Defense Really Could Be the Best Side of the Ball for Oklahoma State, at least Equal
STILLWATER -- Oklahoma State went through about a two and half hour practice on Wednesday. The Cowboys were back in helmets and shoulder pads after going in full pads for the first time on Tuesday. Head coach Mike Gundy has said there is no need to push the team excessively as they have the expanded time to prepare for the opener with Tulsa. There was a focus on the running game and stopping the run as both offense and defense worked against scouts and some against each other.
A theme of our coverage in preseason here on Pokes Report has been defense.
How far back do you have to go? I'm asking about defense at Oklahoma State. Before Mike Gundy became head coach and started pushing the Cowboys offense into the stratosphere in college football. At first it was a steady performance, but then with the hiring of Dana Holgorsen through Todd Monken and then on to Mike Yurcich offensive explosion and balance at the same time became synonomous with Oklahoma State. The Cowboys have sent a steady diet of offensive playmakers at quarterback, running back, especially at wide receiver, and even the cowboy back with Blake Jarwin starting in Dallas.
The Cowboys annually sit in the top 10 in offensive production, both yards and points. Over on the defensive side, not so much. To be fair, supporting a fast paced offense in a league full of no huddle spread attacks is not easy for a defense to sustain.
The 2011 Oklahoma State defense wasn't a top stopper unit, but it was a turnover wrecking crew that helped feed the Cowboys on offense and make playing OSU that much more of a nightmare. The 2013 defense under first-year full-time defensive coordinator Glenn Spencer was a salty unit that held it's own.
The past two seasons have been a learning experience for current defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, but Knowles has not wasted the lessons and his vetern group this season really looks like the real deal. We may all be thinking back to the early Pat Jones's days when Leslie O'Neal and John Washington were throwing around quarterbacks and running backs and safety Mark Moore made sure Big Eight receivers kept their head on a swivel.
"I'm really pleased and we are poised to take the next step, leadership is great, everybody knows what they are doing, in the right places and playing fast," Knowles said sounding happier with his unit than maybe at any time since he arrived. "We are multiple and our packages are developing to really take advantage of the people that we have. I think we are going to put some great combinations of people on the field at different times."
Knowles gave props to Devin Harper for a great camp, Calvin Bundage, Trace Ford. Amen Ogbongbemiga, Malcolm Rodriguez, and new transfer corner Christian Holmes.
"There are some guys that are serious threats to have a great year," added Knowles. "Full speed ahead, I think we've got a real chance to be good."
An observer from the other side of the ball agrees as senior receiver Dillon Stoner was asked for an opinion.
"The skies the limit. We lost A.J. (Green) and a couple of other guys on the defense, I can't remember but predominantly everyone came back," answered Stoner when I asked about the defense. He has seen a lot of football in his six-years in Stillwater, Stoner couldn't remember anyone else because it really was just Green that was lost on defense.
"Guys look great like Kolby (Harvell-Peel), Amen (Ogbongbemiga). Le-Le (Rodarius Williams), our secondary, all the way through the defense they look like they are going to be great."
Last season the defense improved greatly and finished fifth in points allowed at 28.1 per game in conference play. The defense was third in rushing yards allowed, third in turnovers forced, and third in sacks. It was a different age of football, before spread offenses and RPO's that creat massive run-pass conflict. That 1984 Oklahoma State defense only allowed 12.3 points and 276.9-yards per game. Those numbers may not be possible in this age of football. That team also forced 38 turnovers and had 43 sacks.
Whew! Huge numbers, but Knowles and senior defensive tackle Cameron Murray think there is a player that could push the stats in those two categories and it's sophomore defensive end Trace Ford, the Cowboys hybrid edge player.
"Stud, I mean you are exactly right, the kid is a physical speciman with unbelievable short space quickness and a great first step and I think he is a real All-American prospect," piled on Knowles. "He's starting to get a little mean out here as he is playing a lot. He is starting to get mean on the field and have a competitive attitude. The skies the limit for him!"
Second time for that "skies the limit" line.
"I really like Trace and his mentality," Murray said. "He brings a good presence to our defense and has a lot of speed."
Lots of speed, lots of playmakers, lots of experience, and I believe it will add up to a defense that Oklahoma State fans will remember for a long time. That coule mean a season to remember for a long time.
