OSU FOOTBALL | RECRUITING
JENKS — It’s impossible to know whether a March commitment actually leads to a December signing. It’s not as if other schools will stop recruiting KD Jones — the state’s top running back.
For the moment, however, Oklahoma State can savor what feels like an improbable recruiting victory.
I had known that Jones would announce his commitment on Wednesday, during a media event at Jenks’ football building — the Sharp Center. What I hadn’t known until a few hours before the announcement was that Jones would deliver a curveball and that his choice would be Oklahoma State.
Why would Jones’ Cowboy commitment be considered improbable?
Reason No. 1: Because the four-star Jenks playmaker is the son of a guy who scored a career total of 36 rushing touchdowns for Oklahoma State’s arch-rival. After having been the Tulsa World’s state Player of the Year in 2000, then-Jenks running back Kejuan Jones signed with OU and in 2002-05 was a productive presence in Bob Stoops’ backfield.
Reason No. 2: When OU prevailed over Alabama last season, KD Jones was among the thousands of spectators who celebrated on the natural grass of Memorial Stadium.
Reason No. 3: In January, KD Jones shared his five-school list of recruiting finalists. On that list were OU, Kansas, Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Louisville.
During a December interview with the Tulsa World, Jones mentioned several schools. He discussed his unofficial-visit trips to Lincoln (for the Colorado-Nebraska game), to Tuscaloosa (for Georgia-Alabama) and to Nashville (for Tennessee-Vanderbilt).
There was no reference to Oklahoma State.
On Wednesday, when KD Jones donned a “Pokes” long-sleeved T-shirt and an OSU hat, there was an emphatic, splashy reference to Oklahoma State and a noisy reaction from a big crowd on the Sharp Center’s top floor.
As KD Jones answered media questions, Kejuan watched from 20 feet away, glowing like a proud dad.
Of Sooner coach Brent Venables and his assistants, Kejuan said. “They did an excellent job of recruiting, but at the end of the day, it was all about KD.
“OSU said, ‘We know we made mistakes in the past on recruiting kids in Oklahoma and with ties to Oklahoma.’ The first day (KD) went down there, the love they showed and the want and the need – they let him know, ‘You can build your own legacy here in Stillwater.’”
As a Jenks junior during the 2024 season, 5-foot-11, 185-pound KD Jones rushed for 1,503 yards and 21 TDs. He’s a physical, punishing back who’s tough to tackle. He also is a weapon in the passing game. Jones can collect a short pass and get a home-run result.
As a Broken Arrow ninth-grader who competed in Class 6AI and against 17- and 18-year-old defensive personnel, Jones ran for 1,200 yards. He moved to Jenks in 2023, before his sophomore season.
In Class of 2026 football recruiting rankings, Jones is rated by 247 Sports as the state’s fifth-best prospect overall and as the No. 1 running back. He is the only Oklahoma Class of 2026 running back to have gotten a four-star rating.
Mike Gundy has an impressive history with elite running backs. At OSU, Gundy played with or coached seven of the program’s top 10 career rushing-yardage leaders.
During the 2005-24 Gundy head-coaching era, eight Cowboy backs had single-season totals of at least 1,200 yards: Dantrell Savage, Kendall Hunter, Keith Toston, Joseph Randle, Justice Hill, Chuba Hubbard, Jaylen Warren and Ollie Gordon.
“And,” Kejuan Jones said of OSU’s Tailback U history, “you can go back further than that to Thurman Thomas and the greatest to ever play — Barry Sanders.”
Gundy likes to hand the football to a difference-making running back, and KD Jones has taken the first step in the direction of joining a lengthy Oklahoma State list of elite ball-carriers.
Because it’ll be noticed by everyone who is aware of Jones’ talent — and because it’s absolutely one of the greater in-state recruiting victories of the Gundy era — the Wednesday commitment has tremendous value for Oklahoma State.
Most OSU people won’t care that Gundy beat Vanderbilt, Kansas, Louisville and Tennessee for the Jones commitment. The OSU people will be seriously fired up that Gundy beat OU for this commitment.
The Cowboy program is starving for positive developments. OSU and Gundy scored a high-profile commitment only four months after the conclusion of an awful season that included an 0-9 mark in Big 12 play.
Gundy personally had a rocky November and December.
Gundy personally had a phenomenal Wednesday.
I’d been hearing about Gundy’s new staff members, and how OSU ‘s football energy had been at a high level since January. This KD Jones commitment feels like a strong indicator that those reports were legitimate.
For OSU, the challenge now is to sustain its KD Jones relationship. The challenge is to have it become a real thing on National Signing Day in December.
