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Oklahoma State Football Recruiting

Five-Star Offensive Tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. Includes Cowboys In Top 14

January 10, 2021
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One of the biggest names in the country in the 2022 class is Summer Creek HS (TX) offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr., who is considered as one of the best tackles in the class and among 5 star status. 

Banks, who is 6’5 and 300 pounds, is a former Oklahoma State commitment, being committed to the Cowboys from September of 2019 to July of 2020. The Cowboys were his first offer, when he was virtually unknown in the recruiting world.

On Sunday night, Banks put out a new top 14 list, narrowing his recruitment down. 

Along with the Cowboys are Utah, Alabama, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Auburn, Tennessee, Oregon, Texas, LSU, Texas Tech, Houston, Arkansas and Arizona State. 

Banks told me a few weeks ago that he does not have a timeline to his recruitment and that he is letting it just play out for now. He also told me that he and the Oklahoma State staff talk around two times a week. His decommitment was nothing personal but that he “just wanted to make sure I was making the best decision for myself and my family.”

Although Banks backed off his original pledge, this is the kind of athlete the Cowboys recruitng staff would gladly have back in the fold. Over the past year, he has surged from unknown to one of the best in the business. Many consider him the 3rd or 4th best tackle in the 2022 class but it would not surprise me if ended as the best when its all said and done. 

Pokes Report will continure to monitor the recruitment of Banks and any developments that may come over time. 

Discussion from...

Five-Star Offensive Tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. Includes Cowboys In Top 14

5,086 Views | 11 Replies | Last: 3 yr ago by Csquaredosu66
Csquaredosu66
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being a former Poke, i get some of the issues in recruitment.

I would like to know from that staff some of the reasons why YOU all think a few things...

  • why is it so hard to recruit top talent to OSU?
  • why do we see top talent flip so often and not the other way around?
  • Is recruiting budget, issues in the past (KU is higher than us) really an issue?
CaliforniaCowboy
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can you at least define "top talent"?

You mean like Hubbard heisman type players, or Wallace blinikoff type players, or are you simply talking about who the journalist services rank as top?

Top 15 QB in the country? (Illingworth)

what exactly are you asking them
OctaviusRex
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Csquaredosu66 said:

being a former Poke, i get some of the issues in recruitment.

I would like to know from that staff some of the reasons why YOU all think a few things...

  • why is it so hard to recruit top talent to OSU?
  • why do we see top talent flip so often and not the other way around?
  • Is recruiting budget, issues in the past (KU is higher than us) really an issue?

are you asking us our opinions why?

or are you asking the OSU football staff rhetorically why we think these things? or are you asking the PokesReport staff?

I don't follow the question
Marshall Levenson
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Why is it so hard to recruit top talent to OSU?
- This is a flawed question but I understand what you mean. "Top talent" is a relative term because the outside media wants you to think we are bringing in scrubs who aren't worthy of wearing a jersey. Yet the players we bring in are All Big 12 and national award finalists year in and year out.

Why do we see top talent flip so often and not the other way around?
- I don't think we see it very often to be honest. Yes, Banks decommitted but we are still among his favorites. We've had decommitments in the past but it was in the middle of cycles and we replaced with players of much better talent. I have examples if you would like or care to know!

Is recruiting budget, issues in the past (KU is higher than us) really an issue?
- Yes, it is. In normal years, you are required to pay for official visits, coaching visits, plane tickets, hotels, rental cars, and much more. OkState's budget is under 1 million while the "big schools" that get "top talent" are using over 1.5-2 million. It makes a big difference, especially if you want to recruit nationally.
Zach Lancaster
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Staff
It's going to be interesting to see how the pandemic affects the recruiting budget moving forward in all sports on campus, not just football. Sure, they're not spending the money they normally would because of NCAA restrictions, but the university just isn't making the money it usually does and I think it'll be a ripple effect for years to come.
CaliforniaCowboy
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Zach Lancaster said:

It's going to be interesting to see how the pandemic affects the recruiting budget moving forward in all sports on campus, not just football. Sure, they're not spending the money they normally would because of NCAA restrictions, but the university just isn't making the money it usually does and I think it'll be a ripple effect for years to come.
what exactly do you expect to "ripple"?

won't it be more like on/off? Get vaccine = worries over?

