Wednesday, March 23, 2022
Notebook: Quarterback depth concerning for Cowboys Daniel Allen Staff Reporter The Sherman E Smith Training Center was full once again as OSU held its first spring practice of the season Tuesday afternoon. Here’s what coach Mike Gundy and players had to say regarding the status of the program as spring football finally kicks off. Depth at quarterback a concern With quarterback Shane Illingworth departing to Nevada following the conclusion of last season, OSU is extremely thin at the quarterback position. Outside of Spencer Sanders, the Cowboys have true freshman Garrett Rangel and redshirt-freshman and former walk-on Gunnar Gundy, who made one appearance last season. Every season Sanders has started at OSU, he has missed at least one game due to injury or COVID-19 protocols, making the back position an even larger stress for the coaching staff. “I’m always worried about quarterback depth,” Gundy said. “(We have) been fortunate in the past that we’ve gotten to our second-team quarterback, and even to our third-team quarterback, and they have played pretty well. So, I worry about that.” The adjustment from Knowles to Mason It goes without question the transition to a new system is difficult, especially in college football in regards to a coaching change. “We’re running the Oklahoma State defense,” Gundy said. “(Mason) is gonna put his twist on it that makes it comfortable for him. It is easier to teach one person to speak a different language than it is to teach all these guys at one time.” Mason, whose prior stints include a head coaching stop at Vanderbilt and defensive coordinator positions at Stanford and Auburn, is entering his fifth year as a defensive coordinator and 28th as a coach in general. Gundy said Mason is experienced enough and has had enough trajectory with producing successful defenses that the adjustment from Knowles to his system won’t be overwhelming to the defensive unit. “There’s a lot of similarities with what we were doing, that he was doing or has done,” Gundy said. “So, that adjustment, comradery and the defensive staff has been really good up to this time. So, I’m really excited about watching out defense continue to grow with what we’ve developed over the last two or three years (under Knowles).” Freshmen expected to provide large impact OSU is coming off of the highest ranked recruiting class since 2011. The class included multiple highly touted recruits on the offensive side of the ball. Numerous key players in OSU’s run to the Fiesta Bowl last season were newcomers or freshmen. “I think we’ve got a lot of guys (who can make an impact early on),” starting quarterback Spencer Sanders said. “I’ll bring up Garrett (Rangel), like I think he brings good leadership… (Talyn) Shettron, that’ll help us out at receiver. Tabry (Shettron), that’ll help us out at tight end. Braylin Presley too. I feel like we’re all pretty (solid). We’re all in this together.”
Chris Becker
sports.ed@ocolly.com
The OSU quarterback room returns its starter, Spencer Sanders, but will look for a new backup for next season.