Walterscheid Made His Move into the Two Deep This Season
STILLWATER – It hardly seems like it, but Kody Walterscheid is in his third year in the Oklahoma State football program. To some, it may seem like Walterscheid has been here 10-years. That would be because he was proceeded at Oklahoma State by his older brother Cole. Both of the Walterscheids coming out of Texas German capitol Muenster in North Texas, are talented. Cole was witness to some great defensive exploits from Jordan Brailford at defensive end. Now, Kody is older, but he is seeing some crazy stuff early out of freshman All-American Collin Oliver, who has 15 tackles-for-loss and 11.5 sacks his true freshman campaign.
“That guy’s a stud. He’ s going to be a great player. He is a great player,” Walterscheid said of Oliver. “He came in ready to work, ready to go, and he did exactly that. It’s showing. He works hard.”
About of a third of the way through this season, Walterscheid’s playing reps picked up and he was listed second on the depth chart behind starter Tyler Lacy at the defensive end position. He finished with 19 tackles, 1.5 tackles-for-loss, and 1.0 sack. He has two quarterback hurries and one huge blocked kick in the opener with Missouri State. What caused him to elevate his game this season.
“I listen to the coaches, do my assignment, and work hard,” answered Waltersheid matter-of-fact.
Walterscheid admits that he did have some advantages coming in as his brother had played a lot from 2016-to-2018. He came in at the end of his older brother’s tenure, but he had kept his eyes open and listened.
“He gave me a few tips and pointers coming in and what to expect,” Walterscheid said of his brother. “I think it kind of helped me out. I kind of knew what I was coming into.”
Bigger than his brother coming out of playing for a state championship team at Muenster High School, Kody was 6-6, 245 when he reported. He is now listed at 275 and he might be closer to 285 thanks to the Cowboys strength program and strength and performance staff.
“Coach (Rob) Glass did a good job of putting weight on me. I think I put on about 50 pounds. I’ve got a lot stronger and that has helped me a lot.”
Walterscheid is a player of few words. He isn’t looking for a stage to speak out. His stage is the one where he can chase and hit running backs and quarterbacks. I asked him about the Fighting Irish coming up in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl. We know that motivated teams tend to win bowl games.
“I think we’re extremely motivated, maybe more than ever,” Walterscheid said before leaving town with his teammates. “We are flying around at practice. We’ll be ready, fired up.”