Opportunity Awaits - 2017 Spring Preview - Oklahoma State University Athletics

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Opportunity Awaits - 2017 Spring Preview

March 06, 2017 | Cowboy Football

2017 Oklahoma State Football Spring Guide

   There is reason for optimism surrounding the Oklahoma State football program going into the 2017 season.
   For starters, the Cowboys have won 10 games in three of the last four seasons and OSU has averaged 9.7 wins per year since 2010 and rank 11th nationally with 68 wins this decade, so a winning culture already exists in Stillwater.
   In Mason Rudolph, Justice Hill and James Washington, Oklahoma State has the best quarterback-running back-wide receiver trio in the Big 12 and perhaps the nation heading into 2017. How good are they? In 2016, Oklahoma State was one of only two schools in the nation with a 4,000-yard passer (Rudolph), a 1,000-yard rusher (Hill) and a 1,000-yard receiver (Washington). The only other team who could make that claim last year was national champion Clemson.
   Defensively, the Cowboys return five starters and have a host of defensive linemen who have not been starters to this point, but who have positioned themselves to be successful when called upon this year.

The Cowboy Offense
   Quarterback Mason Rudolph, running back Justice Hill and receiver James Washington form one of the nation's most lethal quarterback-running back-wide receiver trios going into 2017, but the Cowboy offense has several other capable performers, most notably at wide receiver. At a school that has consistently put up big offensive numbers, this year's Cowboy offense stands out as one that has a chance to be special.

Quarterback
   Senior Mason Rudolph has quarterbacked OSU to a 22-6 career record as a starter and has led the Cowboys to eight victories in games in which they trailed during the second half. He enters the 2017 season ranked in the top six among active FBS players in career passing yards (third), career passing yards per game (second), career passing yards per attempt (second), career pass efficiency (third) and career touchdown-to-interception ratio (sixth). Rudolph led all FBS quarterbacks returning in 2017 in both interception avoidance and touchdown-to-interception ratio in 2016. He was tabbed as the No. 19 player in college football heading into the 2017 season by Athlon Sports. Already the owner of no fewer than 11 school records, he is in position to set OSU career records for pass attempts, pass completions, passing yards and passing touchdowns in the 2017 season and he also has a very real chance to finish his career as the most efficient passer in Oklahoma State history.
   Rudolph has earned a spot on the 2017 Heisman Trophy radar screen, but OSU's other quarterbacks will be key figures to watch this spring. Junior Taylor Cornelius served as the primary backup last season, with redshirt freshman Keondre Wudtee developing in the wings. Cornelius, Wudtee and sophomore John Kolar will all get their share of reps during the spring and it remains to be seen who among them will earn the inside track on the position for when Rudolph graduates after the season.

Receiver
   The preseason favorite for the Biletnikoff Award given to the nation's top receiver, James Washington's 26 career receiving touchdowns mark the highest total among all active FBS players heading into 2017. He leads all active receivers from Power Five conferences with 2,923 career receiving yards and 19.2 career yards per reception heading into 2017. He has already been tabbed as the No. 1 returning receiver in college football heading into 2017 by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg and by Athlon Sports.
   But here's where it gets good for Oklahoma State - Washington is just one part of what can be argued as being the nation's best returning group of receivers in 2017. Even with Washington's substantial productivity removed, the rest of the returning Cowboy wideouts combined for 111 receptions, 1,339 yards and 10 touchdowns last season and that total includes nothing from Marcell Ateman, who returns after missing all of 2016 to injury. Ateman had 45 receptions for 766 yards and five touchdowns in 2015.
   Though Washington led the Cowboys with 1,380 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns last year, junior Jalen McCleskey actually returns as Oklahoma State's receptions leader from a year ago. He, Washington, Ateman and senior Chris Lacy (31 catches for 489 yards and three touchdowns to go with a pair of 100-yard receiving games in 2016) figure to be the core of the Cowboys' receiving corps, but LSU transfer and former five-star high school prospect Tyron Johnson is eligible this year after sitting out 2016 due to NCAA transfer regulations and Dillon Stoner returns after having a promising freshman season cut short to injury.
   Put simply, there may not be a better group of receivers in America than what Mike Gundy has assembled at Oklahoma State, and when paired with a standout quarterback in Mason Rudolph, the sky may be the limit for this group.

