OSU football: Big season starting to pay recruiting dividends for Cowboys

In mid-July of 2011, Oklahoma State had five commitments for its 2012 class. One was a four-star prospect.

At the same point this year, Oklahoma State has secured 14 commitments. Four are four-star prospects.

“Everyone knows the program's on the rise,” said Luke Del Rio, a three-star recruit at quarterback who committed to OSU in May. “Coach Gundy has been bringing them from bowl game to bowl game ever since he got there. But last year they really burst onto the scene and kind of climbed into a different class with everything they did.”

Oklahoma State is no longer viewed as an intriguing second-tier option, a school whose recruiters need to convince high schoolers they could one day win big.

Now the Cowboys are a known commodity, with coaches able to tell recruits they will play for conference titles and BCS bowls, then show them the trophies to prove it.

“It wasn't just that they won all those games, but the teams they beat,” Del Rio said. “A team like Boise State and Kellen Moore, they have a lot of wins, but you don't see them that much. OSU beat Texas and they beat Oklahoma and they won the Fiesta Bowl. And all those games were on national TV for everyone to see.”

So, too, was the NFL Draft, a three-day event that gets plenty of hype on ESPN.