Former Oklahoma State Defensive End Shares Take on NIL And Recruiting

The Oklahoma State Cowboys look a step behind this season. They're unable to bring in the same talents as other schools, and one way they can begin to catch up is by leveraging Name, Image and Likeness to further incentivize big-name talents to come to Stillwater.

The Cowboys tried this. One of the current quarterbacks in the battle -- yes, a quarterback battle -- is Alan Bowman, who the Cowboys got in the transfer portal. 

Moving forward, Oklahoma State will have to excel in using both the portal and NIL to bring in high-level talents. Former Oklahoma State defensive end Brock Martin is more than aware of this. 

"NIL does not equal wins. NIL gives us a better chance against the blue blood programs in recruiting," Martin wrote on social media. "The rich will get richer and we will get left behind if people don’t start stepping up to the plate."

Evidently, the best recruiters are going to continually excel in this. Jimbo Fisher, with the help of NIL, consistently brings elite recruiting classes to Texas A&M. Texas and Tennessee are both able to bring in the talents needed to put together a successful program. None of those programs immediately see wins because of it, but the raw talent alongside Oklahoma State's ability to develop talent could be the recipe for dominating successes in the new Big 12.

So far, Mike Gundy has downplayed the importance of using NIL as a benefit. Until he embraces it, the Cowboys are going to see themselves at a disadvantage to other major programs.

On Monday, Gundy talked about NIL, and how the lack thereof for South Alabama was a benefit for them last weekend in the Cowboys' embarrassing 33-7 loss.

"They don't deal with NIL and stuff," Gundy said. "The guys that go there to play go there to play football. ...You go there, you go there to play football and when you watch them, they play that way."

Gundy has been the winningest coach in Oklahoma State history, so he's earned the right to run things his own way. When he decides to opt into using NIL more to build his program, however, he might just see more success.

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