Around the Big 12 and the Non Conference Foes in Their Fall Camps

STILLWATER – Oklahoma State is now down to six-days and four more practice in fall camp before classes begin on campus for the fall semester on Monday, Aug. 22. The Cowboys will practice in helmets and shoulder pads on Tuesday and then Thursday, Friday, and Saturday are in full pads. Wednesday and Sunday will be days off with meetings only. Every school is negotiating a similar schedule with the same guidelines and parameters. Speaking of that, many of the Cowboys opponents are as deep as they are into fall camp. Some of those schools have already scrimmaged and some, the ones that are open about it, have a lengthy injury list. Texas is the school with maybe the most bad news on that front.

We take a look, at least what we can at what is going on around the Big 12 and with the Cowboys non-conference opponents.

Thursday, Sept. 1 at 6 p.m.  vs. Central Michigan

The Chippewas started practice on Aug. 3 and head coach Jim McElwain in his fourth season was there for the start. McElwain gave the program a scare when he had a seizure in July that he was hospitalized for and missed the MAC Preseason Football Media event. McElwain has a strong team and two of the strongest members are on offense and they are doing all they can in practice to protect Division I College Football’s returning leading rusher in Lew Nichols III and the Chips starting quarterback Daniel Richardson. When Central Michigan upset Oklahoma State in 2016 with that untimed down fiasco they were a pro-style offense and now, as Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy said on Saturday, there are a lot of similarities including an offense that is broad based and spread in nature with a good dose of RPOs mixed in.

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Lew Nichols III in the Sun Bowl win last season.

Nichols is a 5-11, 220-pound mini bulldozer.

"(Nichols) coming back and choosing to stay at Central Michigan, that speaks to who he is and what he's all about and how much he cares about this place," McElwain said. "Let's call it the way it is. He had an opportunity to go anywhere in the country for a lot of money and chose to stay. That means a lot."

Richardson started the first four games as a redshirt freshman in the COVID-shortened 2020 season and then suffered a season-ending injury. He came off the bench in the first four games of 2021 and took over as the starter in the fifth game.

He completed 60.4 percent of his passes for 2,633 yards and 24 touchdowns in 2021. He threw only six interceptions. The word is he has been sharp in camp including his work in a full scrimmage last weekend.

"I can't say enough good things about him," McElwain said. "He's done nothing but stay steady and continue to get better. He's got a great understanding of what we're trying to accomplish. He understands the weapons around him and how to deliver the ball and how to be a point guard. 

"You hear people talking about it and what is it? D-Rich has it. There's a lot of things that go into that. He's got the makeup, he's got the DNA. He's got that quarterback moxie, the mentality, and I'll tell you what, I'm happy he's a Chip."

Saturday, Sept. 10 at 6:30 p.m. vs. Arizona State

The Sun Devils are in camp and are last in Power Five schools with number of players on scholarship, a result of their NCAA issues and the state of the program.

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Tough times for ASU head coach Herm Edwards.

The term “somber” was used to describe practice on Monday as after a scrimmage last weekend the Sun Devils announced that standout senior defensive end Michael Matus is out for the season with a torn ACL. Arizona State had already lost promising freshman tight end Jacob Newell to a season ending injury.

Arizona State is coached by former NFL head coach Herm Edwards. He has brought in analysts like former Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis and Super Bowl winning head coach with the Baltimore Ravens Brian Billick.

Saturday, Sept. 17 at 6 p.m. vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff

The Lions are well into their camp and so far they have stayed relatively injury free. Two players that are standouts for UAPB and head coachDoc Gamble are technically a second and a third. Linebacker Monroe Beard III is a 6-1, 210-pound speedy backer that is listed as the No. 18-ranked player at his position in Division I FCS. He is also a preseason All-SWAC selection.

On the other side of the ball is Mark Evans II out of C.E. King High School in Houston. The 6-4, 295-pound Evans is a preseason All-SWAC offensive tackle.

