Despite going 10-2 this season, Oklahoma State's recruiting momentum has begun to trend in the wrong direction.
On Sunday, four-star quarterback Nick Starkel out of Texas announced on Twitter that he has decommitted, leaving the Cowboys without a quarterback in its class less than two months before signing day.
I would like to thank Oklahoma State for everything... pic.twitter.com/KEwO44Vjks
— Nick Starkel (@nstarkel2) December 14, 2015Starkel's decommitment was a blow to the Pokes, especially considering he was a top-rated recruit in Oklahoma State's class. The Cowboys were the first FBS program to make an offer to Starkel, who had been committed since April.
Quarterback is not an immediate need in Stillwater. The Cowboys will have starter Mason Rudolph returning for his junior season. But if the Cowboys are unable to replace Starkel this late in the recruiting process, and if J.W. Walsh is unable to land a medical hardship to return for a sixth year, it could leave them dangerously thin behind center. The only other scholarship quarterback on the roster is former four-star signee John Kolar, who redshirted this season. (Oklahoma State did recently add a preferred walk-on quarterback in Nyc Burns of Berryhill, Oklahoma.)
The Starkel news added to a rough couple of weeks for the Pokes on the recruiting trail. Earlier this month, ESPN Jr. 300 linebacker Levi Draper of Collinsville, Oklahoma, flipped his commitment from Oklahoma State to Oklahoma. The same week, the Cowboys lost a pledge from Ryan McCollum, their top-rated offensive lineman, who Sunday committed to Texas A&M, where Starkel too has an offer.
There's plenty of time for Oklahoma State, which still has 18 commitments, to recover before signing day. But recruiting is so much about momentum. The Cowboys, quickly, need to change the tide on the trail.