Full Pads Come on Thursday as the Cowboys Start Final Weekend of Fall Camp
STILLWATER – The NCAA calls it acclimatization period and it is the amount of time that coaching staffs and training and medical staffs have to use to work the team up to full pads and full contact football.
Here it how it looks and reads in the NCAA rule book:
17.10.2.3 Five-Day Acclimatization Period. Preseason practice shall begin with a five-day acclimatization period for both first-time participants (e.g., freshmen and transfers) and continuing student-athletes. All student-athletes, including walk-ons who arrive to preseason practice after the first day of practice, are required to undergo a five-day acclimatization period. The five-day acclimatization period shall be conducted as follows: (Adopted: 1/13/03 effective 8/1/03)
(a) Institutions may not conduct conditioning, speed, strength or agility tests prior to the start of the five-day acclimatization period.
(b) Participants shall not engage in more than one on-field practice per day during the five-day acclimatization period. On-field practices shall last no longer than three hours. Oklahoma State has been in camp since last Friday and had two practices in helmets and shorts; two in helmets, shoulder pads, and shorts; Tuesday a mandatory off day, and then back in helmets, shoulder pads, and shorts today (Wednesday) before full pads on Thursday.
Head coach Mike Gundy is okay with build up to full pads because his team came into the summer out of last spring having put in a lot of reps for everybody that needed it, especially the younger players.
"We had so many players being in camp, which we knew that was because of super seniors and early high school graduates, which that's going to be a trend moving forward,” Gundy said and he’s slated to get Talyn and Tabry Shettron early next January. “So that allowed us to get reps, the same number of reps with our threes and young players than as we have traditionally got with the ones and twos. We banked a considerable number of reps that made me feel a lot better. Our system stayed the same. They were consistent over the summer, when the players worked on their own. They worked on the same system. We go into fall camp now they're working on the same system.”
It has looked good as today inside drill had success on both sides with big runs by Jalen Warren, Dominic Richardson, Dezmon Jackson on a cutback run, and even freshman Jaden Nixon of Frisco Lone Star High School.
“He is really, really fast,” Gundy said on Monday night at the Oklahoma State alumni/fan event in Oklahoma City. “We’ve got him in there getting reps and he’s showing up some. We’re excited about him.”
There were good defensive plays too with linebackers Devin Harper and Kamryn Farrar making a tackle for loss. Defensive tackle Jayden Jernigan had a big stop in the backfield as well.
Then in the team periods quarterback Spencer Sanders hit Rashod Owens on a pair of passes, completed two other passes to Tay Martin, and he also completed a screen pass to Langston Anderson that went for a good gain. Shane Illingworth completed a pair of passes to freshman slot John Paul Richardson. Illingworth hit freshman Jaden Bray on sideline route and running back Jaylen Warren on a screen that went the distance.
Gunnar Gundy looked good running the third offense. Later, Ethan Bullock hit a deep route to Bray and Peyton Thompson fired a deep route downfield to Richardson. A better day for the offense, but still some good plays on defense from the likes of linebackers Malcolm Rodriguez and Jeff Roberson, safeties Tanner McCalister and Jason Taylor II. Jayden Jernigan and defensive end Kody Walterscheid put pressure on the quarterbacks.
"You know if the guys are getting after it and they invested over the summer, so they're going to be able to go into the bank. That's what we tell them all the time, Offensive coordinator Kasey Dunn said. “They're going to be able to go to the bank and be able to withdraw some cash. Well, the season's when you withdraw that money. You know, if they don't invest over the summer and in spring it's pretty hard to go in there and make a withdrawal when the season hits. So, right now we've got a lot of guys with money in the bank and I'm excited to see them go to the bank come first game of the season. They've had a great summer and I'm looking forward to seeing the season."
Gundy has said he was looking forward to seeing the competition at wide receiver and at running back. I’d say so far he has to be happy with what he has seen as a lot of names and numbers are showing up.
“Because we have young players that were out there in the spring and finding their way through, it'll be interesting to watch those positions,” Gundy said. “We have a veteran group of running backs, as we know that are going to roll through. So, I wouldn't necessarily just call it battles, but just seeing how guys progress that would allow one player to get more reps maybe than the other in the first game."
The reps are going to three different units in fall camp as well, maybe not as equally distributed as they were in the spring, but enough that if the situation presents itself then a lot of players will get to go to the bank at some point this season.