Oklahoma State's All-In Approach to 2025 Could be a Mistake

Oklahoma State seems to be going all-in on next season, but it might backfire.

After going 3-9 last season, the Cowboys seem to be ready to simply move on from that team entirely. Over the past few months, the Cowboys have secured commitments from numerous players in the transfer portal as they look to right the ship.

Along with the significant roster overturn, OSU has an almost entirely new coaching staff heading into next season under Mike Gundy. Going into his 21st season as OSU’s head coach, Gundy has seen plenty of changes throughout his career, but to have one offseason with so much change is a rarity.

For the Cowboys to overcome their lack of continuity, they will need to have a good idea of who will be starting and what the season-long depth chart will look like going into fall camp. While the issue obviously gets magnified at a position like quarterback, having a plan in place at every position will be key to OSU’s hopes of early success, particularly with a matchup at Oregon in Week 2.

Even assuming the Cowboys have everything figured out internally ahead of their opening kickoff against UT Martin, there is no guarantee that OSU will necessarily have found a winning formula. While many of the departures from last year’s team were players who ran out of eligibility or wanted a change of scenery early in the offseason, players such as Justin Kirkland or Garret Rangel might have felt pushed out by the incoming players at their positions.

While it does make some sense for OSU to want ot start basically fresh after winning three games, not allowing some solid players to get a chance to develop in Stillwater could be seen as a mistake in a couple of years. Still, the Cowboys have added a lot of talent that they are hoping will gel fine and result in a much better product on the field.

However, if these decisions don’t quite work in the Cowboys’ favor, there could be another big offseason of change coming next year.