Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy talks about first spring practice
Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy talks about Cowboys’ first spring practice
OSU ATHLETICS
STILLWATER — Paul Randolph and Alexander McPherson first met less than two years ago, but life has changed dramatically for both since then, at least as far as football is concerned.
Earlier this month, McPherson, a senior-to-be at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, committed to Oklahoma State, where Randolph is the defensive line coach.
The strong bond between the two was a key factor in the 6-foot-4, 245-pound McPherson’s decision.
It’s a bond that has spanned school changes for both.
McPherson was a sophomore at Martin County High School in Stuart, Florida, and Randolph was coaching the defensive line at Indiana.
After a strong season, McPherson got a scholarship offer from Randolph and Indiana, one of the first in a list that has since grown to 16.
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McPherson enrolled at IMG prior to last season and continued to show his growth as a talented defensive end.
In mid-January, Randolph was hired at Oklahoma State, and before the end of the month, McPherson had a Cowboy offer.
Randolph’s recruiting skill has always been a strong point, and he has shown it already in six months at OSU. The first three defensive commitments for the Cowboys in the 2025 recruiting class were linemen — all in the last two months — and Randolph has been critical in securing them all.
“His relationships are very personal,” McPherson told The Oklahoman. “It’s not always the pressure on you to connect to him. He was kind of a mentor to me through the whole recruiting process. If I had a question, I would ask him.
“It wasn’t always just about him.”
One of the final pieces of the puzzle for McPherson was on his official visit to OSU in early June, when his mother got the chance to meet Randolph in person for the first time.
“They’ve been talking on the phone for a while, but they finally got to meet,” McPherson said.
The genuine nature of Randolph’s interactions with recruits has become a consistent theme.
Jordan Covington, a 6-foot-3, 260-pound defensive lineman from McKinney, Texas, hasn’t known Randolph for as long as McPherson has, but Covington quickly built a similar relationship.
“Coach Randolph is a great guy,” he said. “I trust him. He always stayed in touch with me. All of the coaches on the staff are great people.”
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Now that the bulk of the defensive line recruiting is secured for the upcoming class, Randolph’s next chore is blending his coaching style into the scheme of defensive coordinator Bryan Narco.
With the goal of implementing more four-man fronts in addition to the base three-man schemes, Randolph sought out versatile recruits in the spring.
The third commit in the group, Kyle Keya from Kapuan Mt. Carmel Catholic High School in Wichita, Kansas, is cut more from the cloth of a player like current Cowboy Collin Oliver. Keya has a lean build at 6-foot-4 and 205 pounds, and can be used as an edge rusher or in a more traditional outside linebacker role.
With McPherson and Covington, Randolph brought in two players who — as their bodies continue to develop over the next couple of years — have the skills to potentially play any position on the line of scrimmage.
“They see me playing all across the D-Line,” Covington said. “They’ve seen in my highlights that I can play them all.
“Their scheme changes from a three- to four-man front which is perfect for me to be able to play multiple positions.”
McPherson mostly played on the edge last season, but has shown the strength to go between the tackles and make plays.
“I’m very versatile,” McPherson said. “I played on the inside a little bit last year. Oklahoma State plays a big defensive end, but they’ll also move that guy inside. The guy in that position, he can move around a lot in their defense.
“I feel like that’s the kind of position I could play for them, and they feel the same way.”