Oklahoma State Finds Absolute Gold in Portal in Linebacker Brandon Rawls

STILLWATER – One crucial member of the Oklahoma State football program when it comes to the transfer portal and roster building had Brandon Rawls picked out at leat two months ago. In the evaluation process of preparing for the this portal window the Oklahoma State staff evaluated over 800 players and Rawls was as enticing as any of them and he was playing at Division II Saginaw Valley State. The 6-2, 240 pound Rawls visited Oklahoma State on Monday and Tuesday and by the time he left the West End Zone had decided to chase his dream of playing Division I Power Four football at OKlahoma State.

Saginaw Valley State University Athletics

Rawls playing for the SVSU Cardinals.

Rawls has speed and size and plays with an urgency that is easy to see on video. This past season he played in nine games and earned second-team All-Great Lakes Athletic Conference honors. He had 55 total tackles, 6.5 tackles-for-loss (44-yds.) and 3.5 sacks (38-yds.) with two interceptions, two fumbles recovered and a fumble caused.  The defense as a whole held opponents to 17.2 points per game, 279.8-yards of total offense per game and just 85.2-yards rushing per game. They had 34 sacks andforced  19 turnovers, Rawls was a part of five of those turnovers. 

Saginaw Valley State University Athletics

Rawls

A native of Ann Arbor and Huron High School, he was named the top defensive player in Ann Arbor as a senior. That season he helped Ann Arbor to their first winning season in six-years and to their first playoff win in 12-years. He was a three-year captain and four-year starter that finished with 243-tackles, four interceptions, 17 tackles-for-loss, 19 sacks, and three touchdowns in his career. He was second-team All-State.

Football is pretty important to Rawls and he had always thought growing up in the shadow of the “Big House” and the University of Michigan that he could play at the Division I level. 

In his two previous seasons at Saginaw Valley State, he had 98 tackles, 18 tackles-for-loss, a sack and a pass deflection. 

Adding Rawls to go with previous portal commitment Bryan McCoy coming from Akron and the linebacker corps at Oklahoma State has added talent and depth.