Fall Camp Notebook: Offensive Line Looks Deeper and More Experienced Than 2020

STILLWATER – Fall Camp for Oklahoma State officially got underway Friday morning in the Sherman Smith with the first practice of the 2021 season.

Mike Gundy met with the media prior to the 9:15 a.m. practice start time and while there wasn’t a ton of ground-breaking offseason news to dive into, he did give an update to how the program will be run this season while dealing with COVID protocols.

“We haven’t altered anything other than being cautious with the virus,” said Mike Gundy about medical protocols going into the 2021 season. “We’re over 80% vaccinated, so players that aren’t vaccinated are in a mask policy and the others move about freely.”

“That’s really all we can do separate from normal protocol like we would do last year. Obviously, there will be testing in place; players that aren’t vaccinated will be test twice a week, which has already started.”

Let’s dive right into the offensive line because that’s going to be a point of emphasis throughout the preseason based on the injuries and turnover last season. First things first, JUCO transfer Caleb Etienne is a very large man. Checking in at 6-7, 350-pounds, he certainly looks the part. He’s going to have to continue to acclimate as he arrived in Stillwater just a few weeks ago, but certainly will be a huge boost as he’s being projected as the starting left tackle.

The Pokes return multiple linemen from last season, including Josh Sills, who’s completely buzzed all of his hair off. Sorry folks, that’s another mullet that’s bitten the dust this summer. Howeve , defensive lineman Brock Martin is sporting one this season, so there’s that.

Charlie Dickey also returns Hunter Woodard, Preston Wilson, Eli Russ, Cole Birmingham and Hunter Anthony from last year’s team, while also bringing in All-MAC center, Danny Godlevske and JUCO transfer Caleb Etienne.

“I’m more comfortable with where we’re at with the offensive line,” said coach Gundy. “I shared with you last year on the first day that I was extremely concerned, and then we had the unfortunate incident in the first game that concerned me even more. But across the board, I would agree with that: I’m comfortable with where we’re at, I’m comfortable with this team and their work ethic and we have more depth that has a little bit of experience across the board than we’ve had in a few years.”

Speaking of improvement, one of the biggest storylines out of Spring Football for the Pokes was the progression of quarterback Spencer Sanders. Entering his third year as the starting quarterback, Spencer looks to continue the improvement we saw in the bowl game against Miami.

“I think he made a lot of improvement in the spring,” coach Gundy said of Spencer Sanders. “His awareness and understanding our offense, where to distribute the ball is very important. Guys that play quarterback in this system, we’ve had tremendous success with different types of players, and they have to understand our offense, know what their strengths are and know how to distribute the ball to the guys who score points, and they have to take care of the football. It’s really important.

“So, quarterbacks in our offense, sometimes, they’re going to throw interceptions because we’re very aggressive. Taking care of the football in the pocket and making sure we don’t turn it over, that’s important for Spencer. You can go back over his last year and a half and that’s where he got into trouble. So, if he takes care of the ball in the pocket, he’s automatically a better player.”

Where do we stand when it comes to position battles? Well, if we’re talking about the running backs and the wide receivers, Gundy doesn’t really like to refer to it as position battles, more like playing because of progress made.

“I think the wide receiver position, to a certain extent, is wide open on our rotation because we usually play like six guys,” said coach Gundy. “Because we have young players that were out there in the spring and finding their way through, it’ll be interesting to watch that position. We have a veteran group of running backs as we know that are going to roll through. So, wouldn’t necessarily just call it battles, but just seeing how guys progress that would allow one player to get more reps than the other in the first game.”

Brennan Presley looked really good this morning, as did third-year player Langston Anderson. Presley continues to progress from where he was against at the end of the season in 2020 when he hauled in six catches for 118 yards and three touchdowns. He’s going to be implemental in multiple facets of the offensive, as well as special teams. As for Anderson, if he can stay healthy, there’s a good chance he makes a decent impact this season.

The running backs are led by super senior LD Brown, but he’s complimented by Dez Jackson, Jaylen Warren and Dominic Richardson. Mike Gundy said at Big 12 Media Days he wouldn’t be surprised if there were four or five guys who’s going to get touches this fall. Just a preliminary look during the first 30 minutes of practice, I think that assessment is accurate.

Zach Middleton also certainly looks the part physically, plus we saw what he could do during the spring game. So, if there is a fifth back who earns touches this season, it’ll be him. Plus we saw where Jaylen Warren is now sporting No. 7, a change from No. 20 while at Utah State.

With this just being the first practice of Fall Camp, there’s not too much to glean when it comes to who’s going to be the No. 1 guy here or there. Once we get into full pads next week, that’s where the real separation is going to start taking place.

Players are being made available to the media this afternoon, so Pokes Report will have more coverage throughout the coming days.