ESPN Analyst Ranks College Football Returning Production; Where's OSU Rank?

In the age of the transfer portal, retaining talents year after year seems to be a luxury in college football.

The college football offseason is underway and plenty of rosters seem to be closer to set for the 2024 season. Most teams understand what talent they will have returning for next season.

In the current state of college football, the transfer portal is so prominent and plenty of impact players across every team make a move to go to a program they feel better suits their skills or will maximize their potential. While the grass isn't always greener, player movement is incredibly prominent and teams can see major changes year over year.

For Oklahoma State, the program wasn't plagued with the transfer portal like it was before the 2023 season. Instead, they saw their entire starting offense announce their return to next season with major defensive contributors following suit.

While graduate transfers can still make their move, undergrad students will have to wait until April to enter their name into the portal, meaning some chaos could still ensue. Still, the Cowboys only saw four players who started in games last year transfer out, while adding six new scholarship players.

ESPN's Bill Connelly released his rankings for teams with the best returning production for the 2024 season. With movement still to come, the rankings will be re-released throughout the year, but the Cowboys currently stand at No. 4 on the list with 77 percent of their production returning. They've got 79 percent of their offensive production returning and 74 percent of their defensive production returning.

Oklahoma State trails Nebraska, Iowa State and Virginia Tech as the three teams who are returning more production. 

For the Cowboys, though, the quality of returnees is incredible. It all starts with Ollie Gordon -- the nation's leading rusher last season -- and his entire starting offensive line. Seventh-year quarterback Alan Bowman is coming back for a second season in Stillwater, too.

The receiving corps will remain strong, and key playmakers on defense such as Kendal Daniels, Collin Oliver and Nick Martin -- among others -- are returning to the program, too.

It's hard to imagine the Cowboys won't be in contention to win the Big 12 title again, especially as the program enters a new era.

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