Reactions To ESPN+ 'Our Time's Episode Seven: Stepping Up
Episode seven of ESPN+'s Oklahoma State docuseries 'Our Time' aired Thursday morning and it was certainly one of my favorites so far.
This episode focused on the season opener against Tulsa last Saturday and the struggles that went with it mid-game. We see exactly when Spencer Sanders gets hurt and the conversations that took place on the sideline, eventually leading to him walking to the locker room.
We also see a heated Josh Sills lighting a fire into his offensive line teammates at halftime of the game, telling them they must be better. Chuba Hubbard was also a part of the conversation, saying "If you guys do your job, Ima do my job".
Mike Gundy was very vocal in the the locker room at halftime, saying multiple times to "Believe in yourself and be confident. Don't ever lose your confidence."
The defense certainly never did as they played lights out the entire game. With Spencer Sanders out of the game early, the offense struggled to find a rhythm with Ethan Bullock in the game, setting up Shane Illingworth's first career appearance.
Following the Bullock interception, Mike Gundy was speaking on the headset and said "I've gotta put 16 in, that's my opinion, so I'd do it right now."
As we all know, Illingworth had immediate success on the field and the stadiums energy was alive once again. Its what ESPN+ shows us under the stadium that has me very intrigued.
Just after the first completion, cameras show us Spencer Sanders standing in the trainers room yelling at the T.V. in celebration. The next play was Illingworth working through his progressions and getting a throw to Jelani Woods for a first down. It then shows Sanders pumping his fist once again supporting Illingworth.
This is extremely impressive to me and really shows us what kind of person and teammate Spencer is. In some cases, even in injury, if someone is in your spot, there can be a bit of resentment towards that person, especially if they have success.
There was not a hint of that in Sanders. He was full support and full teammate.
After the game as Illingworth is walking into the locker room, Sanders meets him at the doorway, daps him up, and tells him "good sh*t."
Just after, Illingworth looks at the camera and points to Spencer and says "he mentors me". It seems as if both of these talented quarterbacks are fully supportive of each other and are both team first kind of players. The future is bright at the quarterback position in Stillwater.
ESPN+ spoke with Illingworth where he said "Spencer will be back, he'll be better than ever, he'll be back on his Heisman campaign. But we're just keep going on that 'Natty' trail".
The episode then followed Shane and his family for the rest of the day and caught some magical moments of his families reactions after the game. One thing I can say about Shane Illingworth is that, mentally, he is not a freshman. He looks and sounds like he has been there and done it before.
There is not an ounce of nervousness or jitters that comes out of this guy.
Some guys, no matter their age or development, just have what it takes. And Shane Illingworth just has IT.
The social media of Oklahoma State fans today has been all over this episode, including thoughts on Spencer, Shane, Josh Sills, and many others.
After Josh Sills fired up moments in the locker room and in the game, some were pumped up themselves.
I was also not the only one that appreciated and liked Spencer Sanders' support of Shane Illingworth.
I am very much looking forward to the next episode as it will take us in depth to Spencer's injury and how they are going to decide the starter for the game against West Virginia. Will it be Spencer or will they have him rest a week and play the freshman phenom?
We will obviously find out the answer to the question before the episode airs but it will be an entertaining one for sure.
If you have any opinions of the episodes or the team itself, leave a comment below and we can discuss!
