Tulsa World: Key recruits give OSU advantage

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Key recruits give OSU advantage
Toston and Bryant among many recruits who chose OSU over Texas A&M.

OSU's Dez Bryant, shown last week against Troy, is one of several Cowboys who considered Texas A&M before picking Oklahoma State. STEPHEN HOLMAN/Tulsa World

By BILL HAISTEN World Sports Writer
Published: 10/4/2008 2:05 AM
Last Modified: 10/4/2008 2:54 AM

Toston and Bryant among many recruits who chose OSU over Texas A&M.

In college football, recruiting is not a seasonal endeavor. It is an everyday endeavor, and, in many cases for Oklahoma State, it has become an everyday competition with Texas A&M.

"We go head-to-head with OU and Texas," Cowboy coach Mike Gundy said, "but it seems like we've gone head-to-head lately more with (A&M) than with anybody else."

About one-fourth of OSU's 83 scholarship players also were recruited by the Aggies.

Defensive starters Jeray Chatham, Ugo Chinasa and Perrish Cox — all were products of Texas high schools, all were recruited by the Aggies, and all wound up at OSU.

Brandon Pettigrew is a Texan (from Tyler). He was an Aggie recruit before becoming an All-Big 12 tight end for the Cowboys.

Keith Toston is a Texan (from Angleton). A&M recruited him to play safety. At OSU, he is a running back who ranks No. 2 in the Big 12 in rushing.

Dez Bryant hails from Lufkin, Texas — about 130 miles from the A&M campus in College Station and about 440 miles from Stillwater. Bryant considered Texas A&M but signed with Oklahoma State, where, as a sophomore, he has developed into a nationally elite wide receiver.

"As a sophomore in high school, yeah, I looked at A&M," Bryant said this week. "But as I got older, I looked harder (at Oklahoma State). I liked what I saw."

At 6:05 p.m. Saturday, in a non-televised Big 12 opener at Boone Pickens Stadium, the 21st-ranked Cowboys (4-0) and Aggies (2-2) compete in a more direct sense. If OSU can prevail as a 24-point favorite, it will be 5-0 for only the eighth time in school history.

A&M has a four-game win streak over OSU, and each of the last two contests was decided by one point.

The Cowboys are No. 1 nationally in rushing and rank third in scoring (51.8 points per game) and fourth in total offense (562.5-yard average). Traditionally strong but currently flawed, the Aggie defense ranks 115th nationally against the rush.

"We'll have to have a good week's work and pray for an earthquake," A&M defensive coordinator Joe Kines quipped. "The field might slump in the middle there, and we could funnel everybody toward the middle."

Offensively, the Aggies are last in the Big 12 in scoring, rushing and total offense.

"Every coach is always looking to be more talented, but this is our football team," A&M first-year coach Mike Sherman said. "I told (Aggie players) that I wouldn't trade them for anybody."

In their bid to sign Texas recruits, Cowboy coaches can sell their program as being one on the rise — a program outfitted with a $280 million stadium renovation. The new Aggie staff is attempting to reestablish A&M as a first-choice destination for in-state recruits.

From the mid-'80s through 1997, Texas A&M was the champion in the recruiting of Texas talent. But hard times descended upon Aggieland when Texas hired Mack Brown and Oklahoma hired Bob Stoops, and both turned out to be superstar recruiters.

A&M's recruiting also has been dented by LSU's return to power, the recent Texas success of Oklahoma State's Gundy staff and Aggie coaching instability.

In this decade, A&M has had three head coaches. Preceding Sherman were Dennis Franchione (who beat Texas twice but otherwise had a 30-30 record and 14 losses of at least 20 points) and R.C. Slocum (fired in 2002 after 14 mostly successful seasons).

In 1998, the Aggies won 11 games and beat Kansas State for the Big 12 title. In the nine-plus seasons since, A&M has a combined record of 63-51.

Bill Haisten 581-8397
bill.haisten@tulsaworld.com By BILL HAISTEN World Sports Writer

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