STILLWATER – A few years ago, Oklahoma State has had some good tight endsbut not real tight ends.
In the 2019-20 seasons, the Cowboy tight end lineup looked something like this:
-
Jelani Woods, a converted quarterback.
-
Logan Carter, a walk-on who played offensive and defensive tackle in high school.
-
Dayton Metcalf, a walk-on who was a high school quarterback.
-
Braden Cassity, a converted defensive end.
All four were viable players who added value in different areas.
Woods ended up being drafted by the Indianapolis Colts and is entering his third year in the NFL. Carter was ultra-reliable and Metcalf performed consistently when called upon. Cassity was young at that time, but he developed into a stout blocker who could occasionally catch a few passes as well.
More: Why Kenyatta Wright is the ideal choice as Oklahoma State football’s chief financial officer
All four were solid players, but none of them made it to OSU as tight ends.
That’s a shift in coach Mike Gundy’s recruiting philosophy in recent years, as his offense has begun to rely more on help from that position — and the 2025 recruiting class is another step in that direction.
With few exceptions, the Cowboys focused for most of the 2010s on trying to minimize investment in recruiting for the position, looking for players who were physical, of good size and could be molded for the role.
It worked for guys like the ones mentioned above and a few others along the way, like Blake Jarwin, who moved on after a strong high school career at Tuttle.
But especially after the struggles OSU has faced offensively in 2022, Gundy’s focus has turned to getting more out of the tight end.
Last year, OSU turned to the transfer portal for an instant infusion of talent at the position, led by UMass transfer Josiah Johnson. And he had a strong season, which catapulted him into an NFL free agent contract following the draft in April.
The Pokes will try to replicate that with Ohio transfer Tyler Foster this season, a big, experienced player with a year of eligibility remaining.
More: Colorado’s Deion Sanders eager to face Oklahoma State football’s Mike Gundy
Last December, the Cowboys signed Josh Ford from Stillwater, who was one of the freshmen who generated buzz during spring ball because of his physical attributes.
The Cowboys currently have four tight ends on scholarship, all of whom played the position before coming to OSU.
And now, the class of 2025 has two commitments.
OSU landed Jordan Vyborny in early May. He’s a 6-foot-2, 200-pound recruit from Draper, Utah, with good athletic traits who is honing his skills at tight end.
Just over a month later, the Pokes landed a commitment from Isaiah Butler-Tanner of Killeen, Texas. The 6-foot-2, 245-pounder is among the top five recruits in the class, according to 247Sports, and showed great versatility in high school.
In the previous 12 recruiting classes, OSU signed six high school or college tight ends.
More: Oklahoma State football very early, game-by-game predictions for the Cowboys’ 2024 season
The class of 2012 was the last time OSU added two tight ends, signing Zac Veatch from Broken Arrow and Blake Jackson from Scottsdale (Arizona) Community College, and both filled their roles well during their time with the Cowboys.
With the emphasis on how the tight end is used on offense now – lining up in either a traditional end position or in today’s more common wing or fullback roles – the players needed for the job need diverse skills, but also the raw physicality to fight in the trenches.
The receiving element of the tight end game may or may not increase in the future.
Johnson had 166 yards on 22 receptions last year, the most yards by an OSU tight end since Jarwin had 309 in 2016. And Johnson played 66.2% of OSU’s offensive snaps, taking 398 of its 698 total. snaps on passing plays.
Therefore, blocking remains task number 1.
Still, the Cowboys’ investment in the position has clearly grown, so the next step is to further increase the impact on the field.
This article originally appeared in the Oklahoman: Oklahoma State football recruiting philosophy changes in difficult situations
