Spring Football Primer

Photo by: Bruce Waterfield

March 07, 2016 | Cowboy Football

2016 Oklahoma State Spring Football Guide

STILLWATER – Spring football starts today at Oklahoma State. Head coach Mike Gundy will hold a news conference at 12:45 p.m. to preview the spring, and then the Cowboys will take the field for their first practice later in the afternoon.

Here's your spring primer:

                Oklahoma State lost its most notable player from a year ago in All-America defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah, but make no mistake, 2016 is not a rebuilding year in Stillwater, evidenced by the fact that the Cowboys return a high-level quarterback in Mason Rudolph, a high-level receiver in James Washington, the most experienced offensive line in the Big 12 and the bulk of their defensive two-deep from a squad that won 10 games and played in the Sugar Bowl a year ago. Head coach Mike Gundy welcomes back 10 offensive starters and seven defensive starters, plus his kicker and his punter.
                Improving the run game is high on the priority list for the spring. If the Pokes can find a way to accomplish that, then the Cowboys could have one of the most dangerous offenses in the country, because the passing attack is already proven as capable of winning games.
                Defensively, the safety position appears to be loaded with playmakers, so identifying pass-rush threats and settling the two-deep at linebacker and cornerback become the front-burner items.

The Cowboy Offense
                Quarterback Mason Rudolph and wide receiver James Washington headline an Oklahoma State offense that returns approximately 75 percent of its rushing and receiving yards from the 2015 squad that won 10 games, ranked 22nd nationally in total offense and 14th nationally in scoring. The offensive line returns intact, with all five starters and nine of the 10 players on the 2015 depth chart back.

Quarterback
                Coming off a 2015 season in which he ranked second in the Big 12 and 17th nationally with 3,770 passing yards despite splitting reps and battling injuries down the stretch, Mason Rudolph projects as one of the Big 12's best heading into 2016.
                Since having his redshirt pulled in week 11 of the 2014 season, Rudolph has quarterbacked Oklahoma State to a 12-3 record as a starter and has led the Cowboys to six victories in games in which they trailed during the second half.
                As a sophomore in 2015, Rudolph was one of the nation's most dangerous down-field passers. According to ESPN Stats and Info, his 40 completions on passes thrown at least 20 yards down the field tied California's Jared Goff for the national lead among Power Five conference quarterbacks. Rudolph had 13 touchdowns against just two interceptions on such passes (+11), a differential that matched Clemson's Deshaun Watson and Oklahoma's Baker Mayfield.
                Rudolph's 14.28 yards per pass completion in 2015 ranks No. 1 among returning quarterbacks who passed for a minimum of 2,500 yards last season.
                The only other scholarship quarterback on the roster is John Kolar, who is coming out of redshirt. Kolar, a four-star prospect when he came out of Norman North HS in 2015, is in his second spring at OSU after enrolling early a year ago.
                Other quarterbacks on the roster include third-year man Taylor Cornelius and redshirt freshman Gabe Neph.

Receiver
                Playmakers abound for Oklahoma State at receiver, where junior James Washington headlines an established and deep group.
                A second-team All-Big 12 selection by both the coaches and the media last year (the two first-team picks were both finalists for the Biletnikoff Award presented to the nation's top receiver and have since departed), a strong case can be made for Washington as the Big 12's top receiver heading into 2016. He is the conference's only returning 1,000-yard receiver and led all returning Big 12 wideouts in yards per game and touchdowns last season.
                While Washington is the centerpiece of OSU's receiver corps, he is far from the only Cowboy who can do damage. Seniors Marcell Ateman and Jhajuan Seales both have more than 1,000 receiving yards in their career.
                Ateman emerged as a viable threat last season and is well-positioned to be a central piece of the offensive puzzle in 2016. Ateman ranked third on the team a year ago with 45 receptions and 766 receiving yards and had five touchdown receptions. While Seales' numbers were not spectacular in 2015, he showed up in OSU's biggest games, making two receptions for 89 yards against Baylor and three catches for 59 yards and a touchdown against Oklahoma.
                Others to keep in mind include up-and-coming playmaker Jalen McCleskey and veterans Austin Hays and Chris Lacy.

Cowboy Back
                2015 All-Big 12 first-team performer Blake Jarwin is back in 2016 to lead OSU's Cowboy Backs - a hybrid tight end/fullback position. Jarwin is a reliable pass-catching weapon with 22 receptions and three touchdowns in his career. His role has steadily increased throughout the course of his career and he could be an important part of the offense in 2016.
                Also returning are senior Zac Veatch and redshirt sophomore Jordan Frazier. Another name to know is Cole Neph, a redshirt sophomore walk-on who is moving from wide receiver.

Running Back
                Oklahoma State has proven standouts at quarterback and receiver. If someone can emerge at running back, then the Cowboys' chances of making a run at a Big 12 title get a boost.
                OSU returns the same cast of characters from 2015 this spring, so the names will be familiar - Chris Carson (43.1 rush ypg), Raymond Taylor (27.0 rush ypg), Rennie Childs (23.4 rush ypg) and Jeff Carr (10.9 rush ypg).
                The storyline here during the spring will be if any of those players will take a leap forward to become a threat to opposing defenses. If not, then this position group will carry question marks going into the fall.

