Gundy Calls Defensive Speed Highlight of Spring So Far
STILLWATER – Friday was a whirlwind of a day as Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy was in Tuscaloosa, Ala. on Friday morning talking no-huddle and up-tempo offense before coming back to oversee his team’s eighth spring practice taking the Pokes past the midway point of spring with two weeks and seven practices remaining before the Spring Finale on April 23 inside Boone Pickens Stadium.
Gundy came home to see how own flesh and blood, back-up quarterback and lefty Gunnar Gundy fire off a mid-range vertical route to wide receiver Langston Anderson that Anderson sprinted by the defender and scored. Gundy had a good practice and later came back and hit for another touchdown on a fade route.
Not to be outdone during the lengthy team period that featured the now trademark three units going on offense and defense, was starting quarterback Spencer Sanders as he found wide receiver Jaden Bray on a deep route in which Bray made a circus catch for a score. Later Sanders, like Gundy hit a fade route in the corner to veteran COVID-year senior Braydon Johnson.
All of the running backs had a good day as freshmen Ollie Gordon and Beggs, Okla. product C.J. Brown broke off good runs.
The defense had its’ moments as the corners also broke up a bunch of passes. Safeties Jason Taylor II, Sean Michael Flanagan, and Kendal Daniels showed up. Perhaps the most impressive play by the defense came during work on the offense coming out from the one-yard-line when corner Korie Black came sprinting across the field and took advantage of a fumble it appeared was caused by defensive end Tyler Lacy and Black recovered inside the five-yard-line. There was plenty of give and take in the near 40-minutes of 11-on-11 team work.
On Monday after the cancelled practice I asked the head coach his top observation so far this spring. What had stood out to him the most. It actually matched my observation. I’ve been saying on my radio show and writing here that even with the losses of players like linebackers Malcolm Rodriguez and Devin Harper. The fact that safeties Kolby Harvell-Peel and Tanner McCalister along with corners Christian Holmes and Jarrick Bernard-Converse won’t be suiting up for the Cowboys will still have a solid defense.
Defense has looked anything but lost. I’m not saying no drop off. I’m just saying not as much drop off as you would think. Gundy is saying the same thing.
"I think we have a lot of team speed. I think we’re really fast on defense again like we have been in the last two or three years,” Gundy said. “I feel that we’re further ahead defensively understanding our scheme than we have in the past just based on we’re in, what would be year five of it now. The rest of it is what I would call pretty routine spring ball."
I knew Korie Black and Jabbar Muhammad brought back a lot of experience as back-up corners that played a lot, but they have been even better than I thought. Nobody was more frustrated with LSU tampering with and stealing Bernard-Converse than I was. I’ve softened with watching Black and Muhammad this spring.
“Those guys got a lot of work last year in practice and toward the latter part of the season they got some quality game reps, both of them in the bowl game, quality game reps,” Gundy answered describing the pair almost like returning starters. “The competition between the wideouts and those guys has been good, and I would expect them to play good next fall."
Safeties have stepped up and players like Kendal Daniels, Sean Michael Flanagan, Kanion Williams, and Ty Williams have stepped in with Thomas Harper and Jason Taylor II and been really good. The linebackers like Xavier Benson, Mason Cobb, and Lamont Bishop are moving forward. It is back-ups and developing those that are critical this spring.
Gundy was asked for example about the cornerbacks and the younger players coming up behind Black and Muhammad.
"We have a number of good, young corners in this program,” Gundy said not throwing out any names yet. “We have a number of really good, young defensive backs. We recruit a lot of corners and then move them from corner to nickel to safety. They can play multiple positions for us. So, I really feel good about the quality and the youth at those five [defensive back] positions for the next four or five years."
Oklahoma State had an unofficial visitor at practice in Midlothian Heritage (Texas) offensive lineman Kasen Carpenter. The athletic 6-3, 265-pound Carpenter recently picked up scholarship offers from Tulsa and North Texas and also stopped for an unofficial visit at TCU. Carpenter has some Oklahoma State ties in his grandfather.
Oklahoma State will have the weekend off and then start the second to last week of the spring with practice early on Monday at 1:45 p.m.