Running Back
   A freshman All-America honoree in 2016, Justice Hill returns after producing the top freshman rushing season in Oklahoma State history with 1,142 yards a season ago. That mark led all FBS freshmen in 2016 and stands as the fifth-best single-season performance for a freshman in Big 12 Conference history. In addition to being the only OSU freshman to ever surpass 1,000 rushing yards in a season, he is the only freshman in school history to rush for 100 yards in six games. No other Cowboy freshman has done it more than three times. Even more impressive, all six of his 100-yard games came against Power Five conference opponents.
   He'll be sidelined during the spring after undergoing surgery, but will be back in the fold for the season. With Hill sitting out the spring, junior Jeff Carr and redshirt freshman LD Brown figure to get most of the reps. With 20 career games played, Carr has been around. He has seen some important game action and has 48 career carries for 227 yards (4.7 avg.) and two touchdowns in his career.
   Perhaps more so than others on the roster, Carr and Brown stand to benefit significantly from this spring because they will get more than enough opportunities to prove themselves.

Cowboy Back
   Gone are the heart and soul of the Cowboy Back position from the past two seasons in the graduated Blake Jarwin and Zac Veatch, so there is offseason work that needs to be done for anyone to feel like they have a true grasp on what's to come from this bunch.
   Jarwin's strength was as a receiver and Veatch's strength was as a blocker, so using that as the basis, junior Keenen Brown (a converted wide receiver) is the likely replacement in the pass-catching void created by Jarwin's departure and junior Britton Abbott figures to step into Veatch's blocking role.
   Brown has two career receptions to his credit, but has a chance to position himself as a much more prominent figure in the passing game this spring. A walk-on, Abbott has yet to register on the stat sheet as a Cowboy, but has the inside track by virtue of the fact that he did play some meaningful reps in 2016.

Offensive Line
   Three starters and four letterwinners return on the offensive line, so there is a general sense that this group can be effective, but the thought does still linger that the Cowboy offensive line still has substantial room for improvement. New coach Josh Henson should help with that.
   Senior tackle Zach Crabtree (34 career starts) and senior center Brad Lundblade (27 career starts) are the most experienced members of this bunch and redshirt sophomore guard Marcus Keyes is a promising up-and-comer who was an everyday starter as a redshirt freshman a year ago.
   Senior Larry Williams was OSU's starter at right guard for the first five games before suffering an injury. He is a good candidate to reclaim his starting spot this spring. The other tackle position opposite Crabtree needs to be sorted out before the season, with junior college transfer Arlington Hambright joining redshirt freshmen Dylan Galloway and Teven Jenkins and senior Shane Richards in the mix.


The Cowboy Defense
   The development of defensive playmakers will be a vital component of Oklahoma State's 2017 offseason. The Cowboys return five starters from 2016, but have significant holes to fill with the departure of safety Jordan Sterns, defensive tackle Vincent Taylor and linebacker Jordan Burton, among others. Based on past performances in games, the defensive line appears to be the best-stocked position group in terms of returning playmakers. The coaching staff will need to sort out two new starters at linebacker and at cornerback and a new starter at safety. OSU's top returners on the defensive side of the ball are safety Tre Flowers and linebacker Chad Whitener.

Defensive Line
   A strong and deep corps of defensive ends headlines this group. In juniors Jarrell Owens and Cole Walterscheid, the Cowboys return 25 combined starts from a year ago. Tralund Webber is perhaps OSU's most under-the-radar standout. His 6.0 sacks in 2016 ranked fifth among Big 12 players returning in 2017 (fourth among defensive ends) and his 9.0 tackles for loss in 2016 ranked sixth among Big 12 players returning in 2017 (fourth among defensive ends). Back in the fold after missing all of last year to injury is Jordan Brailford, who had 23 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, a sack and three quarterback hurries in 2015. He is a candidate to start. Joining the fray in the fall is Vili Leveni, who is scheduled to miss the spring as he rehabs from injury.
   Gone are last season's two starters on the interior of the defensive line - and the loss of first-team All-Big 12 performer Vincent Taylor will be significant - but between senior DeQuinton Osborne and junior Darrion Daniels, OSU has a pair of interior defensive linemen who have seen important game reps.

