Oklahoma State Football Recruiting: Top 2013 In-State Recruits Who Can't Slip

The crop of young high school football talent coming out of the state of Oklahoma in 2013 is going to be big, and the Oklahoma State Cowboys must get in on it early.

It's early in the 2013 recruiting game yet, but young student-athletes are already committing to schools. For example, Oklahoma State already has 6'1" wide receiver Fred Ross committed as part of the 2013 recruiting class.

There are quite a few prospects that the Cowboys really must hit on if they want their current streak of football success to continue.

Here are five players in Oklahoma that the Cowboys can't afford to let slip away.

D.J. Ward

D.J. Ward is a 6'4", 235-pound defensive end out of Lawton, OK. All things considered, he will probably be one of the most highly recruited players in the state of Oklahoma.

The Cowboys need to do everything they can to get this guy. It won't be easy, but he's a potential difference-maker that could help the Cowboy defense become even better in the years to come.

Brayden Scott

Hailing out of Sequoyah High School in Tahlequah, OK, Brayden Scott is a quarterback who is over 6' tall and around 200 pounds.

Different websites have Scott listed at different heights, but no matter what, he appears to have the size to play the position at the D-I level. He won't be an easy get for the Cowboys, who will have to compete for his services with Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Nebraska.

Scott could be one of the next great Cowboy quarterbacks. But Oklahoma State will have to work hard to get him.

Darius Graham

Darius Graham is a 6', 219-pound running back from Lawton, OK. He plays for MacArthur High School.

Graham has a lot of regional schools interested in him including Houston, Kansas, Texas Tech, Tulsa, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. Right now, he has one scholarship offer from Louisiana Tech.

The Cowboys have had a lot of good luck with lesser-recruited running backs, including guys like Kendall Hunter and Dantrell Savage. Graham could be that type of guy, but with more power if the Cowboys can land him.

Kendall Holmes

Another in-state running back, Kendall Holmes plays for Union High School in Tulsa and is 5'11" and 195 pounds.

The Cowboys hit on another Union running back in Jeremy Smith, who in his sophomore season with the Cowboys and last season rushed for over 600 yards.

Holmes has a similar build to Smith, and the two obviously come from one of the best high school football pedigrees in the state of Oklahoma.

Oklahoma State should nab Holmes before someone else does.

Dominique Alexander

Listed as an athlete in some places and a wide receiver in others, Dominique Alexander is 6' and weighs 190 pounds. He plays for Booker T. Washington High School in Tulsa.

Right now, Alexander has just one offer on the table from Utah State, but Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Kansas State, Georgia Tech and Tulsa are all reportedly interested.

Oklahoma State will always need athletic pass-catchers in their up-tempo, high-volume passing attack. Alexander could be one of those guys, but the Cowboys need to get a step on other schools for that to happen.