By Michael Doutey
Mike Gundy had his first game week news conference ahead of next week’s season opener on August 30th as Oklahoma State hosts Missouri State. If you want to know what Gundy’s relaxation level is, he brought his dog to the press conference and let her walk around as the media asked questions for nearly 40 minutes. The dogs name is Kenzie for those who are curious. Also, stop with the worrying over Gundy’s mullet. It is alive and well.
Today was the first time we got to see a depth chart, which was interesting. Here are a few notes from that.
Larry Williams started the last two seasons at right guard before injuries ended both seasons. Williams was given a sixth season of eligibility in the spring. So, it was easy to expect him the regain his starting role. However, big Shane Richards is now slotted to take the starting spot at right guard. Richards is a massive 6-foot-8, 336 pound redshirt senior.
Williams is now listed at left guard along with Marcus Keyes. Gundy said he really likes all three players and expects all three to rotate to keep them fresh.
Today we learned that Patrick McKaufman has been lost for the season with a torn ACL. McKaufman was expected to be a backup outside receiver for either Tyron Johnson or Tylan Wallace. That means LC Greenwood’s role has grown because he was going to play also outside in a reserve role.
With McKaufman out, that means redshirt freshman Braydon Johnson is listed to sit behind Wallace.
Speaking of Wallace, his twin Tracin has cracked the two-deep as well. He is listed as an inside receiver who will backup Dillon Stoner. Tracin Wallace was a quarterback last season which he played in high school. Tracin was a tremendous dual threat quarterback in high school before ACL injuries derailed his junior and senior seasons. But a move to receiver was expected.
The last offensive note I noticed was at backup quarterback. The depth chart lists Dru Brown OR Spencer Sanders for QB2. Who knows exactly what it means. Gundy himself has said the order goes 1. Taylor Cornelius. 2. Dru Brown. 3. Spencer Sanders and 4. Keondre Wudtee. Maybe the OR is to keep Sanders happy and not bruise his ego. Maybe it is because the coaches don’t know how to handle the new redshirt rule. But I found that interesting.
On defense there aren’t too many surprises. The defensive ends are pretty set with Jordan Brailford, Jarrell Owens and Cole Walterscheid. OSU typically likes to have a four man rotation and it appears that redshirt freshman Brock Martin and JUCO transfer Mike Scott are competing for that role.
The same can be said about defensive tackle. Darrion Daniels, Trey Carter and Enoch Smith Jr. are back. Redshirt sophomore Cam Murray and redshirt frosh Brenden Evers are competing for the fourth spot.
Linebackers have no surprises either. Calvin Bundage and Justin Phillips lead the way and Devin Harper, Kevin Henry and Amen Ogbongbemeiga will be reserves.
The starting corners are the same as last year with AJ Green and Rodarius Williams. Green and Williams have been hurt over camp and both have been in and out of practice. Gundy hopes that can be a blessing in disguise due to the fact that the two’s and three’s had to play up and get more reps. Green and Williams are back to practicing, Gundy noted.
Texas A&M grad transfer, Kemah Siverand, is listed behind Green. Gundy said that he was late to camp for academic reasons and has had to miss some practices with graduation down in College Station. But Gundy said he has seen growth in the time that he has been here. Former receiver, Tyrell Alexander, is also in the running with Siverand for backup.
On the other side to backup Williams is redshirt freshman Lamarcus Morton or true freshman Tanner McCalister. These spots are important because the Pokes had zero depth a season ago. It is very important for OSU to feel like they have one or two guys who can play behind Green and Williams.
Starters at safety are Kenneth Edison-McGruder, Malcolm Rodriguez, and Thabo Mwaniki, which was to be expected. True freshman Kolby Peel is slotted behind McGruder. Redshirt frosh Tre Sterling and redshirt junior Za’Carrius Green are behind Rodriguez. Another true freshman, Jarrick Bernard, is listed behind Mwaniki.
So, by my count, it appears that there are no true freshman expected to play on offense this season. On defense it looks like three true freshman are expected to play. McCalister, Bernard and Peel. As long everyone stays healthy, those guys might play a role similarly to what Mwaniki did last season. They’ll play a few plays here and there on defense while they’ll get a ton of work on special teams.
It appears that four redshirt freshman will play on defense this season. Brock Martin, Brenden Evers, Lamarcus Morton and Tre Sterling look to also have a nice role on the team after sitting out for a season.
As far as special teams go, it looks like Matt Hockett will be the punter for the injured Zac Sinor. Sinor is expected back soon. Matt Amendola is back as place kicker. Jake McClure is set for kickoffs. LD Brown and Landon Wolf will return kickoffs while Dillon Stoner will handle punt returns.
Back to Gundy before we close. He remains comfortable with Taylor Cornelius and has no worries about him. He knows he can make all the throws.
He feels like eight offensive lineman can be relied upon this season, which has been a clear issue in the past.
Gundy doesn’t think there will be enough carries for all four backs. He still wants Hill to carry the ball 15 times a game and expects JD King to follow in as a solid backup. He also noted that either Chuba Hubbard or LD Brown will dual it out for the mix in back, which means they would be competing for RB3. He’s not sure how that all will shake out yet, but that was his best guess.
Last note from today. Glenn Spencer spent the most of his defensive coordinator years on the sidelines before moving up to the booth for the last season and a half that he was here. Jim Knowles will be calling plays back on the field, according to OSU’s press guide.
