Keilan Neal Commits to Oklahoma State Ahead of Massive Houston Showdown

The Oklahoma State Cowboys got some good news before their Saturday showdown with the Houston Cougars — Class of 2027 commitment No. 13.

Keilan Neal, a defensive lineman from Franklin Road Academy in Nashville, Tenn., announced his verbal commitment to the Cowboys on social media. He dropped it a few hours before kickoff. Verbal commitments are non-binding. The earliest he can sign is December.

It’s a notable commitment for OSU because it’s the Cowboys’ first since the season started. Oklahoma State is 4-1 and 2-0 in the Big 12 and it appears that play on the field is starting to pay off on the recruiting trail.

Keilan Neal’s Potential OSU Impact

Neal becomes the fourth-ranked player in the recruiting class, per 247 Sports (subscription required). He’s seen as a three-star player who is the No. 25 player in the state of Tennessee and a Top 80 player at his position in the country.

The 6-2, 280-pound defensive lineman is the second defensive line commit for this class, but he’s the first that could be seen as an interior lineman. The other is an edge rusher, Jayden Vessell from Baton Rouge Catholic in Baton Rouge, La.

The Cowboys use several defensive tackles in their rotation up front. Neal doesn’t need much playing time next year to make an impact. But there will be opportunity as several of the tackles in this year’s rotation will be out of eligibility after the season.

His commitment also shows that the Cowboys hot start to the season is paying off. He made a recent official visit to Stillwater which seemed to seal the deal. That allowed the Cowboys to beat out Big 12 rivals Kansas State and Iowa State for him. Tulane and USF were among the non-power conference programs interested.

Neal is now the fifth commitment to the class. He joins Choctaw, Okla., linebacker Israel Hammons; Trinity (Euless, Texas) High School safety Chayce Davis and Broken Arrow, Okla., safety Bryson Brown.

On the offensive side, the Cowboys have already nailed down commitments from several players, led by Fort Bend Hightower (Missouri City, Texas) quarterback Carson White, who is the third-highest ranked recruit in the class. The highest offensive recruit is Jenks, Okla., offensive lineman Odaefe Oruru, who flipped to the Cowboys in late August.

The other offensive commits are Bolingbrook, Ill., running back TJ Lewis; American Leadership Academy (Queen City, Ariz.) tight end Talan Scott; Troy, Texas, offensive lineman Sonny Mullen; Argyle, Texas, wide receiver Ake O’Neal; Ensworth (Nashville, Tenn.) offensive tackle Jake Baker; and Pryor (Quapaw, Okla.) wide receiver Cooper Hooker.