Oklahoma State Cowboys Football’s Biggest Questions After Six Practices
In this story:
The Oklahoma State Cowboys are closing in on their first scrimmage of fall camp and there are plenty of questions left to answer.
New head coach Eric Morris has answered plenty of questions. But as one might expect this early in camp, those answers are more about who is competing where than about which players have won jobs. But those answers could be coming soon — just not as soon as some fans would like.
Here are four of the biggest questions confronting Oklahoma State football after six workouts.
Who’s Going to Rush the Passer?
Morris has answered many questions in his time with the media, but the edge rushers haven’t been talked about much (there have been many more questions about the rest of the defense). That could mean nothing or it could mean a lot.
There is a fair amount of confidence in Jaleel Johnson and Florida State transfer James Williams being heavily involved on the edge. Many preseason publications have the pair starting on the edge. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t competition going on out there.
North Texas transfer Keviyan Huddleston should be in the mix, along with Malik Charles and DeSean Brown. Carl’Veon Brown — a converted outside linebacker — is the wild card in this.
The first scrimmage should go a long way toward establishing a pecking order on the edge.
The Left Tackle
The time that Braydon Nelson has needed to recover from his injury wasn’t unexpected and Morris said last weekend that the Cowboys continue to be “aggressive” with his timeline to return. Morris believes there is a chance he could be back for the opener against Tulsa. He’s not worried about the “mental reps” since Nelson was his left tackle at North Texas last season.
If Nelson can’t go, then what will the Cowboys do at left tackle? They have options but given Morris’ “deadline” to settle on a Top 8 linemen — the first scrimmage — he needs answers quickly.
Those answers are likely to come from Oklahoma transfer Jacob Sexton and Michigan State transfer Ashton Lepo, both of whom are massive but only one of which — Sexton — has the experience to make Morris and his staff feel comfortable with him out there on the edge.
Do These Cowboys Have Enough Depth?
Morris made an interesting point during his Saturday press conference — his Cowboys are under the limit even without accounting for any DSAs on the roster. There is room for him to add talent if it’s out there (think four-for-four players looking for a home if the Colorado injunction allows them).
That begs the question — do the Cowboys have enough depth to handle injuries? Clearly, they will happen, but no one can predict the volume.
Positions that look thin after six practices? Cornerback, with just six experienced players; tight end, where there are six players but only two with the kind of experience that makes them potential starters; and quarterback, where an injury to Drew Mestemaker leaves the Cowboys with an Ivy League product and two true freshmen.
Positions with good to great depth? Running back, wide receiver, offensive line and linebacker spring to mind.
How Five-For-Five Impacts True Freshmen
This will be the first freshman class impacted by the new five-for-five rule. The charm is its simplicity — student-athletes have five years to play five years. No redshirts. Morris like that part of it. It takes the “strategy” out of trying to figure out which four games to play freshmen to get them experience before putting them on the shelf the rest of the season. Now, he just lets them compete for jobs. And a few have a chance to claim playing time.
Some names Morris has mentioned so far? Wide receivers Jabarie Thornton and Dayvon Standard and running back KD Jones. While Morris hasn’t mentioned Braeden Presley — the younger brother of former OSU wide receiver Brennan Presley — he’s almost certain to come up at some point before the season opener.
Add us as a preferred source on Google
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.
Follow PostinsPostcard