Oklahoma State Football: Five Players to Keep an Eye on Coming Off the Summer
STILLWATER – There is still a week to go and Rob Glass and his strength and conditioning staff will be testing and finishing up what has been a very good summer for an older, mature group of players. Rob Glass told me last week that this is a very good group and he really enjoys how they work hard and hold each other accountable to do so. The metabolic workouts have concluded and when the summer program wraps up the players will get a little time to rest and recover before reporting for the start of fall camp on July 30 and the first practice will happen on July 31.
This list of players is simply of observation. It is not an indication that any of them will start. Being completely honest, Ollie Gordon II has had a very good summer. Quarterback Alan Bowman may be in the best shape of his career, certainly closer to what he was coming out of Texas Tech as he transferred to Michigan. Collin Oliver, Nick Martin, and Kendal Daniels all look the part of big, physical, and athletic defenders. Don’t take your eyes off the top players as they are still top players. You have to start with the entire squad, top to bottom, because they ll look good.
This is simply a list of five players I saw some of last week that really impressed either with some changes or simply getting themselves back from injury and ready to contribute this upcoming season.
1. Jeleel Johnson, DE, 6-5, 265, RS-So, Oklahoma City (Putnam City North), Okla.
Johnson is one of the most talked about players with regard to what he has accomplished in the “Body by Glass” program. He is such an impressive physical athlete and watching him in drills you can see his explosion. He had a tremendous spring, but instead of resting on his laurels he has pushed himself in the summer to take it another level. Both defensive line coach Paul Randolph and defensive coordinator Bryan Nardo are showing their excitement in wanting to see how much better he has become.
2. Trent Howland, RB, 6-3, 243, RS-Jr, Indiana/Joliet (West), Ill.
I had not seen much of Howland other than watching some video from Indiana. he was impressive there and I had him purely pegged as a big back that might specialize in short yardage and pass protection roles. Scratch that, the first play I saw him in metabolics (real football work and where the coaches can’t watch) he caught a swing pass from Garret Rangel, made a safety miss with a nice swivel hips move and then showed a burst to get to the end zone before anybody could lay a hand on him. He is big, but he is agile and explosive. He will be a good all around back-up for Gordon II.
3. Garret Rangel, QB, 6-2, 207, RS-So, Frisco (Lone Star), Texas
All my friends remind me how exicted I was with the recruitment and arrival of Zane Flores and I am still excited about Flores. The Cowboys have a rare exceptional and talented crowd in the quarterback room. Quarterback coach Tim Rattay has to be elated with his group. Rangel is bigger, stronger, and he was throwing awesome when I watched last week. He has always been talented, but while Bowman has taken over the starting role Rangel has not pouted or put his effort into neutral. Far from that, he has worked and made himself better. That was clear to see in the metabolic workouts.
4. Justin Wright, LB, 6-3, 240, Super-Sr, Tulsa/Abilene (Cooper), Texas
Now we are to the injury rehab portion of my list. Wright has always had a great attitude and it is clear that he loves football. Coming off an ACL injury that had to crush him he displayed great attitude last season. Now, he has shown younger players a clear example of how you work and make yourself better coming off an injury. Watching Wright in drills, he seems to move even better than he did last summer. This summer co-defensive coordinator Joe Bob Clements told me that Wright was determined to come back and play a major role. He saw it. Now, I’ve seen it too.
5. De’Zhaun Stribling, WR, 6-2, 200, RS-Jr, Washington State/Kapolei, Haw.
Stribling may have been the most impressive athlete on the field last week. He is running fantastic and it appears he has dropped some weight and made himself faster and more explosive. It is fun to watch him run routes and he has good hands. I think most fans remember how good he looked before being injured in the South Alabama loss. In fact, he was injured on that early drive where it looked like Oklahoma State was going down to score. Instead, Stribling went down and OSU seemed to go down that night with him. He’s back and if opposing teams early in the schedule forget that I think he is going to remind them.
Bonus - Iman Oates, DT, 6-3, 305, RS-Jr, NEO A&M JC/Tulsa (Edison), Okla.
Injured and held out last season, Oates is back and ready to go. He will play in rotation this season and I believe will be a big contributor.
Cameron Epps, Saf, 6-2, 205, RS-So, St. Louis (Chaminade), Mo.
He became a mainstay in the secondary with his play especially the two interception performance against Kansas State. He has had a great summer and looks the best he has so far at Oklahoma State.
Cale Cabbbiness, WR, 6-2, 205, RS-Sr, Norman (North), Okla.
I swear that Cabbiness has grown in height and weight. He looks taller and stronger. Believe me when I say he is capable of helping this team a lot.