Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State's Texas Flavor
December 23, 2013 | Cowboy Football
Dec. 23, 2013
STILLWATER - When Oklahoma State competes in the AT&T Cotton Bowl on Jan. 3, many Cowboys will consider it a homecoming of sorts. OSU has 71 players on its roster from the state of Texas, 32 of whom call North Texas home. The bulk of those 32 players are from the greater Dallas-Fort Worth Area.
Whether it be familiar surroundings or some other reason, Oklahoma State has excelled in the state of Texas, winning 11 of its last 12 games played in the Lone Star State since 2010. The list:
Oct. 16, 2010 at Texas Tech ........ W, 34-17
Nov. 13, 2010 at Texas ........ W, 33-16
Dec. 29, 2010 vs. Arizona (Valero Alamo Bowl in San Antonio) ........ W, 36-10
Sept. 24, 2011 at No. 8 Texas A&M ........ W, 30-29
Oct. 15, 2011 at No. 22 Texas ........ W, 38-26
Nov. 12, 2011 at Texas Tech ........ W, 66-6
Dec. 1, 2012 at Baylor ........ L, 41-34
Jan. 1, 2013 vs. Purdue (Heart of Dallas Bowl in Dallas) ........ W, 58-21
Aug. 31, 2013 vs. Mississippi State (Advocare Texas Kickoff in Houston) ........ W, 21-3
Sept. 7, 2013 at UTSA ........ W, 56-35
Nov. 2, 2013 at No. 15 Texas Tech ........ W, 52-34
Nov. 16, 2013 at No. 23 Texas ........ W, 38-13
Recruiting the state of Texas has been a high priority for Oklahoma State football since Mike Gundy took over at his alma mater in 2005. Oklahoma State annually has more players on its roster from Texas than any other program outside of the Lone Star State. This year's totals:
Oklahoma State - 71
Oklahoma - 43
Louisiana-Monroe - 38
Missouri - 36
New Mexico - 31
Tulsa - 29
Kansas State - 27
Kansas - 26
Arkansas - 20
Iowa State - 20
Several of the players on OSU's two-deep for this year's Cotton Bowl game are from the Dallas-Fort Worth area (10 to be exact). That is nothing new for the Cowboys, as some of the highest-profile players to come through the OSU program during the Gundy era hail from the state of Texas. A look:
Dez Bryant (Lufkin) - Dallas Cowboys first-round pick and leading receiver.
Russell Okung (Houston) - Seattle Seahawks first-round pick, 2013 Pro Bowl
Brandon Pettigrew (Tyler) - Detroit Lions first-round pick
Quinn Sharp (Mansfield)- Cincinnati Bengals kicker, 3-time All-American K/P
Kendall Hunter (Tyler) - San Francisco 49ers RB and two-time All-American
Perrish Cox (Waco) - San Francisco 49ers CB and two-time All-American
Markelle Martin (Wichita Falls) - Tennessee Titans safety and 2011 All-American
Grant Garner (Mesquite) - 2011 All-America center
Orie Lemon (Houston) - Dallas Cowboys linebacker
