sports Camp...

“Unfortunately, that’s the one position that guys get hurt. They take direct hits from all different angles; very difficult position to play,” Gundy said. “So, you would like to go into the season with four of ‘em. If you go in with three and a fourth guy learning on the run, that’s OK. But that’s the one position you always concern yourself with.”

That’s where Gundy said he and his team sits. Gordon, Jaden Nixon and Elijah Collins will be the top three workhorses in a rushing attack that Gundy hopes to revamp this season. Behind them, true freshman Sesi Vailahi is the “fourth guy learning the run.”

Limited hitting during camp makes it difficult to set a pecking order and judge a position group that revolves around taking hits.

“They really have to run full speed and get hits in order for you to know where you’re at,” Gundy said.

Nixon, a redshirt sophomore, likes where the group is at and said their depth takes away individual pressure.

“You know if I get tired, I can bring in Ollie in, I can bring Elijah in, I can bring Sesi in, and they all know what they’re doing,” Nixon said.

New offensive line scheme welcomed

If the Cowboys are to rush the ball as much and as effectively as they’d like, it’ll take some help from the offensive line.

OSU is adopting an under-center fold to its offense, as well as more gap blocking to help the rushing attack. This is new for several players, especially linemen like Jake Springfield who played fast-pace, spread offense at Flower Mound (Texas) High School.

And that’s not a bad thing.

“This might be my first year where we actually have (an offense) – that’s not a goal line package –where it’s under (center),” Springfield said. “I’m a big fan of it because I get to put my hand in the dirt, and I feel like it helps me come off the ball a lot faster and harder.”

Springfield, a right tackle, returns the most starts of anyone on the offensive line (29), and he said he likes the physicality of the new style. It adds emphasis to run blocking, which is an important aspect to Springfield.

“Personally, I feel like I need to become a more dominant run blocker, because last season toward the end we had our struggles in certain areas,” he said.

Continued from 1 sports.ed@ocolly.com

Boynton heads to Spain after spending his summer in Hungry at the FIBA World Cup.