Bill Haisten: KD Jones’ curveball commitment a huge recruiting win for Mike Gundy
- Mar 26, 2025 Updated 8 hrs ago
Bill Haisten
Tulsa World Sports Columnist & WriterJENKS — It’s impossible to know whether a March commitment actually leads to a December signing. It’s not as if other schools will stop recruiting KD Jones — the state’s top running back.
For the moment, however, Oklahoma State can savor what feels like an improbable recruiting victory.
I had known that Jones would announce his commitment on Wednesday, during a media event at Jenks’ football building — the Sharp Center. What I hadn’t known until a few hours before the announcement was that Jones would deliver a curveball and that his choice would be Oklahoma State.
Why would Jones’ Cowboy commitment be considered improbable?
Reason No. 1: Because the four-star Jenks playmaker is the son of a guy who scored a career total of 36 rushing touchdowns for Oklahoma State’s arch-rival. After having been the Tulsa World’s state Player of the Year in 2000, then-Jenks running back Kejuan Jones signed with OU and in 2002-05 was a productive presence in Bob Stoops’ backfield.
Reason No. 2: When OU prevailed over Alabama last season, KD Jones was among the thousands of spectators who celebrated on the natural grass of Memorial Stadium.
Reason No. 3: In January, KD Jones shared his five-school list of recruiting finalists. On that list were OU, Kansas, Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Louisville.
During a December interview with the Tulsa World, Jones mentioned several schools. He discussed his unofficial-visit trips to Lincoln (for the Colorado-Nebraska game), to Tuscaloosa (for Georgia-Alabama) and to Nashville (for Tennessee-Vanderbilt).
There was no reference to Oklahoma State.
On Wednesday, when KD Jones donned a “Pokes” long-sleeved T-shirt and an OSU hat, there was an emphatic, splashy reference to Oklahoma State and a noisy reaction from a big crowd on the Sharp Center’s top floor.
As KD Jones answered media questions, Kejuan watched from 20 feet away, glowing like a proud dad.
Of Sooner coach Brent Venables and his assistants, Kejuan said. “They did an excellent job of recruiting, but at the end of the day, it was all about KD.
“OSU said, ‘We know we made mistakes in the past on recruiting kids in Oklahoma and with ties to Oklahoma.’ The first day (KD) went down there, the love they showed and the want and the need – they let him know, ‘You can build your own legacy here in Stillwater.’”
As a Jenks junior during the 2024 season, 5-foot-11, 185-pound KD Jones rushed for 1,503 yards and 21 TDs. He’s a physical, punishing back who’s tough to tackle. He also is a weapon in the passing game. Jones can collect a short pass and get a home-run result.
As a Broken Arrow ninth-grader who competed in Class 6AI and against 17- and 18-year-old defensive personnel, Jones ran for 1,200 yards. He moved to Jenks in 2023, before his sophomore season.
In Class of 2026 football recruiting rankings, Jones is rated by 247 Sports as the state’s fifth-best prospect overall and as the No. 1 running back. He is the only Oklahoma Class of 2026 running back to have gotten a four-star rating.
Mike Gundy has an impressive history with elite running backs. At OSU, Gundy played with or coached seven of the program’s top 10 career rushing-yardage leaders.
During the 2005-24 Gundy head-coaching era, eight Cowboy backs had single-season totals of at least 1,200 yards: Dantrell Savage, Kendall Hunter, Keith Toston, Joseph Randle, Justice Hill, Chuba Hubbard, Jaylen Warren and Ollie Gordon.
“And,” Kejuan Jones said of OSU’s Tailback U history, “you can go back further than that to Thurman Thomas and the greatest to ever play — Barry Sanders.”
Gundy likes to hand the football to a difference-making running back, and KD Jones has taken the first step in the direction of joining a lengthy Oklahoma State list of elite ball-carriers.
Because it’ll be noticed by everyone who is aware of Jones’ talent — and because it’s absolutely one of the greater in-state recruiting victories of the Gundy era — the Wednesday commitment has tremendous value for Oklahoma State.
Most OSU people won’t care that Gundy beat Vanderbilt, Kansas, Louisville and Tennessee for the Jones commitment. The OSU people will be seriously fired up that Gundy beat OU for this commitment.
The Cowboy program is starving for positive developments. OSU and Gundy scored a high-profile commitment only four months after the conclusion of an awful season that included an 0-9 mark in Big 12 play.
Gundy personally had a rocky November and December.
Gundy personally had a phenomenal Wednesday.
I’d been hearing about Gundy’s new staff members, and how OSU ‘s football energy had been at a high level since January. This KD Jones commitment feels like a strong indicator that those reports were legitimate.
For OSU, the challenge now is to sustain its KD Jones relationship. The challenge is to have it become a real thing on National Signing Day in December.
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