Saturday, Oct. 1 TBA at Baylor

The defending Big 12 Champions wasted little time as just over a week into fall camp and just their third practice in full pads the Bears went through a Saturday scrimmage in McLane Stadium. Baylor head coach Dave Aranda thought the team was dragging some in the sticky Waco, Texas heat.

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Dave Aranda of Baylor

 "I think the energy kind of lagged at times," Aranda said following Saturday's two-hour, 125-play scrimmage at McLane Stadium. "I thought both Blake (Shapen) and Kyron (Drones) put some balls on-point and we made some contested catches. I think the protection is still improving. I think the run game in terms of one cut, get downhill and fall forward, all of that has a ways to go."

Baylor players agreed that the scrimmage lacked a lot to be desired.

"I think any defensive mind or coach or player knows that the first scrimmage is always going to be a little bit rocky when it comes to tackling," said preseason All-Big 12 linebacker Dillon Doyle. "You can practice tackling all you want on bags or even on men. But, until you get into a full-speed situation, it's just not the same. So, we have a lot of learning to do from that perspective."

Even with an experienced offensive line that includes Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year Connor Galvin at left tackle and a trio of sixth-year seniors, there's still work to do.

"There are still some things, obviously, you've got to fix and things you want to improve on and things you want to focus on," said preseason All-Big 12 center Jacob Gall. "But I think we're in a good spot right now. . .  It's just growing every single day."

Saturday, Oct. 8 TBA vs. Texas Tech

The Red Raiders are having some spirited workouts and they are the first team that I’ve heard so far in fall camp that has taken the shrink wrap off the quarterbacks. They did that on Monday in practice.

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Donovan Smith of Texas Tech

“That last series we went third down and short yardage and there were some times the defense fit it right and good things were happening,” head coach Joey McGuire said of the end of practice reps. “There were sometimes we didn’t (fit it on defense). I thought the running backs ran physical and that last series the quarterbacks were live, all three of them were live. We ran quarterback power and Donovan (Smith) got in and Behren (Morton) got a big first down. It was fun to see those guys run behind their pads.”

Obviously, with the quarterbacks live there is no concern for injuries just yet in Lubbock.

Saturday, Oct. 15 TBA at TCU

The Horned Frogs and new head coach Sonny Dykes and his staff open early with a Friday, Sept. 2 game in the Rockies at Colorado. TCU scrimmaged last Thursday, had off Friday and when they returned to practice they had some injuries cornerback Tre Hodges-Tomlinson, running back Kendre Miller, wide receiver Derius Davis, safety D'Arco Perkins-McAllister, linebacker Marcel Brooks were among the players that did not practice. Hodges-Tomlinson was in a boot early on but it looked like they took it off pretty early and he was walking around. He could be getting real close to returning, but I don't think they have him do too much. Johnny Hodges was in uniform, but he was in a red jersey so that meant no contact. Offensive tackle Marcus Williams was not seen on the practice field.

Chad Morris took the first-team reps at quarterback where he is battling with Max Duggan.

Saturday, Oct. 22 TBA vs. Texas

Texas has major injury issues in fall camp as they have lost two offensive starters to major knee injuries this past weekend following a scrimmage inside Texas Memorial Stadium. Wide receiver transfer and first-team All Mountain West performer from Wyoming Isaiah Neyor and starting offensive left guard Junior Angilau both suffered torn ACLs. Both are hoping for good news but they are likely out for the season. Running back Roschon Johnson is dealing with a sprained ankle and is wearing a walking boot. The speculation on Johnson was three-to-four weeks.

The report on the quarterbacks was that both struggled in the scrimmage, but returning sophomore Hudson Card rallied and played better than Ohio State transfer and freshman Quinn Ewers in the second half of the scrimmage on Saturday.

