OSU Football Spring Preview

March 09, 2020 | Cowboy Football

There is real optimism surrounding the Oklahoma State football program in 2020 and why shouldn't there be? The Cowboys return eight starters on offense and 11 starters on defense, have a returning starter at quarterback and have what may be the nation's best one-two punch in All-America running back Chuba Hubbard and All-America receiver Tylan Wallace.

A significant off-season development was the promotion of Kasey Dunn into the role of offensive coordinator. The longest consecutively-serving OSU football assistant since 1962, Dunn has built one of the most consistently productive receiver groups in the nation during his time in Stillwater.

Defensively, OSU returns almost every major contributor from a group that closed the 2019 season by holding each of its final six opponents under their respective season scoring averages. In 2018, the Cowboys allowed an average of 32.5 points and 452.5 yards per game, but in 2019, those numbers improved to 26.8 points and 412.3 yards per game. With nearly everyone back from a defense that took the lead in a handful of OSU victories in 2019, there is reason to believe greater things are yet to come from that group.
The Cowboy Offense

Eight starters and 11 letterwinners are back on offense, with Hubbard and Wallace the two headliners. In 2019, Hubbard finished eighth in the voting for the Heisman Trophy and was a finalist for the Doak Walker Award. In 2018, Wallace was a first-team All-American and a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award. He was having a similar season in 2019 before a season-ending injury. Together, Hubbard and Wallace form the only returning duo in country with 2,500+ career receiving yards and 2,500+ career rushing yards.

Offensive Line

Three starters return up front, led by senior right tackle Teven Jenkins, who has been a mainstay in the trenches for the better part of the last three seasons. Jenkins may be one of the most notable examples of a player who has not received the kind of recognition that he has earned. That should change in 2020 because he is positioned to serve in more of a leadership role and as a result, his work will be more widely seen.

One of the most significant roster moves of the off-season for Oklahoma State was the acquisition of junior Josh Sills, a graduate transfer and two-year starter from West Virginia with two years of eligibility remaining. He was a second-team All-Big 12 selection for the Mountaineers in 2018 and is a strong candidate to make an immediate impact.

Senior Dylan Galloway (14 career starts) and sophomore Bryce Bray (10 career starts) both know their way around, as do junior Ry Schneider (six career starts) and Hunter Anthony (four starts in 2019).

Redshirt freshmen Hunter Woodard and Jacob Farrell figure to be in line for increased roles in 2020, as both were on the depth chart for much of 2019. Sophomore Tyrese Williams is another developing player with a chance to appear on the depth chart.

Quarterback

Now a sophomore, Spencer Sanders immediately made a name for himself by earning Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year honors in 2019. He set an Oklahoma State freshman record by passing for 2,065 yards despite missing what amounts to three games due to injury. At the time of Sanders' injury, Oklahoma State had a 7-3 record. Among the 15 teams from Power Five conferences led by a freshman quarterback, only Ohio State had a better record. Sanders is an exciting prospect because of his ability to do damage as both a passer and a rusher. In 2019, he was one of only 12 freshmen nationally to pass for more than 2,000 yards and his average of 57.1 rushing yards per game ranked third in the nation among all freshmen quarterbacks

One of the central figures in Sanders' development moving forward is first-year quarterbacks coach Tim Rattay. A record-setting passer in his playing days, Rattay coached quarterbacks for the Washington Redskins last year after spending the previous six seasons coaching at Louisiana Tech.

Sanders is the only quarterback on the roster with any game experience. Others in camp include redshirt freshman Brendan Costello, early enrollee freshman Shane Illingworth and walk-ons Shaun Taylor and Peyton Thompson.

Running Back

A unanimous All-American in 2019, Chuba Hubbard has earned his spot on the preseason list for the Heisman Trophy in 2020. He was honored as the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year by both the coaches and the Associated Press a year ago after leading the FBS with 2,094 rushing yards, 161.1 rushing yards per game, 179.5 all-purpose yards per game, 11 consecutive 100-yard rushing games and four 200-yard rushing games. The most dangerous big-play threat in the country, he led the FBS with 15 rushes of 30 yards or longer, nine rushes of 40 yards or longer, seven rushes of 50 yards or longer, five rushes of 60 yards or longer, three rushes of 70 yards or longer, two rushes of 80 yards or longer and one rush of 90 yards or longer.

In senior LD Brown, OSU has a well-established complement to Hubbard in the run game. Brown has more than 600 career rushing yards to his credit and is a capable big-play threat in his own right with a career average of 6.0 yards per carry.

Junior college transfer Dezmon Jackson dealt with an injury for the bulk of the 2019 season, so he didn't have the chance to see much game action. Well-thought-of youngster Deondrick Glass comes out of redshirt.

Receiver

Tylan Wallace has rightfully earned a spot among the best and most feared receivers in college football. He is third among active FBS players with 2,512 career receiving yards and is second with 20 career receiving touchdowns. In 2019, he was a midseason All-America honoree by The Athletic and he went on to earn second-team All-Big 12 status despite missing half of the conference season to injury. Wallace averaged 112.9 receiving yards per game to rank fourth in the FBS and first among all receivers from Power Five conferences before sustaining a season-ending injury in practice in week nine.

