Biggest Questions Facing Oklahoma State Entering Fall Camp
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The Oklahoma State Cowboys are only a handful of days away from beginning fall workouts up in Stillwater.
Oklahoma State Cowboys fans just want a better season. To lay the groundwork, former North Texas head coach Eric Morris, his staff and his essentially brand-new roster will need a month to get ready for their first game against Tulsa on Sept. 5. That means plenty of workouts in the hot Oklahoma sun and plenty of question marks about how his first team will come together.
Here are three of the biggest questions going into fall workouts.
Can This Offensive Line Get it Done?
The Cowboys were abysmal in many ways last season. But looking at this year's fall camp roster, Morris and his staff have done a good job of addressing key areas of concern, especially at the skill positions. But offensive line could be tricky.
The Cowboys have Jakobe Sanders returning after starting six games last season. They have plenty of transfers that played for different programs, but none made huge impacts. The most impactful offensive lineman played for Morris at North Texas last year. Braydon Nelson is a player to watch. So is former Oklahoma lineman Jacob Sexton, who has starting experience but wasn’t always able to keep hold of a full-time job. There's a ton of competition too on the roster.
It'll be up to offensive line coach Cody Crill, along with assistants Boone Feldt and Deion Harris, to make sense of the 20 offensive linemen on the roster and how they fit together. They don’t just need a starting five. They realistically need 10-12 linemen they can trust. The new “five-for-five” eligibility rule allows everyone on the roster to complete for playing time, which should help the staff. But this is one of the biggest questions during fall workouts that needs answers.
Will The Defensive Line Produce?
The defensive line might be a little better off than the offensive line. But plenty of questions remain. First, fifth-year Cowboys end Jaleel Johnson is back from injury and the expectation is that he could have his best season ever in Skyler Cassity’s 4-2-5 defensive scheme. Johnson's never been a high producer, but he's never had this much opportunity. He likes to joke that he “transferred without transferring.”
Many of the notable players around him transferred from North Texas with Morris and his staff, including tackle Saadiq Clements. Former Louisville defensive tackle Jerry Lawson is an intriguing product with power conference experience who could help stop the run.
Greg Richmond is the defensive line coach and he's going to spend fall workouts trying to find the right rotation of players to stop the run and rush the quarterback. Like the offense, the defense was a nightmare last season. It was one of the worst in college football.
For Oklahoma State to turn things around quickly, Richmond needs to find the right dozen players for his rotations. He also needs one or two of them to become stars. The Cowboys must start answering those questions in August.
Will Iman Oates Play?
The Oklahoma State Cowboys defensive tackle is one of the few players at the position who is coming back this year. That is, if he can get his eligibility back. Oates is currently working through the court system to get another year of eligibility. It’s not clear if he’ll play yet, but he will be able to practice, which means he can get to know his new teammates and stay in shape for the season.
Oates played two years of junior college and spent three years at OSU, including a redshirt year. While the “five-for-five” rule helps the Cowboys overall, it may work against Oates since he’s played five years of college sports. But he’s petitioning, like Cowboys basketball player Kashie Natt, that his clock for five years should have started in Division I and not junior college.
Getting Oates back would be a huge lift for the defense. He’s one of the few players from a season ago who had on-field success and could be a difference maker for a team looking for as many as it can find.
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Matthew Postins is the publisher of Oklahoma State on SI. He is an award-winning sports journalist who was formerly the editor of the College Football America Yearbook and covers the Big 12 Conference for Heartland College Sports.
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