Oklahoma
Oklahoma State football’s adjusted emphasis on tight ends shows in 2025 recruiting class
Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy talks about first spring practice
Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy talks about Cowboys’ first spring practice
OSU ATHLETICS
STILLWATER — A few years ago, Oklahoma State had some good tight ends, but no real tight ends.
In the 2019-20 seasons, the Cowboy tight end roster looked something like this:
- Jelani Woods, a converted quarterback.
- Logan Carter, a walk-on who played offensive tackle and defensive end 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 provided value in different areas.
Woods ultimately went on to be drafted by the Indianapolis Colts and is entering his third year in the NFL. Carter was ultra-reliable and Metcalf was a consistent performer when called upon. Cassity was young back then, but developed into a stalwart blocker who could occasionally catch some passes, too.
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All four were solid players, but none of them came to OSU as tight ends.
That’s a change in coach Mike Gundy’s recruiting philosophy over the last couple of years as his offense has begun to lean more heavily on help from that position — and the 2025 recruiting class is another step in that direction.
With few exceptions, the Cowboys focused throughout the majority of the 2010s on trying to minimize their recruiting investment in the position, looking for players who were physical with good size and could be molded into the role.
It worked out with guys like those mentioned above and a few others along the way, like Blake Jarwin, who walked on after a strong high school career at Tuttle.
But particularly after the struggles OSU faced offensively in 2022, Gundy’s focus turned to getting more from the tight end.
Last year, OSU turned to the transfer portal to get an instant infusion of talent at the position, led by UMass transfer Josiah Johnson. And he had a strong season, which catapulted him to an NFL free-agent contract after the draft in April.
The Pokes will try to replicate that with Ohio transfer Tyler Foster this season, a big, experienced player with one year of eligibility remaining.
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Last December, the Cowboys signed Stillwater’s Josh Ford, who was one of the freshmen creating some 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 2025 class has a pair of commitments.
OSU landed Jordan Vyborny in early May. He’s a 6-foot-5, 230-pound recruit out of Draper, Utah, with good athletic traits who is polishing his tight end skills.
Just over a month later, the Pokes got a commitment from Isaiah Butler-Tanner out of Killeen, Texas. The 6-foot-5, 245-pounder is among the top five highest rated recruits in the class, according to 247Sports, and has shown great versatility in high school.
Over the previous 12 recruiting classes, OSU has signed six tight ends from the high school or junior-college level.
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The 2012 class 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 as Cowboys.
With the emphasis of how the tight end is used in the offense now — aligning both in a traditional end-of-the-line position as well as today’s more common wing or fullback roles — the players needed for the spot need diverse skills, but also the brute physicality to do battle in the trenches.
The receiving element of the tight end game might or might not rise going forward.
Johnson had 166 receiving yards on 22 catches 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, with 398 of his 698 total snaps on passing plays.
So blocking remains task No. 1.
Still, the Cowboys’ investment in the position has clearly grown, so the next step is further increasing the impact on the field.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are taking on the San Antonio Spurs in the Semi Final of the 2025 NBA Cup tournament. This is the third year of the event and second straight trip for the OKC Thunder to the Semi Final.
This is set to be a barn burner, as the Oklahoma City Thunder enter this contest 24-1 and the San Antonio Spurs sit at 17-7. Though, the even better news for both sides is the injury report. The Spurs get back generational talent Victor Wembanyama from his multi-week stint on the injured list and the Isaiah Hartenstein returns for Oklahoma City after missing the Thunder’s last five games.
With Oklahoma City only missing Isaiah Joe (knee contusion) in this contest, it gives them a rare treat. The Thunder for the first time all season will have their fully healthy starting five at their disposal. Many believe Mark Daigneault will deploy superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Defensive ace Lu Dort, All NBA swingman Jalen Williams, Rising star Chet Holmgren and Hartenstein.
This was the first time all season the Thunder have had the chance to prove that thought process right. It can be hard to navigate such a talent filled roster especially as well as Cason Wallace played as a spot starter and leading the league in steals.
In the end, the Oklahoma City Thunder weren’t the ones to throw a curveball with the starting lineup. It was the San Antonio Spurs who will bring Victor Wembanyama off the bench according to the official injury report submitted to the league before tip off.
This makes sense as Wembanyama has missed three weeks of action with a calf strain. San Antonio head coach Mitch Johnson revealed that his star center was going to be restricted in his first game back, especially against this historically great defense.
OKC Thunder vs. San Antonio Spurs Starting Lineups
OKC Thunder Starters
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, G
- Lu Dort, G
- Jalen Williams, F
- Chet Holmgren, F
- Isaiah Hartenstein, C
San Antonio Spurs Starters
- De’Aaron Fox, G
- Steph Castle, G
- Devin Vassell, F
- Harrison Barnes, F
- Luke Kornet, C
The Oklahoma City Thunder will have to be mindful of their rotations to counter Wembanyama off the bench and stagger the likes of Holmgren and Hartenstein to counter it.
Up next, the Oklahoma City Thunder will either take on the New York Knicks on Tuesday in the NBA Cup Championship game with a win or resume their regular season with a loss. Falling to the Spurs would snap the Thunder’s 16 game winning streak, but issue Oklahoma City four days off leading into Thursday’s clash with the L.A. Clippers.
Catch up on Oklahoma’s top headlines of the week for Dec. 12, 2025
Here are Oklahoma’s top headlines of the week for Dec. 12, 2025
A Pawnee native who died in a Japanese prison during World War II is headed back to Oklahoma after officials identified his body 82 years later.
James M. Walker was an infantry corporal stationed on the Philippine Islands when Japan invaded in December 1941. U.S. forces battled the Japanese in intense fighting for months, but ultimately surrendered to the invaders in April 1942.
After being taken prisoner, Walker and thousands of other prisoners of war were forced to travel 65 miles to a prison camp on the notorious Bataan Death March. More than 2,500 POWs are reported to have died at the camp.
Prison camp records showed he died on Jan. 1, 1943 at the age of 46, but he was buried in a common grave with other deceased prisoners. After the war, the American Graves Registration Service exhumed the bodies, collected samples for identification analysis and reburied the remains in a memorial cemetery in Manila.
To identify Walker’s remains, scientists used dental and anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence. The Armed Forces Medical Examiner System also used mitochondrial DNA analysis and mitochondrial genome sequencing data.
Although interred as an “unknown” for decades, Walker’s grave was meticulously cared for by the American Battle Monuments Commission. His name is listed on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate his remains have been identified.
Upon his return to the United States, Walker will be buried in Maramec, Oklahoma in January 2026.
OKLAHOMA CITY, (KOKH) — Oklahoma City police responded to a fatal shooting in the 2600 block of N. Kelly Friday evening.
According to OKCPD, the shooting occurred at around 6:20 p.m.
When officers arrived, they located one adult male with gunshot wounds at the scene. The victim was transported to a nearby hospital where he later died during surgery.
Police believe the shooting was a result of a verbal argument that escalated into a fistfight and then a shooting.
The suspect has been taken into custody and transported to police headquarters for questioning.
This is a developing story; please check back for updates.
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