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Newcomers Look Good in First Fall Camp Practice

A group of newcomers showed a lot of potential in Oklahoma State's first practice of the 2020 fall camp on Wednesday

STILLWATER -- There seems to be a shred of normalcy over the past few days for Oklahoma State football. Fall camp began yesterday, giving the Pokes their first on-the-field workout since mid-march and on Thursday, the Amway Coaches Poll was released and the Cowboys made the cut at No. 16.

Fall camp also gave us our first look at receiver Tylan Wallace since he went down with a season-ending knee injury last November. It also gave us a glimpse at the newcomers in the 2020 class and some of them stood out.

We got a chance to speak with senior linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez and OC/WR coach Kasey Dunn following practice on Wednesday and this is what they had to say about the newcomers in their respective groups.

“It’s fun getting those guys out and going,” Dunn said of the newcomer receivers. “Dee [Anderson] is definitely going to make an impact this year. Brayden Johnson and Dee are competing for that X spot right now. Tylan [Wallace] is shoring up that Z [spot] and as you know, Dillon [Stoner’s] inside along with Landon [Wolf]. I feel really good where we are as a receiving corps right now and those guys have been fantastic. The new guys, Dee has been unbelievable working himself into the fabric of what we do here at Oklahoma State. The young guys too; great young group of receivers for us, I mean they’re just good dudes.

“Brennan [Presley] is obviously a special player, he’s going to be a very special player for Oklahoma State for a long time, but he’s got to wait his turn. It’s going to be pretty hard to unseat Dillon.

I think everyone knows just how special Brennan Presley is. He made highlight reel catch after highlight reel catch during his high school days at Bixby and was one of the most electric guys on any field at any given time.

Presley was named the Oklahoma Gatorade Player of the Year and the top prep player in Oklahoma by MaxPreps following his senior season. He hauled in 1,398 yards and 23 touchdowns this past season for Bixby, bringing his career total to 3,448 yards and 52 total touchdowns, 40 of which were receiving.

It’s going to be a lot of fun watching Dee Anderson and Braydon Johnson competing for that outside receiver spot. Johnson burst onto the scene last season against Texas A&M as he recorded 124 yards and two touchdowns on just five receptions. Johnson’s also the fastest guy on the team and will be a major threat for the Pokes this season.

As for Anderson, he checks in at 6-6, 205-pounds and comes to Oklahoma State out of Desoto by the way of LSU. Anderson didn’t see any action this past season as he redshirted, but caught 20 passes for 274 yards and one touchdown his junior season.

LSU Tigers wide receiver Dee Anderson (11) works out prior to the game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium

Wide receiver Dee Anderson (11) works out prior to the game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium

“Definitely got a lot of young guys coming in,” said linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez. “It’s the first day of practice and they’re just coming in and trying to get used to the way we do things here, but definitely standing out. Jeff [Roberson] and Cole [Thompson] and Mason Cobb and all them [are] flying around. That’s what you want to do when you come in, just fly around, have fun and run to the ball. Definitely those guys, but then you’ve got Lamont [Bishop], just a lot of guys coming in. Definitely just got to work with the coaches and it’ll be great to see what they do here.”

The Cowboys return two of the best linebackers in the Big 12 for the 2020 season, Amen Ogbongbemiga and Malcolm Rodriguez, but there’s a large group of newcomers the coaching staff is trying to prepare for the future.

The three freshmen Rodriguez mentioned, Roberson out of Choctaw, Thompson out of Norman and Cobb out of Provo, UT all proved they were talented football players at the high school level. Roberson and Thompson were two of the better linebackers at any level of Oklahoma HS football and Cobb was named the Utah Defensive Player of the Year after recording 118 total tackles, 11 tackles for a loss, three sacks and three interceptions.

As for Iowa Central C.C. transfer Lamont Bishop, he brings great size and experience at 6-3, 225-pounds and before he tore his ACL five games into the season, he had recorded 40 tackles, nine of which resulted in a loss, two sacks and one forced fumble and interception apiece.

As with most JUCO transfers, it will probably take Bishop a while to get adjusted to the increase in talent, speed and aggressiveness of the DI level, but he’ll be a force once he gets there.

A newcomer that wasn't mentioned who should make an impact this upcoming season is Missouri transfer corner Christian Holmes.

Holmes, originally out of Leland (McNair) MS, checks in at 6-1, 190-pounds.

He played in all 12 games for Missouri last season and started four of those. He finished with 29 tackles, 24 unassisted, 3.0 tackles for loss and four pass break ups. His best season came in 2018 as he recorded 36 tackles and two interceptions. He also started against the Cowboys in the 2018 AutoZone Liberty Bowl that the Cowboys won over the Tigers 38-33. Holmes had an impressive six tackles, five of which were unassisted, and he recorded a pass break up.