Two Oklahoma State Signees and A Lot of Offers for the Future Make DMN All-Area Team
STILLWATER – It is one of the oldest and most prestigious newspaper all-star football teams in America and in the football crazy Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex it is quite an honor for a player to make the Dallas Morning News All-Area team. Veteran reporters Greg Riddle, a Fort Worth native that has been with the Dallas Morning News since 2000 and Shawn McFarland, who has covered college and professional sports in the Boston-area were responsible for putting the 2021 Dallas Morning News All-Area team together and two of Oklahoma State’s signees in the their 2022 recruiting class were honored with Euless Trinity running back Ollie Gordon and Colleyville Heritage cornerback Dylahn (D.J.) McKinney both making it.
The 6-1, 210-pound Gordon is an exceptional athlete, and he was pushed late in recruiting by USC and Texas. He stayed true to his Oklahoma State pledge. Here is what the DMN said about his selection as a first-team running back.
While he started the season off as a quarterback in Trinity’s Power-I offense, Gordon transitioned back to his normal position of running back midseason. The results were as expected: Gordon led Dallas-area 6A rushers with 2,478 yards on the ground and 35 rushing touchdowns. He scored six touchdowns in the playoffs for Trinity, which went 11-2 and lost to Allen in the 6A-I regional semifinals.
The 6-0, 175-pound McKinney was a three-year starter at Colleyville Heritage. He signed with Oklahoma State over a number of schools including Missouri and Arizona. Here is what was written about the ball hawking McKinney.
The District 4-5A Division I MVP intercepted six passes, returning three for touchdowns. He was phenomenal on special teams, blocking five field goal attempts and four extra-point attempts, and he also had 18 pass breakups for an 11-2 team that reached the 5A Division I Region I final. The three-star recruit is rated the fifth-best cornerback in the Dallas area and the 71st-best cornerback in the nation in the Class of 2022.
Now, among the other players honored by the Dallas Morning News are players Oklahoma State is recruiting and have offered scholarships. Defensive end D.J. Hicks is a 6-4, 250-pound first-team defensive end out of Allen, Texas. Hicks has 36 scholarship offers and among those options for the junior are Alabama, Georgia, Clemson, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, and Utah.
Duncanville linebacker Colin Simmons (6-1, 210) made the first-team and has 24 scholarship offers as a junior and those include Oklahoma State, Arkansas, Michigan State, and Texas.
Anthony Hill Jr. is a 6-2, 225-pound junior linebacker out of Denton Ryan High School is another first-team selection, and he has 236 total tackles the past two seasons with 29 tackles for loss. He also has 30 scholarship offers including Oklahoma State, Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Ohio State, Texas, and Texas A&M.
Eli Bowen is a sophomore corner that made the first-team and the 5-9, 170-pound Denton Guyer performer only has a couple of offers so far in LSU and Colorado, but Oklahoma State is interested.
Second-team selections that Oklahoma State has their eyes on include defensive end Enow Etta of Colleyville Covenant. The 6-4, 235-pound Etta has 12 offers including Oklahoma State, Michigan State, Utah, and Wisconsin.
Another defensive lineman is Fort Worth Nolan’s Kaleb James. The 6-4, 250-pound James is also a first-team All-State player with 110 tackles this past season, 25 tackles-for-loss, and 15 sacks. He was a visitor at Bedlam and had Oklahoma as a leader before the coaching change in Norman including the defensive line coach he had built a relationship with. The opening is there.
Kylan Salter is a 6-2, 225-pound junior linebacker out of Cedar Hill. He has five offers.
Jaylon Braxton is from Frisco Lone Star, so he has former teammates Jaden Nixon and now quarterback Garret Rangel at OSU. The 6-1, 170-pound Braxton has offers from 12 schools including Oklahoma State, Baylor, and Utah.
Malik Muhammad Jr. helped South Oak Cliff win a state championship this season. He is the cousin of former Oklahoma State corner A.J. Green and the brother of current Cowboy Jabbar Muhammad. He has 43 offers including almost every major school out there.
One of the more interesting players named to the All-Area team is freshman wide receiver Gracen Harris out of Ennis, Texas. The 5-7, 160-pound speedster does already have three offers and those are Kansas, Pittsburgh, and Texas Tech.