Freshmen Cowboys are Crossing Thresholds in Mid-Season
STILLWATER – It is always fun at the start of nearly every season fans can’t help themselves, if their team has some highly-regarded freshmen then they can’t wait to see how soon they will play. Then you have Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy, not opposed to playing freshmen but it’s not his first inclination.
“He’s doing fine, but he’s a freshman and it will take time for him to get to where he can really help,” is a standard Gundy answer to the freshmen inquiries. This spring and fall Gundy was excited about Euless Trinity High School running back Ollie Gordon, who showed off some in the Spring Finale before going out with a shoulder injury. DeSoto, Texas wide receiver Stephon Johnson Jr. wasn’t even here in the spring. He arrived in the summer, so no one was really thinking he would be playing much.
Gordon has played in every game and Johnson has played in all but one, and he started at the Z wide receiver on Saturday against Texas.
“I would say [Johnson] exceeded my expectations of the way he would play in that particular situation,” Gundy said at his Monday news conference as Johnson had six receptions for 90-yards outdoing his previous five catches for 73-yards. “The moment didn’t get too big for him. That doesn’t mean he’s arrived yet. He has to do it multiple times continuously and consistently. And 0 (Gordon) has been fine. I mean, he plays good, and competes and goes out and plays on special teams. You know, he got lit up down there at Waco, fumbled, and kind of got that out of the system. It’s not too big for him either. So, you don’t want to hang your hat on many of them doing it but they’re doing pretty good.”
Johnson Jr. will likely be playing a lot this week at K-State and the 6-2, 182-pound speedster has 11 catches for 173-yards and is still looking for his first touchdown which should come soon. Gordon, who was a “wildcat” quarterback as a senior at Trinity is a full fledged running back with 20 carries for 109-yards and seven receptions for 62-yards and two touchdowns, one rushing and one receiving.
“They’re getting way more reps at this stage in their career by default right now because we’re beat up at their positions and other guys have to play. So, (Stephon Johnson Jr.) played better than I thought he would in that game,” Gundy continued when asked more about Johnson and fellow freshman Talyn Shettron, who does have a touchdown catch. “I thought he (Johnson) would play okay, but he made a lot of plays. If you were watching the game and you lived on the east coast, you would not have thought he was a freshman. So, he’s coming along. Unfortunately, we’ve had to throw those guys in the fire. He should be playing like eight or 10 plays a game right now. But we don’t have that luxury, so they’re learning on the run would be the best answer to that question.”
Remember last week when we asked about Jaden Nixon, a red-shirt freshman getting more carries at running back. His explosive speed would help to perhaps, loosen up the run offense some. He did have a 51-yard run that set up a touchdown. Gundy even joked in answering the question about Nixon kicking off a shoe on his long run against the Horns.
“We got him another shoe and taught him actually how to tie it,” joked Gundy. “But you guys asked me last week and I told you that he would play a little more. He brings a little different dimension. We know what (Dominic Richardson) is gonna do. And then he brings a little bit different running style. And so, he’s maturing, he’s growing up. We need him to get eight or 10 carries a game, because he plays on a lot of special teams, and we can throw him the ball. He does a good job. He didn’t at TCU, but otherwise he catches the ball pretty good.”
Freshmen, red-shirt freshmen, they are popping up all over the place and the good news is they look like they’ve been bathed in Cowboy culture and have been baptized to contribute.