Maybe through July or so, but this could be under control by September football kickoff.


Zach Lancaster
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Staff
Just in terms of money. The athletic department has been able to stockpile money in previous years based on full stadiums night in and night out. They're not getting that this year in any sport and money is pivotal to success in every sport, especially football. It just seems like they're going to be playing catch up over the next few years, especially if the AD isn't willing to take loans.
CaliforniaCowboy
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okay... maybe.

The school is on a fiscal year, which begins anew on July 1.

Assuming this year is pretty much a wash (with budget cuts, salary cuts, etc) and with Bowl money / Big12 TV money, hopefully basketball money .... plus "some" ticket sales for football and BB.... (and possible donations)

Next year (July) starts fresh, the only "ripple" (I would think) would be if the pandemic is still lingering, and season ticket sales are affected.

There definitely could be a budget impact into next year, we won't really know until the vaccine distribution becomes more clear.

Unless Sleepy Joe screws this up, operation light speed should have us in good shape in a matter of 6 months or so.

Orangeheart72
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IMO, this money situation won't be resolved at OSU unless we have a couple/three Boone Pickens like donors pop up and stay involved for some years. But our recruiting has seemingly been showing improvement in the last few years. A top qb out of Texas, a near heisman type running back, another great WR and a bunch of near NFL talent db's. And for years, we couldn't hardly field a decent string of DL it seemed, certainly not across a four or five man line. Now we're seemingly quite talented at both the inside and rush end positions. Our thorn has been the OL and we appear to have the guy who can make a big change in that settled in with Gundy at this point. If he can pull in a couple/three more talented guys in this next class (and he has a couple of the best in his basket of hopefuls), this may again become a strength for the Cowboys........as Glass can get them ready!
CaliforniaCowboy
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recruiting budget is not really a problem, IMHO.

This year the AD budget in general is a problem, as it is for everybody, but the NCAA does not allow visits anyway, so, budget is not really a current recruiting problem.

We have all of our facilities built (and essentially paid for).

We have enough donors to make up any deficiencies that we may have over the long haul, especially an extra million or so for recruiting.

Other schools field top teams with much less than we have. (Cincy this year comes to mind). TCU and BU don't have more anything than us, and they often make a laughing stock out of us. ISU won the reg season conf, and beat OU, for example.

It is about the coach.... it is always about the coach.... at every school. The success and the failure.

We will never have the depth of ready players that several blue-bloods have, and with the unusual string of injuries, dismissals and defections we had on our OLine, we simply could not sufficiently recover within the timeframe that we had to work with.

It happens. It's disappointing, but it happens.

Csquaredosu66
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Marshall Levenson said:

Why is it so hard to recruit top talent to OSU?
- This is a flawed question but I understand what you mean. "Top talent" is a relative term because the outside media wants you to think we are bringing in scrubs who aren't worthy of wearing a jersey. Yet the players we bring in are All Big 12 and national award finalists year in and year out.

Why do we see top talent flip so often and not the other way around?
- I don't think we see it very often to be honest. Yes, Banks decommitted but we are still among his favorites. We've had decommitments in the past but it was in the middle of cycles and we replaced with players of much better talent. I have examples if you would like or care to know!

Is recruiting budget, issues in the past (KU is higher than us) really an issue?
- Yes, it is. In normal years, you are required to pay for official visits, coaching visits, plane tickets, hotels, rental cars, and much more. OkState's budget is under 1 million while the "big schools" that get "top talent" are using over 1.5-2 million. It makes a big difference, especially if you want to recruit nationally.
Thanks!
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