Oklahoma State University Athletics
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Spring Football Primer - Defense and Special Teams
March 10, 2019 | Cowboy Football
2019 Oklahoma State Spring Football Guide in PDF FormatÂ
  Coming off its 13th-straight winning season and its seventh bowl victory in the last nine years, Oklahoma State carries a proven culture of success with it into the 2019 season.Â
   Defensively, the Cowboys sustained significant losses from last season - especially along the defensive line - but figure to be strong in the secondary, where most of the starting group from a year ago returns. At linebacker, OSU technically has only one returning starter, but that group has several players who saw a healthy share of game reps last season.Â
   On special teams, OSU returns a two-year starter at kicker, but will replace a four-year starter at punter.
  A closer look at the Cowboy defense and special teams in advance of spring practice opening tomorrow:
The Cowboy Defense
   The secondary figures to be the strength of the 2019 Oklahoma State defense, with A.J. Green and Rodarius Williams back for their third year starting at cornerback. In addition to those two, second-year defensive coordinator Jim Knowles has a young-but-experienced group of safeties, led by junior Malcolm Rodriguez and sophomores Kolby Peel, Jarrick Bernard and Tanner McCalister. The front seven, however, is where the bulk of the questions lie, especially in the trenches, where the Cowboys lost six players who combined for 107 career starts. At linebacker, the Cowboys lost significant production and leadership, but there is reason for optimism because while the returning group may lack in career starts, it does not lack in game reps.Â
Defensive Line
   No position group on the roster has more questions that need answering than the defensive line. The Cowboys lost six players who combined for 107 career OSU starts and are replacing them with a group of players who have combined for zero career starts in an Oklahoma State uniform.
   That said, there does appear to be a group of starters available from the pool of defensive ends Mike Scott and Brock Martin and tackles Israel Antwine, Brendon Evers and Cameron Murray. Of the players in that group, only Antwine (a transfer from Colorado) has FBS starting experience, as he started 11 games for the Buffaloes as a true freshman last season. Scott had his moments for the Cowboys in 2018, blocking an important fourth-quarter field goal attempt in OSU's Liberty Bowl victory over Missouri and finishing the campaign with three sacks and two quarterback hurries. Evers, Murray and Martin have all served as rotation players to this point of their respective careers.Â
   Beyond that, things are wide open. Some players to keep an eye on during the spring and into the preseason include junior college transfers Sione Asi and Amadou Fofana and redshirt freshmen Braden Cassity and Tyler Lacy.
Linebacker
   Senior Calvin Bundage is the second-leading returning tackler from a year ago and has been a staple on the Cowboy defense throughout his career. He enters 2019 as OSU's active leader in career tackles, sacks and tackles for loss. He's also the only linebacker with more than one career start, but that's not to say that he's the only one with meaningful game experience.Â
   Senior Kevin Henry and juniors Devin Harper and Amen Ogbongbemiga are all seasoned performers who made their names on special teams but have also seen game action at linebacker. Henry and Harper have played in 24 career games apiece, with Ogbongbemiga adding 13 appearances of his own. It wouldn't be a surprise to see any of them crack the starting lineup.Â
   An interesting player here is senior Philip Redwine-Bryant. A walk-on who garnered the highest level of respect when he was voted captain by his teammates in 2018, he is another one who made his name on special teams, but could conceivably get into the mix on defense with a strong showing this offseason.Â
Cornerback
   While OSU may be thin on returning starters along the front seven, it returns both of its starting cornerbacks from the last two seasons in senior A.J. Green and junior Rodarius Williams.Â
   Green earned second-team All-Big 12 honors as voted by the league's coaches in 2018 after he was consistently matched up against some of the best receivers in the Big 12 and ranked among the conference leaders in passes broken up with 11. Perhaps his two best performances of the year came against two of the top receivers he faced - Texas's Collin Johnson and West Virginia's David Sills V. Against Texas, he limited Johnson to five receptions on 13 targets with two passes broken up and against West Virginia, he held Sills to four receptions on 11 targets with three passes broken up, including a PBU in the end zone on the final play of the game to preserve OSU's win over the seventh-ranked Mountaineers.
