Revisiting OSU's 2005 signing class
Published: 2/3/2009 12:57 PM
Last Modified: 2/3/2009 12:57 PM
By all accounts, Oklahoma State appears to have put together another solid football recruiting signing class. National letters of intent will be signed Wednesday, and the so-called recruiting experts rate this OSU group as a top-25-30 class nationally.
Let's see in two or three years if Dexter Pratt, Clint Chelf, Brandon Webb, Jeremy Smith, Tracy Moore, Michael Bowie, Anthony Morgan, Jordan Barnes and others in this group live up to expectations they have today.
Four years ago, OSU's signing class was not well thought of on signing day. One service rated coach Mike Gundy's first class as the 42nd best nationally. Another service did not think that highly. It listed the Cowboys' collection of talent No. 64.
I wonder if they did a re-ranking today how the Cowboys class would fare. That class included Zac Robinson, who has rewritten every OSU quarterback record in just two years as a starter with his senior season still to play this fall. It also included Andre Sexton, who has been a standout the last three years at safety and linebacker and will leave ranked in OSU's top 10 of career tackles when his senior season ends this fall.
Jacob Lacey started 39 consecutive games at cornerback. Ricky Price started at wide receiver his first two seasons before switching over to safety, where he became a two-year starter. Matt Fodge set the standard for future OSU punters by winning the Ray Guy Award last fall in his senior season. The 2009 offensive line will feature Andrew Lewis and Brady Bond as fifth-year seniors who are entering their third full season as starters.
Offensive lineman Steve Denning and defensive backs Quinton Moore and T.J. Bell graduated, but were key players that developed into starters last season.
There were some busts in that class, which is typical of virtually every recruiting class. But the development of the class of 2005 is leaving a legacy for future Cowboy classes to attain.
"Those guys have done a lot,” Gundy said. “They’ve developed this program … and kind of changed the complexion of the way people look at us across the country."
--- Matt Doyle
Written by
Bill Haisten
Sports Writer