Offensive Line
                Much like the running back position, Oklahoma State returns everyone at offensive line, but more is needed from this group if the Cowboys are going to make a championship run.
                The leaders are tackles Zach Crabtree and Victor Salako, but a new player to keep an eye on is junior college transfer Larry Williams, who enrolled early and will participate in spring practice with hopes of working his way into the lineup.
                A key stat to know is that the returning five starters have combined for 97 career starts for OSU. That number doesn't even count left tackle Victor Salako's 23 starts from his time at UAB. A sixth lineman - Paul Lewis - also has 19 career starts to his credit to bring the total of offensive line starts returning to 120, a total that leads the Big 12 by far. Next closest is West Virginia with 81.

The Cowboy Defense
                Gone are All-America defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah and first-team All-Big 12 cornerback Kevin Peterson, but back are no fewer than 18 notable defensive playmakers plus an additional group of about five who have been standout tacklers and playmakers on special teams. OSU returns 70 percent of its tackles and 65 percent of its interceptions from 2015, and that's not counting anything from linebacker Justin Phillips and defensive lineman Vili Leveni, both of whom logged significant action in 2014, but missed 2015 to injury.
                Safety Jordan Sterns and linebackers Jordan Burton and Chad Whitener are the headliners of this group after all three earned some form of first-team All-Big 12 recognition in 2015.

Defensive Line
                Losing Emmanuel Ogbah and Jimmy Bean from this group is significant, but even with those two gone, there are seven defensive linemen returning who have made plays in games.
                Junior defensive tackle Vincent Taylor is the leader of the group. His 48 tackles and 5.0 sacks in 2015 were the highest totals for any interior defensive lineman during the Mike Gundy era (2005-present).
                On the interior, Taylor will be joined by senior Motekiai Maile, redshirt junior Vili Leveni and sophomore Darrion Daniels, all of whom have made plays for OSU in the past. Leveni missed all of 2015 to injury.
                The top candidates to replace Ogbah and Bean at defensive end are redshirt sophomores Jarrell Owens and Jordan Brailford.

Linebacker
                In senior Jordan Burton and junior Chad Whitener, Oklahoma State returns a pair of 2015 All-Big 12 linebackers. Burton was a first-team all-league honoree by the Associated Press after ranking second on the team with 98 tackles, to go with nine tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, an interception and a fumble recovery. Whitener secured first-team All-Big 12 accolades from the San Antonio Express News after amassing 93 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, two interceptions and a fumble recovery a year ago. The Burton-Whitener duo combined for 191 tackles a year ago - which is the second-most among returning Big 12 linebacker duos.
                While not a starter in 2015, Devante Averette was certainly a key contributor and disruptive figure, as evidenced by his 30 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, two interceptions, one fumble recovery and defensive touchdown. Averette backed up Seth Jacobs at weakside linebacker a year ago, and with Jacobs now departed, Averette is a logical candidate to move into that spot.
                Gyasi Akem, Kirk Tucker, Justin Phillips and Josh Mabin have all seen game action for the Cowboys and are likely to factor into the playing time rotation into the fall. Coming out of redshirt is Kevin Henry.

Cornerback
                Senior Ashton Lampkin and junior Ramon Richards have 21 career starts between them, but even despite that, there are probably more question marks at cornerback than any other defensive position group going into the spring.
                Lampkin is the more established of the two starters, but more will be asked of him this season, both in terms of on-field production and off-field leadership. Lampkin broke up five passes last season and recorded an interception against Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl.
                After starting nine games at cornerback as a true freshman in 2014 despite not playing corner in high school, Richards saw his role diminish last season when Lampkin returned to health after having missed most of 2014 to injury. Richards now returns to a first-team role this spring and has a chance to stake claim to the spot.
                If that doesn't happen, then OSU will carry a question mark at cornerback into fall camp. Those in the mix would include redshirt junior Darius Curry, early enrollee Malik Kearse and redshirt freshman Bryce Balous.

Safety
                On the heels of a junior season that saw him earn first-team All-Big 12 honors from the Associated Press, senior free safety Jordan Sterns returns as the leader of the Cowboy defense. Sterns' 224 career tackles are the most among all players returning in the Big 12 in 2016 and rank him fourth among all defensive backs from Power Five conferences.
                While Sterns is the headliner, safety is a position group loaded with talent. Junior strong safety Tre Flowers has 19 career starts to his credit and is well-established on the OSU defense.
                A player to watch in spring is senior Derrick Moncrief, who sat out last year per NCAA transfer rules after coming to Stillwater from Auburn. After being ranked as the top junior college safety in the nation, Moncrief recorded 27 tackles and a fumble recovery for the Tigers in 2014. He could realistically challenge for a starting spot with a productive spring.
                Beyond those three, there are still more good options at safety, including veterans Jerel Morrow and Dylan Harding and up-and-comers Kenneth Edison-McGruder and Za'Carrius Green.

Specialists
                In Ben Grogan and Zach Sinor, Oklahoma State returns its starting kicker and starting punter from a year ago and both are strong performers.
                Grogan ranks fourth in school history with 316 points scored and second in PATs made and attempted. Barring the unforeseen, he should shatter the OSU career record in all three of those categories.
                As for Sinor, he was one of just seven freshmen in the country who made the list of candidates for the Ray Guy Award last year. Of his 75 punts, 31 were downed inside the 20 with only three touchbacks. He was a central figure in OSU allowing only 94 punt return yards on the season - a mark that ranks sixth in school history.