Gundy Talks Game Day Atmosphere, Chuba Hubbard Workload, and New Receivers and Presley

On the Monday of the first game week and Mike Gundy's longest Zoom call so far with media, Pokes Report had a hodge podge of topics we picked out.

STILLWATER -- The official depth chart is out! The official depth chart is out! Our projection was absolutely spot on, which is nice to see. We like to think that we know a thing or two after all these years. This is my 47th season to cover Oklahoma State football as a member of the media. During some of those seasons I've been at every game, a few I covered a portion of the schedule. I have been at every game for the past 19-years as a member of the Cowboy Radio Network crew. It is nice to be able to start again this Saturday at Boone Pickens Stadium. The smallest crowd I've ever seen Oklahoma State play in front of has either been one of the recent road games at Kansas or the Oct. 3, 1981 game with North Texas in the Cotton Bowl. That 9-0 win was witnessed by less than 10,000 fans. 

There will be more than that this Saturday when the Cowboys open by hosting Tulsa. There will be somewhere between 15-17,000 fans depending on the count in the suite level of the stadium. Many more would like to be there. 

I asked Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy if he watched enough football this weekend to get a grasp of how it will feel on the sidelines this Saturday.

"I watched a little bit here and there, not a lot because we practiced over the weekend, but I've watched here and there," Gundy said of the televised games over the Labor Day weekend. "The games look normal. Obviously, there are not fans and I'm sure the sound is quite different best I can tell at this time."

Over the past two weeks the practice load has ramped up for returning All-American, nation's leading rusher, and Heisman Trophy candidate Chuba Hubbard. Last year, Gundy, in retrospect, felt he may have given the ball to the talented Canadian native too many times. Hubbard was banged up all last year as he played through a fracture in his pelvic bone and now he is healthy. Hubbard is said to look really good, better, and even faster.

Depending on situations in games, how does Gundy see himself regulating Hubbard's workload?

"He's going to get his carries," Gundy answered. "We're going to base it on how he feels throughout the game. I would hope that he wouldn't have to carry it 30 times a game for us to be successful. If he to and he feels good, then we are going to give it to him."

Finally, as we stick to most Cowboys fans favorite topic of offense, how about receivers? The guess here is that Tylan Wallace will be completely recovered from his ACL tear and surgery. He will be brought along at the pace he is comfortable with. Oklahoma State has Dillon Stoner, Landon Wolf, and speedy Braydon Johnson that showed how spectacular he can be in the Texas Bowl. I can tell you that last year's four-star freshman receiver Langston Anderson has stepped up and is ready to contribute.

On top of those guys Oklahoma State added three new pass catchers, two transfers and one freshman that will factor immediately. The transfers are former LSU receiver Dee Anderson, who has been gradual in getting comfortable and just declared eligible receiver Tay Martin coming from Washington State where he caught 143 passes in three seasons for 1,471-yards and 16 touchdowns. 

"They (Anderson and Martin) are new guys that are learning our offense and competing," Gundy explained. "As they get more comfortable with our offense we give them more reps."

Martin has seemingly come in and after going through acclimatization jumped into practice and reports are he has advanced very quickly and displayed a skill set and ability that leads the staff to believe he will play a strong role this season. Martin told Pokes Report that he came in with the idea of using his season at Oklahoma State to springboard to a solid opportunity in the NFL.

Then there is the freshman, 5-8, 165-pound Bixby standout and Oklahoma High School Player of the Year Brennan Presley. No matter his size, Presley is electric and ready to contribute early.

"From day one, he has been as advertised, ultra-competitive, loves to play football, and fortunately, he has stayed healthy which is important if you are a true freshman that wants to get on the field," outlined Gundy of Presley's fall camp and preparation. "If you get dinged up (injured) and miss 7-to-10 days then it is extremely difficult to get ready to play. His competitive level, skill set, and health have combined to him to have an opportunity to play in the first game."

Again, with Presley size doesn't matter.

"It hasn't been an issue with us at all, I go back to his competitive nature and his willingness to do whatever it takes to be successful," Gundy said. "It overcomes his size and we haven't seen (his size) be a factor in our practices."

Truth of what I've heard is that when you have a player that many defenders can't catch, much less tackle, then they go on the list of guys that are going to play. Presley has made that list.