is obviously the first signing. There’ll be another one. There won’t be a signing, but portals, moving forward as we get into the latter part of January. And then again, it could change again with the portal window in the spring, but this will be the majority of it. It’ll be pretty close for the direction that we’re going.” 

On what they look for in high school players: 

“One of the things that we do in recruiting is, first off, we feel like they have to be a productive player in high school. Projecting guys out of high school to be good college players that aren’t productive in high school is a very low percentage. Now sometimes you have really, really, really productive guys in high school that might not project in college for body size, maybe speed, for a variety of reasons, but if they don't check that first box which is hey I'm a really good high school player, chances are they are not going to get that to happen in college.” 

On the running backs in the class: 

“So, [Rodney Fields Jr.] and [Jaden Allen-Hendrix] we feel like are physical runners. There’s a size difference, but Rodney runs bigger than his body. He’s very low to the ground, well put together, very physical, which got our attention when he was on video a year ago with a different school. We liked him from day one. He ran well. He’s wanted to be at Oklahoma State the majority of his life, and so we’re very excited about him and what he brings to the table. Jaden is bigger, obviously from much further away, but we really like him. [I] met him for the first time just a week ago when we came in for a visit with his mom, and he’s a potential 245-pound back. He’s just kind of scratching the surface. He changed schools. Originally, he was at a smaller school, so we feel like he hasn’t developed his body anywhere near what it’s going to be two years from now. So, we really like what he brings to the table. Some of the things we’re going rushing the ball, as you know all backs do, Ollie over the last few months has taken a lot of hits. So, [it’s] the physicality that he brings to the table, and obviously with Rodney, he gives us some of that, but a little bit more side-to-side.” 

On the DFW signees already generating chemistry: 

“They all have group texts now. I don’t know how all that works, but they communicate with each other. Once they commit, they get into that group text, for a lack of a better term. They watch each other’s highlights [and] they get to know each other. A good group of these guys were at every home game, so they see each other [and] their families see each other. So, it could be an advantage. The Dallas area is really an in-state area for us. There’s so many players that are in that [area]. For us, you can get there is three-and-a-half, four hours, even down to the Desoto area, you can get there in four hours pretty easy. So, we’ve had a number of those guys.” 

On Caleb Hackleman and the offensive lineman signees: 

“He kind of falls in that [DFW group]. It’s a little bit farther, but I think Texarkana is about five hours or something. He likes the college town. He likes the outdoor life. He’ll be very comfortable in Stillwater, which is one of the things we look for. We want to bring in young men that want to live in a college town and live in this environment, so they’ll stay as long as they can, and he fits that role. I think there’s three of them on here, Caleb, Chauncey and Nuku, the three guys that will come in and we’ll put them with Rob [Glass] for two years and let them develop and change. Our goal with those is to try and get three good years out of them. If you get more than that, it’s a bonus, but if we can get three good years out of a high school lineman who’s redshirting, then that means it’s been a productive recruit for us based on the time that they can get on the field after their bodies develop.” 

On LaDainian Fields: 

“He’s been interested in us for a while. He had another school that he’d been committed to, but obviously he’s close to home. We’ve had a number of players from Del City and he has got a relationship with [Rodney] Fields. So, as we just kind of pushed through it, there was a really good spot for him. We felt like he’s a guy that can come in and can help us a variety of ways. He’s a little different from the standpoint of he’s a very successful offensive player, [and] we think he has great defensive skills and also in the return game.” 

On Temerrick Johnson: 

“[Johnson and Collin Oliver are] very similar. Depending on how he grows he could stand up outside. He could move inside 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. We've had success taking 200, 205, 210-pound guys that will hit you and can run and those guys have benefited well. Nick Martin. [Malcolm] Rodriguez. Xavier [Benson] of course was older when we took him, but he's only 215 pounds, 220 maybe, but he can run and hit. Those guys have been good for us, and we see him that way.” 

On Tre Griffiths: 

“Tre is a wide receiver. [He] has played different positions and we had him up at our place in the summer. We really liked his ball skills and his ability to run. [He] moves well side-to-side. We think he could be a 215-pound guy in a year and a half, which gives you a thick receiver that can hold some leverage on the edge. He ran really well for us, and he is a very productive athlete. So, we like that side of it.” 

On Landyn Cleveland: 

“So, Landyn is a guy that we had committed for a long time, and he didn't get as much play early because some of the schools, maybe top-10 schools, won't see his size as what they're looking for. Once he was committed to us, then 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 and realized that, in their opinion, we should’ve been recruiting this guy. 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 one. [Bryan] 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.” 

On Willie Nelson: 

“I have a soft spot in my heart for East Texas kids, just based on the history that we've had. Go all the way back to [Brandon] Pettigrew [and] those guys. Most of them are raised blue-collar, salt of the earth, they’re tough. The high school coaches in that area are really old-school, tough, physical high school coaches. So, these guys understand work ethic, they understand the loyalty, and all the things that are involved with a successful program at this level. When they come in, they are almost programmed and ready to make that move and he falls in that area. We see a long tradition of football there. He might grow another inch. He might hit 5’11. He’ll be 185, but he is really good side-to-side and he can run which gives him a chance to make up for it.” 

On Jonathan Agumadu: 

“He’s put together. He’s in the McKinney area, and when you talk about these schools, they’ve been in programs since they were in eighth grade, where they have a lift during school, and they have training and lifting after. So, they’re pretty far along, and those are things we have to take into account. In that area, guys are pretty developed like he is, and then you look at Chauncey [Johnson] and he’s not scratched the surface because he’s not been through it the same. So, we try to take into account the environments and the programs they come from to try to give us a feel for what we think these young men will be doing two years from now.” 

On seeing young players develop: 

“It’s always fun for me to watch these guys develop. 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, just see them grow up and learn to take care of themselves and all that. For me, that’s a very enjoyable time.”