STILLWATER – I get it and I know Oklahoma State fans are asking, what’s up. Last weekend Oak Grove, La. safety Kam Franklin, one of the top pledges in the class and a commitment since Nov. 21, 2021 made an official visit to TCU. Since then, he has told Pokes Report that nothing has changed, and he is committed to the Cowboys. He just wanted to have a back-up plan and he had not taken any other visits. Now, Billy Walton III, an electrifying edge rusher that helped Dallas ISD school South Oak Cliff win a State Championship last season has confirmed he is taking a visit this weekend to Texas.
“Yes, I’m visiting Texas this weekend,” Walton III said by phone. “Oklahoma State is the only visit that I took and I’m not thinking about flipping (his commitment). I just want to see the college, see what’s different. No worries, I’m committed to Oklahoma State.”
I don’t think Texas is looking at it that way. The Longhorns and Walton II said Texas defensive coordinator “Coach PK” (Pete Kwiatkowski) is recruiting him. He confirmed that his contacts at Oklahoma State are defensive line coach Greg Richmond and recruiting analyst D.J. Linton. He has also talked frequently with defensive coordinator Derek Mason and has talked with head coach Mike Gundy.
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Walton with a sack last season.
Walton is related to a current Oklahoma State player and a former Cowboy cornerback as well. He is related to A.J. Green and current Oklahoma State starting corner and one of the real leaders now on defense in Jabbar Muhammad. Walton visited Oklahoma State on the weekend of the Spring Finale in football and had this to say about his official visit when he committed to Oklahoma State on April 26.
“Honestly, it’s all good in my blood and my family,” Walton III said back in April. “Jabbar [Muhammad’s] there, AJ [Green]; I already knew what the atmosphere there was. From that point, I was like ‘I got to get down there and see for myself,’ because I couldn’t make the decision without coming to Oklahoma. I love it there, so I just had to see how it is.
“As far as the visit went, it was honestly perfect,” Walton III continued. “They kept it real, no type of lies were told, they showed me a lot of stuff. So, yeah, it sealed the deal for me.”
Walton III (6-3, 220) said this is it and he doesn’t plan on any others visits now. Obviously, he has only taken one and this visit to Texas will be the second of the five each recruit is allowed. When I first spoke to Walton III, I told him, “I didn’t care what he was doing, I just needed the truth.” I think he gave it to me. This is not unusual, but like all of the recruiting activity it has moved up on the calendar. Some early commitments have always developed a desire to make other visits to be back out there like all of the prospects taking visits in the summer. This process used to happen more late in the football season or the final month before the old signing day on the first Wednesday in February.
Robert Allen - Pokes Report
Texas sites can portray Oklahoma State how they like, but this locker room has been a good one for the Cowboys.
Nobody wants to take it this way, least of all the Oklahoma State football staff or Cowboys fans, but it is a compliment. Texas wants Walton III and apparently doesn’t want to have to play against him. Looking at coverage from Texas sites, they are playing up Texas. Not a surprise, one site had the news as premium coverage. They should check social media as it is all over the recruiting platorms. One site used a rare picture of Texas defenders stopping Oklahoma State running back Jaylen Warren for no gain in the Cowboys 32-24 win at Texas (their sixth win in the last seven meetings in Austin and their fifth win in the last seven meetings overall). Warren had 193-yards on 33 carries in the game in Austin. Of course, Texas sites don’t come anywhere close to reporting those results. We are posting it out of fairness. This too, Texas has won two of the last three games.
Last season Walton III totaled 55 total tackles, 21 tackles for loss and 12 sacks en route to helping SOC to a 23-14 win over Liberty Hill for the Texas Class 5A Division II state title, the first state championship for Dallas ISD in 63 years.
I predict as a top 100 prospect in Texas and a senior for the Golden Bears, he will do even better this season.
