Pokes corral first commit

Ponca City, Okla., tight end Justin Waller had seen enough. So when he visited Oklahoma State last Wednesday afternoon with his family and spent some time with Cowboy coach Les Miles, he didn’t need to see anymore.

That’s because he decided to be a Cowboy, committing to OSU over interest from Colorado, Colorado State, Duke, Kansas, Oklahoma, Purdue and Stanford. While OSU was his lone early offer there is no mistaking that he’s one of the best players in the state for the Class of 2004.

And you could tell by the sound his mother’s voice, the family was very excited about the decision.

“He decided it was the perfect situation for him,” Natalie Waller, Justin’s mother, said. “We were all very impressed with the coaches and the vision for the program and the direction it’s heading.”

And who wouldn’t.

Miles was named Big 12 coach of the year last season and the Cowboys have beaten in-state rival Oklahoma twice in a row.

Waller, who is 6-foot-4 and 220-pounds, earned honorable mention all-state honors from the Daily Oklahoman as a junior. Waller didn’t recall all of his stats at this point, but did point out in a run-oriented offense he did catch two touchdown passes. He also said he had solid stats on defense but wasn’t aware of them at this point.