Linebacker
   In each of the past two seasons, middle linebacker Chad Whitener has earned All-Big 12 honors. In 2015, the San Antonio Express News named him to their first team and in 2016, the coaches gave him a second-team spot. Whitener's 170 career tackles are the second-most among active Cowboys and his 16.0 tackles for loss are the most. He has started 20 games for OSU. He'll be joined at the Mike linebacker spot by junior Patrick Macon, who was the NJCAA national defensive player of the year playing for Arizona Western last season.
   At the Will backer, junior Justin Phillips has the look of a player ready to step into a leadership role after he logged 42 tackles 2.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and an interception a year ago. Sophomore Kevin Henry and senior Gyasi Akem will also get their share of spring reps at the Will.
   Junior Kenneth Edison-McGruder, who established himself as a fiercely aggressive hitter playing safety the past two years, moves to the Star linebacker position this spring. His attacking nature and skill set make him a good fit in this role, which he played a version of at times last season. Senior Kirk Tucker and sophomore Calvin Bundage are also in the mix at the Star position.

Cornerback
   The cornerback position will require some sorting out this offseason because no fewer than three players will see the first significant game experience of their career.
   Sophomores A.J. Green and Madre Harper and redshirt freshman Rodarius Williams are young players who all have some of the tools needed to succeed at cornerback and all three will have ample opportunities to prove themselves in the spring. As true freshmen in 2016, Green and Harper both saw substantial game action on special teams and minimally on defense while Williams redshirted and developed his skills on the scout team.
   Redshirt senior Darius Curry enters his fifth year in the program, but has yet to make a name for himself as a defensive player. He played in 12 games in 2016 and has played in 28 games during his career, but the bulk of his contributions in an Oklahoma State uniform have come on special teams, as opposed to on defense.
   An interesting note on the players in this group is their size - all of them stand six-feet tall or above, which isn't always common among cornerbacks.
   Also factoring into the cornerback plans is senior Ramon Richards, though he is slated to primarily be a safety who rotates in at corner this spring. Others to note are senior Malik Kearse and sophomore speedster Bryce Balous.

Safety
   No active OSU player has more career tackles than senior Tre Flowers, who has made 200 stops as a Cowboy. Though he was often overshadowed by Jordan Sterns the last couple seasons, Flowers has unquestionably come into his own as a very good player in space.
   Ramon Richards, who has rotated in at safety at times during his career, makes the switch from his primary role being as a cornerback to his primary role now being at safety. That said, he's still likely to get reps at both positions during the spring. With 23 career starts to his credit, Richards has plenty of game experience and should be able to make the transition. He tied for the team lead and ranked seventh in the Big 12 with three interceptions a year ago.
   Jerel Morrow will also have his say. Morrow has been a special teams ace for years, but has not been a prominent gameday contributor on defense to this point. Speaking of special teams aces, sophomore Chance Cook made a catalogue of plays on special teams as a freshman in 2016. If he is able to translate some of his fearlessness and athleticism to the safety position, he may become a player to watch in the spring.

Specialists
   In junior Zach Sinor, Oklahoma State has a legitimate Ray Guy Award candidate who led all FBS punters in 2016 with 62.5 percent of his punts being downed inside the opponent's 20-yard line, a figure that was nearly 10 percent better than any other punter in the country, as the second-place finisher (Utah's Mitch Wishnowsky) came in at 53.1 percent. Despite punting only 56 times on the season, Sinor's 35 punts downed inside the 20 led the nation. Due largely to his ability to target punt with hang time, OSU ranked second nationally by allowing only 15 punt return yards all season (0.94 yards per punt return). Sinor's performance was perhaps the most significant reason why the Cowboys ranked No. 1 nationally in opponents' starting field position, starting on average at their own 23.8-yard line. The Cowboys held their opponents to either zero yards or negative yards on punt returns seven times in 13 games in 2016.
   For the first time since 2012, Ben Grogan will not be Oklahoma State's kicker, as the program's all-time leading scorer has graduated and moved on. The most logical replacement is sophomore Matt Ammendola, who handled all of the kickoff duties in 2016 and pounded home a 53-yard field goal in his lone attempt of the season. There are no scholarship kickers on the roster during the spring, but freshman Jake McClure will enter into the fold this summer.