Pokes Report Offensive Notes: Green Confident, Sanders Riding High, Bray Ready
STILLWATER – We all know that had he not been hurt in fall camp that Blaine Green was going to have a major impact on this Oklahoma State football team at Cowboy back. One Green may be down and rehabbing, but the other Green is flourishing as Bryson has 11 receptions for 169-yards and three touchdowns. His first touchdown catch at Baylor last Saturday was a real tone setter. Both Greens are immensely talented, but just because they came out of powerhouse Allen (Texas) High School with lots of accolades doesn’t mean they weren’t eligible to develop and improve.
“The year of football under my belt has helped tremendously, helped a lot,” Bryson Green said. "Being out there and being with Spence (Sanders) more and having another full year of offseason under my belt has helped a lot.”
Sanders Playing Top Shelf at Quarterback
You heard there that Green and I’m sure every Oklahoma State receiver would give Spencer credit.
“It’s great. He’s a great dude,” Green said of Sanders. “You see how many passing yards, how many completions, our o-line is doing a great job for him, but he’s balling out and we’re there to support him. As long as he keeps throwing the ball like that, I will be there to catch it.”
Sanders is still leading the Big 12 in total offense with an average of 320.5-yards a game, with 185-yards total rushing and 1,097-yards through the air. He is a leader in every way. I mentioned to Green that I saw Spencer sitting back in coach on the charter flight home from Baylor. I asked and found out he gave his seat in first class up to an offensive lineman.
“That sounds like something Spencer would do,” Green responded.
"I think he is underappreciated for what he's done,” head coach Mike Gundy said on Monday when asked if Sanders is taken for granted. “And the reason why is because he's gone through different times in his career. One time we were out of offensive linemen -- no fun for a quarterback. Last year we were, we didn't have any receivers left. He was out there playing with freshmen, and he just kept playing. And he just keeps finding a way to win game. He has a competitive nature, and now he's developed a calmness and a humbleness about him that is hard to replace. He'll be hard to replace."
Hopefully, he won’t have to be for 2023. He does have his COVID year of eligibility left.
Bray Should Be Back for Tech
Sophomore receiver Jaden Bray, one of the best ball skill talents in college football, should be back for the Texas Tech game. Last season he had 13 receptions for 250-yards and two touchdowns. His talents had everybody from teammates and coaches to OSU fans anticipating what he would do as a bigger, stronger, faster version of himself. He was having a great fall camp when he suffered an injury.
"He practiced last week,” Mike Gundy said on Monday. “He's out there rolling. Could [play this week]. He's, I guess the correct term is, day-to-day. He wasn't really conditioned like we wanted him to be last week because he hadn't done anything for six weeks. I mean, he's been out there conditioning, but not football conditioning. But he's practicing."
He is practicing and he looks good. I spoke to him briefly on Monday after the Gundy news conference as he walked past where we were taping an OSU Max project. He told me he thought he was ready last week but knows he will be ready for Saturday.