   As for Williams, he is another two-year starter who led the team with two interceptions and ranked second on the squad with eight pass breakups a season ago.
   The next man in is senior Kemah Siverand, who came to OSU during fall camp last season as a graduate transfer from Texas A&M who had two years of eligibility remaining. In his first year with the Cowboys, Siverand played in all 13 games - primarily on special teams - and recorded 10 tackles. He was called into action when Williams was called for targeting in the first quarter of the Liberty Bowl win over Missouri and filled in admirably.Â
   Beyond those three, things open up. There are a number of scholarship players capable of contributing, but none of them have any meaningful game experience at the position. Included in that group are senior Bryce Balous and redshirt freshmen JayVeon Cardwell and Gabe Lemons. Sophomore Lamarcus Morton and early-enrollee freshman Thomas Harper will also get a look this offseason.Â
Safety
   In 2018, Oklahoma State was forced to play three different true freshmen at safety. In 2019, the Cowboys could begin to reap the benefits of that.
   The now-sophomore trio of Jarrick Bernard, Kolby Peel and Tanner McCalister combined to play in 35 of a possible 36 games last season (McCalister missed the season opener to injury) and combined to make 122 tackles, nine tackles for loss and break up six passes.Â
   That group combines with junior Malcolm Rodriguez (83 tackles and five tackles for loss in 2018) to form the core of OSU's safeties, but they are not the only young returners with quality reps under their belt, as Kanion Williams and Jason Taylor both got their share of special teams reps while redshirting as true freshmen last season and sophomore Tre Sterling has also contributed on special teams.Â
Special Teams
   Returning for his third year as Oklahoma State's starting kicker, Matt Ammendola enters 2019 ranked sixth on the NCAA's active scoring list with 251 career points, a mark that leads all returning Big 12 players. He has a realistic chance to finish his career ranked second on OSU's career scoring chart.
   While Ammendola is a strong returning kicker, the Cowboys will have an unproven new punter in 28-year-old freshman Tom Hutton. Hutton doesn't have football experience, but comes from the same program in Australia that produced a trio of Ray Guy Award winners in Mitch Wishnowski (Utah), Tom Hackett (Utah) and Tom Hornsey (Memphis).
  Coming off its 13th-straight winning season and its seventh bowl victory in the last nine years, Oklahoma State carries a proven culture of success with it into the 2019 season.Â
   Defensively, the Cowboys sustained significant losses from last season - especially along the defensive line - but figure to be strong in the secondary, where most of the starting group from a year ago returns. At linebacker, OSU technically has only one returning starter, but that group has several players who saw a healthy share of game reps last season.Â
   On special teams, OSU returns a two-year starter at kicker, but will replace a four-year starter at punter.
  A closer look at the Cowboy defense and special teams in advance of spring practice opening tomorrow:
The Cowboy Defense
   The secondary figures to be the strength of the 2019 Oklahoma State defense, with A.J. Green and Rodarius Williams back for their third year starting at cornerback. In addition to those two, second-year defensive coordinator Jim Knowles has a young-but-experienced group of safeties, led by junior Malcolm Rodriguez and sophomores Kolby Peel, Jarrick Bernard and Tanner McCalister. The front seven, however, is where the bulk of the questions lie, especially in the trenches, where the Cowboys lost six players who combined for 107 career starts. At linebacker, the Cowboys lost significant production and leadership, but there is reason for optimism because while the returning group may lack in career starts, it does not lack in game reps.Â
Defensive Line
   No position group on the roster has more questions that need answering than the defensive line. The Cowboys lost six players who combined for 107 career OSU starts and are replacing them with a group of players who have combined for zero career starts in an Oklahoma State uniform.
   That said, there does appear to be a group of starters available from the pool of defensive ends Mike Scott and Brock Martin and tackles Israel Antwine, Brendon Evers and Cameron Murray. Of the players in that group, only Antwine (a transfer from Colorado) has FBS starting experience, as he started 11 games for the Buffaloes as a true freshman last season. Scott had his moments for the Cowboys in 2018, blocking an important fourth-quarter field goal attempt in OSU's Liberty Bowl victory over Missouri and finishing the campaign with three sacks and two quarterback hurries. Evers, Murray and Martin have all served as rotation players to this point of their respective careers.Â
   Beyond that, things are wide open. Some players to keep an eye on during the spring and into the preseason include junior college transfers Sione Asi and Amadou Fofana and redshirt freshmen Braden Cassity and Tyler Lacy.
