Spring Football Preview #7: Offensive Line

Spring football for Oklahoma State begins on Monday, March 9 and will finish on Saturday, April 18. Prior to the start of the spring, Pokes Report will preview each position group. This preview is on the offensive line.

STILLWATER -- There are plenty of positives to be associated with the offensive line for 2020 and for the spring to set the tone for the 2020 season. This will be the second season for offensive line coach Charlie Dickey and while offensive coordinator Sean Gleeson left for Rutgers, Dickey has worked with and is on the same page with new offensive coordinator Kasey Dunn. The other positive is that Dickey will be working with four returning starters on the offensive line and a number of talented younger players that Dickey worked hard last season to ramp up depth and competition. 

I know you were counting with that sentence above and thought, "wait a second, center Johnny Wilson and left guard Marcus Keyes are both departed, so how can Robert Allen write they have four returning starters?" Honestly, you could write that the Cowboys have five returning starters, but I'm not going to count a player that started at another school. 

The answer is that along with starting offensive tackles Teven Jenkins (right) and Dylan Galloway (left); right guard Bryce Bray; there is also center/guard Ry Schneider. Schneider started the West Virginia game in 2018 at center for an injured Johnny Wilson. Last season, Schneider started four games, so he has five starts overall and I'll given him credit as a returning starter.

The senior from Minco, Okla. is a former walk-on that embodies the Cowboy Culture. he loves football and at 6-3, 327-pounds he is strong and plays, like his good friend and mentor Johnny Wilson with a mean streak. Schneider is also versatile in that he can play either guard or center.

The same is true for Josh Sills as the grad transfer out of West Virginia started most of two seasons for the Mountaineers, but missed all but five quarters of the 2019 season with a shoulder injury that required surgery. Last November, Sills went into the transfer portal and brings his mullet, longer than head coach Mike Gundy's to Stillwater. The 6-6, 338-pound Sills earned second-team All Big 12 recognition from the conference coaches after the 2018 season. Sills can play either guard and center. He could have two seasons with a request for a waiver, but he is likely so good that I predict he will head to the NFL after this next season.

Speaking of the NFL, after his assignments failed to touch an Oklahoma State quarterback last season, that is lay a finger on the quarterback, the NFL took notice of Teven Jenkins. That stat or analytic comes courtesy of Pro Football Focus. Jenkins is physically matured as the Topeka, Kan. native that Dickey tried to recruit to Kansas State and finally got to coach when coming to Stillwater is very athletic for his 6-6, 321-pound frame. He has great feet and is beginning to get excited about the opportunity to earn big money playing in the NFL. 

Dylan Galloway may have the chance to do that too. That duo, Galloway and Jenkins return for another season as the starting tackles with Jenkins at right and Galloway at left. Galloway is 6-5, 326-pounds and goes by the nickname "Sleepy" that was given to him by head coach Mike Gundy. Galloway is waking up and that is a good thing just in time to show off for the NFL. he has the size and like Jenkins, is athletic. 

Bryce Bray is back at guard, where he started last season. He too would make a good center and may move there someday, but the 6-4, 301-pound Bray likely stays at guard for this season. 

Dickey worked the younger offensive linemen heavy last season and red-shirt sophomores like Hunter Anthony (6-6, 328), who started several games last season, and Jacob Farrell (6-6, 313) are both ready to see some action at tackle. 

Hunter Woodard (6-5, 290) brings some nasty and again, good technique to the guard position. 

Senior Matt Kagel, walk-on Walker Reed, and red-shirt sophomore Tyrese Williams are also ready to pitch in on the line. 

A position that was once thought of as suspect and questionable is now a strength. Dickey is a proven teacher with a track record of developing players rapidly. Last year's freshman class of Taylor Miterko, Cole Birmingham (6-8, 308), Joe Michalski, and the versatile Preston Wilson are close to ready to get their feet wet. 

It is really a beautiful thing to see Dickey recruiting and then developing a layered system of finishing for the offensive line.

It helps tremendously the explosive players the line will block for in Chuba Hubbard. L.D. Brown, and Dezmon Jackson at running back, and at wide receiver Tylan Wallace and company. It also helps when your coach is as good as Charlie Dickey. The offensive line is in the best shape it has been in since 2011, which oddly enough, is exactly the kind of season that this group is looking for in 2020. I'd say the chances look good from up front on offense.