Saturday, Oct. 29 TBA at Kansas State

Reporters were allowed to watch the first five periods of Kansas State’s practice on Monday and when prying eyes are there they are going to first notice players that are missing. This information came from Kellis Robinett of The Wichita Eagle.

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K-State head coach Chris Klieman.

He reported that the Wildcats had injuries on the defensive side including defensive end/linebacker Khalid Duke, who watched practice in street clothes for the second straight week. K-State coach Chris Klieman was optimistic that Duke would be ready for the first game against South Dakota. However, he added that the Wildcats are taking special precautions with Duke and expect him to play this season. Duke suffered a torn ACL last season and his issue now is a hamstring injury.  

Two other prominent players dealing with injuries were defensive end Felix Anudike-Uzomah and linebacker Will Honas. Both players were in uniform on Monday, but spent much of practice working out away from the team on the sideline. They are each expected to be back in full practice soon. Tight end Konner Fox was also wearing a no-contact jersey while participating fully on offense.

Robinett also reported that new offensive coordinator Collin Klein, who has been the quarterback coach acts strangely like his former head coach when he played and first started coaching. Klein walks around the stretch lines and pats players on the back, shakes hands, and greets players. That was an old pre practice habit of Hall of Fame K-State head coach and the man that created the “Miracle of Manhattan” twice Bill Snyder.

Saturday, Nov. 5 TBA at Kansas

Kansas has already had two scrimmages and one injury note in that the son of former Oklahoma State All-Big Eight defensive tackle Stacy Satterwhite, Jackson Satterwhite suffered an Achilles injury and is likely out for the season.

As expected Jalon Daniels is expected to start at quarterback and local product Devon Neal at running back. There are two former Oklahoma high school standouts in the mix at running back as Daniel Highshaw is back from a knee injury that cost him last season. Highshaw is a former standout at Moore High School. Sevion Morrison was an All-State running back at Tulsa Edison that went to Nebraska and is now a transfer to Kansas. He is in the mix at running back.

Saturday, Nov. 12 TBA vs. Iowa State

Not much news coming out of Iowa State. The Cyclones did scrimmage last Saturday and the word was the defense had more success than the offense. Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell is keeping a tight lid on the Iowa State fall camp.

Saturday, Nov. 19 TBA at Oklahoma

The news cycle has turned and now there is little discussion of the 23-year assistant coach and the assistant head coach Cale Gundy and his abrupt resignation a week ago. Head coach Brent Venables is calling this the toughest period of the season and is challenging his players to push hard and continue to develop in order to maximize their season.

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Brent Venables of Oklahoma

New offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby has to be comfortable with his quarterback and he should be. The real questions for Oklahoma will be primarily on the offensive line, running back, and overall depth on the defensive side where they lost a lot of players from last season.

No injury reports, but Oklahoma has to hope they stay very healthy especially with their two-deep on both sides of the football. Until this big recruiting class arrives next season, the Oklahoma depth is more thin than it has been in a long time.

I’m anxious as I can imagine many Big 12 folks are to see what Okahoma looks like in Lincoln, Neb. and again, how they play in the Big 12 opener with Kansas State.

Saturday, Nov. 26 TBA vs. West Virginia

The Mountaineers first game, The Backyard Brawl at Pittsburgh, is sold out. This is a huge game with the return of the rivalry in a year where there is some pressure on for the WVU program to get back some of their glory. Neal Brown seems comfortable with his play in the trenches, but there are still questions that abound for WVU.

"O-line wise and D-line wise, just because they have played so much football, we've got a pretty good idea strength and weakness wise on those guys," Brown said earlier in camp. "The receivers, the first group, we know what they do well. We're still learning with the quarterbacks.
 
"I think tight end wise we're trying to develop some depth and find out what those two-, three- and four-guys can do. Defensively, in the secondary we've got a lot of different ways we can go there," he continued. "We can play up to six guys and feel pretty good about it so we're mixing up our packages. The linebackers have played all spring, but we need a lot of valuable reps and we need to find ourselves there."