Overlooked but solid

Beau Johnson was overlooked but a solid recruit

by Brandon Chatmon
bchatmon@opubco.com
Follow me on Twitter @BChatmon

One of the main reasons for Oklahoma State’s recent rise has been quality evaluation on the recruiting trail. Running back Kendall Hunter, a two-time All-American, was a hidden gem out of Tyler, Texas and 2010 Biletnikoff Award winner Justin Blackmon was an overlooked prospect out of Plainview High School in Ardmore.

I decided to review recent OSU recruiting classes because it gives you a better feel for where the players you will see making plays on Saturdays this fall came from. And it makes it easier to understand recruiting is a full of unknowns so assuming an elite recruit will become an elite playmaker is fool’s gold, especially once you get past the players who are simply freaks of nature with sheer physical ability which is unmatched.

Here’s a look back at OSU’s recruiting Class of 2008 with a detailed look at each recruit, their ranking when they arrived on campus and their production or potential in the three years since joining the program. (I’ll break the class into several different blogs in the next few days)

Overall class rankings

Rivals ranking: #26

Scout ranking: #40

ESPN.com ranking: unranked. Given a C in overall grades in the Big 12 behind Oklahoma, Texas, Nebraska, Colorado, Texas A&M and Missouri.

Recruits

Maurice Gray, cornerback

Rivals ranking: 4 stars

Scout ranking: 3 stars

Other offers: Arizona State, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Ole Miss and others.

Impact on the program: Played a contributing role behind Perrish Cox and Terrance Anderson and on special teams in 2009. Probably not the impact expected from a four-star recruit but he wasn’t a complete bust.

Analysis: A decent pickup. Not great, not bad. Frankly, the type of player the Cowboys won’t recruit anytime soon because they have enough talented young corners on the roster and don’t need a veteran corner to play immediately.

Patrick Hoog, offensive guard