When Wallace went out, the depth of OSU's receiving group came to the fore, with Dillon Stoner and Braydon Johnson assuming leadership roles. Wallace, Stoner, Johnson and Landon Wolf are all back in 2020 and all figure to factor heavily into OSU's offensive plans. Developing youngsters Langston Anderson and Jonathan Shepherd are also worth monitoring.

Cowboy Back

The entire group of Cowboy Backs returns from 2019 and is led by junior Jelani Woods. This group factors into the offense in a hybrid tight end/fullback role that catches passes and impacts pass protection, run blocking and special teams. Established returners include seniors Logan Carter and Dayton Metcalf and sophomore Braden Cassity.

The Cowboy Defense
Oklahoma State returns nearly all of its defensive production from a year ago. Third-year coordinator Jim Knowles welcomes back 87 percent of last year's tackles, 95 percent of last year's tackles for loss and 95 percent of last year's sacks. In safety Kolby Harvell-Peel, the Cowboys have a potential All-America level performer, but there are several other returning standouts who give reason to believe this has a chance to be one of OSU's stronger defensive units in recent memory.

Defensive Line

Despite losing every starter from the previous season, the Cowboy defensive line of 2019 had just one fewer tackle than the 2018 unit. The inexperienced 2019 group combined to record 30 quarterback hurries and 12 passes broken up, both of which represent the highest marks recorded for an OSU defensive line since coach Joe Bob Clements arrived in 2013. Nearly everyone from the 2019 group is back in 2020.

One of the most promising and dynamic young players on the roster is defensive end Trace Ford, whose nine quarterback hurries in 2019 ranked as the second-highest single-season mark in school history. If he builds on that, he will be well on his way to establishing himself as one of the most disruptive players in the Big 12.

While Ford has shown great promise, the true strength of the defensive line is its depth. Defensive tackle Cameron Murray, Ford, defensive end Brock Martin, defensive tackle Israel Antwine, defensive end Tyler Lacy and defensive tackle Samuela Tuihalamaka all recorded at least 20 tackles a year ago. Another up-and-comer to monitor is defensive tackle Jayden Jernigan, who saw his playing time increase as 2019 went on.

Junior Brendon Evers returns after making three starts and playing in 10 games a year ago.

Senior defensive end Amadou Fofana and junior defensive tackle Sione Asi provide added depth, and junior college transfer defensive end Tyren Irby will get a look as well. Defensive ends Isreal Isuman-Hundley and Kody Walterscheid come out of redshirt, as does defensive tackle Xavier Ross.

Linebacker

Seniors Amen Ogbongbemiga and Malcolm Rodriguez are returning All-Big 12 performers who serve as the heart of the Cowboy defense. Both logged over 100 tackles a year ago, marking the first time since 1989 that OSU had two players record at least 100 tackles in the same season.

Perhaps the biggest variable entering 2020 is senior Calvin Bundage. Bundage sat out 2019 due to injury, but when healthy, has proven himself as a dynamic and explosive talent. A healthy Bundage in the lineup alongside Ogbongbemiga and Rodriguez could make the OSU linebacking corps even more formidable.

Also returning is senior Devin Harper, who played through pain last year, but has established himself as an important contributor on both defense and special teams.

Cornerback

Gone is three-year starter A.J. Green to graduation, but back is another three-year starter in Rodarius Williams, who figures to be the leader of the group. Williams is far and away the most experienced player on either side of the ball for OSU and will be counted on to make plays and provide leadership.

Beyond Williams, things get interesting. Junior Jarrick Bernard makes the move to corner after playing an important role at safety each of the past two years. A first-team Academic All-Big 12 selection in 2019, Bernard has the intelligence to pick up the new position. He also knows his way around, as he's played in every game the past two seasons and started 21 times. He is an active player who impacts the game in a variety of ways, posting 54 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 2.0 tackles for loss, an interception and five pass breakups a year ago.

A bright young prospect is sophomore Thomas Harper, who played in 12 games as a true freshman in 2019. Most of his contributions came on special teams, but he did enough in practice serving as a reserve corner to give reason to believe he can be a contributor on defense early in his career. If he doesn't slot in at corner, safety may be an option as well.

Safety

Safety may be the most well-stocked position group on the roster. It starts with junior Kolby Harvell-Peel, who earned first-team All-Big 12 accolades after ranking seventh nationally with five interceptions in 2019. Harvell-Peel led the Big 12 and ranked fourth in the FBS with 1.5 passes defended per game and has positioned himself as a candidate for the Jim Thorpe Award and All-America status entering 2020.

Junior Tre Sterling was a breakthrough performer last season with 70 tackles and eight passes broken up and is on the radar for All-Big 12 honors moving forward. He started 11 of the 12 games in which he played in 2019 and in the one game he didn't start, sophomore Jason Taylor II stepped in with little to no drop off. Junior Tanner McCalister is an established veteran performer as well. Sophomores Kanion Williams and Sean Michael Flanagan, both of whom provided strong contributions on special teams in 2019, will get a look during the spring.

Special Teams

Gone is a three-year starter at kicker in Matt Ammendola, but everyone else is back. Junior Jake McClure has been effective on kickoffs and as a holder and junior Matt Hembrough has snapped on both punts and placements without incident.

Identifying a new starter at kicker will be important. Sophomore Alex Hale and McClure are the most likely candidates, but neither has attempted a field goal or PAT to this point of their respective OSU careers.