Linebacker
   Senior Calvin Bundage is the second-leading returning tackler from a year ago and has been a staple on the Cowboy defense throughout his career. He enters 2019 as OSU's active leader in career tackles, sacks and tackles for loss. He's also the only linebacker with more than one career start, but that's not to say that he's the only one with meaningful game experience.Â
   Senior Kevin Henry and juniors Devin Harper and Amen Ogbongbemiga are all seasoned performers who made their names on special teams but have also seen game action at linebacker. Henry and Harper have played in 24 career games apiece, with Ogbongbemiga adding 13 appearances of his own. It wouldn't be a surprise to see any of them crack the starting lineup.Â
   An interesting player here is senior Philip Redwine-Bryant. A walk-on who garnered the highest level of respect when he was voted captain by his teammates in 2018, he is another one who made his name on special teams, but could conceivably get into the mix on defense with a strong showing this offseason.Â
Cornerback
   While OSU may be thin on returning starters along the front seven, it returns both of its starting cornerbacks from the last two seasons in senior A.J. Green and junior Rodarius Williams.Â
   Green earned second-team All-Big 12 honors as voted by the league's coaches in 2018 after he was consistently matched up against some of the best receivers in the Big 12 and ranked among the conference leaders in passes broken up with 11. Perhaps his two best performances of the year came against two of the top receivers he faced - Texas's Collin Johnson and West Virginia's David Sills V. Against Texas, he limited Johnson to five receptions on 13 targets with two passes broken up and against West Virginia, he held Sills to four receptions on 11 targets with three passes broken up, including a PBU in the end zone on the final play of the game to preserve OSU's win over the seventh-ranked Mountaineers.
   As for Williams, he is another two-year starter who led the team with two interceptions and ranked second on the squad with eight pass breakups a season ago.
   The next man in is senior Kemah Siverand, who came to OSU during fall camp last season as a graduate transfer from Texas A&M who had two years of eligibility remaining. In his first year with the Cowboys, Siverand played in all 13 games - primarily on special teams - and recorded 10 tackles. He was called into action when Williams was called for targeting in the first quarter of the Liberty Bowl win over Missouri and filled in admirably.Â
   Beyond those three, things open up. There are a number of scholarship players capable of contributing, but none of them have any meaningful game experience at the position. Included in that group are senior Bryce Balous and redshirt freshmen JayVeon Cardwell and Gabe Lemons. Sophomore Lamarcus Morton and early-enrollee freshman Thomas Harper will also get a look this offseason.Â
Safety
   In 2018, Oklahoma State was forced to play three different true freshmen at safety. In 2019, the Cowboys could begin to reap the benefits of that.
   The now-sophomore trio of Jarrick Bernard, Kolby Peel and Tanner McCalister combined to play in 35 of a possible 36 games last season (McCalister missed the season opener to injury) and combined to make 122 tackles, nine tackles for loss and break up six passes.Â
   That group combines with junior Malcolm Rodriguez (83 tackles and five tackles for loss in 2018) to form the core of OSU's safeties, but they are not the only young returners with quality reps under their belt, as Kanion Williams and Jason Taylor both got their share of special teams reps while redshirting as true freshmen last season and sophomore Tre Sterling has also contributed on special teams.Â
Special Teams
   Returning for his third year as Oklahoma State's starting kicker, Matt Ammendola enters 2019 ranked sixth on the NCAA's active scoring list with 251 career points, a mark that leads all returning Big 12 players. He has a realistic chance to finish his career ranked second on OSU's career scoring chart.
   While Ammendola is a strong returning kicker, the Cowboys will have an unproven new punter in 28-year-old freshman Tom Hutton. Hutton doesn't have football experience, but comes from the same program in Australia that produced a trio of Ray Guy Award winners in Mitch Wishnowski (Utah), Tom Hackett (Utah) and Tom Hornsey (Memphis).
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