Way Too Early All-American Team Has No Pokes, Should It?
STILLWATER – Classes started at Oklahoma State today and players, both new and old, were stopping to check in at the West End Zone. Rob Glass will give the Cowboys a few days this week to get adjusted and then soon it will be time for the offseason program to ramp up. That is how far away we are from the next college football season, but the media operates on a different calendar. This may be offseason and spring football, even at the earliest of programs, is still a month away from starting. However, the name Alabama had not even been engraved on the CFP trophy before ESPN had a “Way Too Early Top 25” out and others followed. I saw the Cowboys made a couple and were first out on another. It doesn’t matter but it is good discussion as is ESPN’s Way Too Early All America Team. No Cowboys on that, but should there be? We gave it a good examination.
I didn’t contest every position. No reason too. Oklahoma State is talented enough that they could always have somebody emerge at a position, especially receiver. However, going into next season there are no clear All-American candidates at receiver.
Offensive line is subjective, unless somebody really does the work and watches tape. I think that Josh Sills could clearly be a candidate for next season and the transfer Danny Godlevske could also push his way into a conversation depending on how each of them play and how the offense performs overall and how much improvement the offensive line shows for next season. It should be a significant amount with the experience the younger linemen received this past season.
Let’s stay on offense and start at quarterback. I understand that Spencer Sanders performance has fluctuated and Sanders development has been a closely watched process for Oklahoma State fans. A breakthrough may have been late in the season with sensational performances in both the win at Baylor and the MVP performance in the Cheez-It Bowl win over Miami, Fla. Sanders was 27-of-40 passing for 305-yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. He also ran for 45-yards on 13 carries.
ESPN has North Carolina sophomore Sam Howell, a really talented player, as their way too early All-American quarterback. Howell was sensational all season and helped North Carolina get into the Orange Bowl, but despite his spectacular play they could not upset Texas A&M. Let’s check out the 2020 stat lines.
| Name, Ht., Wt., School | Att. | Comp. | Pct. | Yards | TD | Int. | Rush Car. | Yds. | TD |
| Sam Howell, 6-1, 225, UNC | 348 | 237 | 68.1 | 3,585 | 30 | 7 | 92 | 146 | 5 |
| Spencer Sanders, 6-1, 205, Oklahoma State | 247 | 155 | 62.8 | 2007 | 14 | 8 | 101 | 269 | 2 |
Sanders isn’t off the grid, but he will need to improve significantly to compete for All-American honors. I think he is capable, but Oklahoma State has players with better cases to be made to bump somebody off the ESPN list.
ESPN has Iowa State’s Breece Hall at running back and that is a slam dunk. However, Chuba Hubbard was looking to repeat in a similar fashion after the 2019 season and it was easier thought of than done. ESPN also has Texas running back Bijan Robinson on the team. I like LD Brown or Dezmon Jackson or Dominic Richardson. I’ll take the Cowboy that busts out and earns the most carries in the offense for next season.
| Name, Ht., Wt., School | Car. | Net Yards | YPC | TD | Rec. | Rec. Yds. | YPR | TD |
| Bijan Robinson, 6-0, 223, Texas | 86 | 703 | 8.2 | 4 | 15 | 196 | 13.1 | 2 |
| LD Brown, 5-9, 205, Oklahoma State | 82 | 437 | 5.3 | 2 | 6 | 64 | 10.7 | 0 |
| Dezmon Jackson, 5-11, 218, Oklahoma State | 100 | 547 | 5.5 | 4 | 5 | 14 | 2.8 | 0 |
| Dominic Richardson, 6-0, 205, Oklahoma State | 44 | 223 | 5.1 | 3 | 1 | 12 | 12.0 | 0 |
Strength in numbers as Robinson had that huge break out game in the Valero Alamo Bowl win over Colorado. Edge to ESPN and Robinson. You know that new Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian will look to make Robinson a star in his offense. You can bet that Kasey Dunn is going to do the same with the Cowboys backs and head coach Mike Gundy will be making sure the Cowboys run the football.
The Cowboys are strong at defensive end, but that position has so many more candidates across the country. Let’s check out defensive tackle where I have a funny feeling that Israel Antwine, a very underrated contributor to the Oklahoma State defense, might fit in at that position. He is a strong influence on defense if you watch video and see what he does.
| Name, Ht., Wt., School | UT | AT | TT | TFL | Sacks | QBH | FC | FR | PD |
| Jordan Davis, 6-6, 320, Georgia | 7 | 9 | 16 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bryan Bresee, 6-5, 300, Clemson | 13 | 10 | 23 | 6.5 | 4.0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Israel Antwine, 6-4, 305, Oklahoma State | 9 | 11 | 20 | 5.0 | 0.5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Antwine has a chance. He is more than capable and I project he will improve and play better this next season. Keep an eye on Antwine because he is getting better every game in his career.
Linebacker is not just a production position when it comes to All-American, but the people that vote on All-American want big , impressive looking linebackers and Malcolm Rodriruguez looks more like a safety. Devin Harper fits the bill on the beauty test and with more playing time figures to get the production numbers that could influence some votes. ESPN had Iowa State’s Mike Rose, Alabama freshman Will Anderson, and Utah’s Devin Lloyd on the way too early team.
| Name, Ht., Wt., School | UT | AT | TT | TFL | Sacks | FC | FR | Int. | PD |
| Will Anderson, 6-4, 235, Alabama | 33 | 19 | 52 | 10.5 | 7.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Devin Lloyd, 6-3, 232, Utah | 33 | 15 | 48 | 10.0 | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Rose, 6-4, 245, Iowa State | 54 | 42 | 96 | 10.5 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 |
| Malcolm Rodriguez, 5-11, 220, Oklahoma State | 57 | 25 | 82 | 7.0 | 3.0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Devin Harper, 6-0, 240, Oklahoma State | 24 | 13 | 37 | 5.5 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
It must be noted that Lloyd at Utah only played in five games and it must also be noted that Harper may have averaged playing a third of the snaps in each game for Oklahoma State. Rose is a slam dunk and the others are competitive.
Safety is a strong suit for the Pokes and with Kolby Harvell-Peel coming back with Tre Sterling, this could be very special. ESPN picked Northwestern’s freshman Brandon Joseph for their “way too early” team and Notre Dame’s Kyle Hamilton. I will put Harvell-Peel and Sterling up against them.
| Name, Ht., Wt., School | UT | AT | TT | TFL | Sacks | FC | FR | Int. | PD |
| Brandon Joseph, 6-1, 192, Northwestern | 28 | 24 | 52 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 |
| Kyle Hamilton, 6-4, 219, Notre Dame | 51 | 12 | 63 | 4.5 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| Tre Sterling, 5-11, 200, Oklahoma State | 51 | 23 | 74 | 12.0 | 0.5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Kolby Harvell-Peel, 6-0, 210, Oklahoma State | 31 | 13 | 44 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
You can see why I was claiming after the season that Tre Sterling was screwed over by both the Big 12 and the All-American teams. Sterling was outstanding as an every down safety and a player that made the huge plays when needed to put games away. If you just did the “blind taste test” here then Sterling and Hamilton are your obvious picks. Joseph did play a shortened schedule and his six picks are impressive. Harvell-Peel missed time with his hamstring injury and his numbers are close. His numbers in the 2019 season look more like Sterling’s 2020 numbers.
Believe it or not, kicker may be the best opportunity for an Oklahoma State player to break through and Alex Hale would have been in contention this season had he not torn his ACL in warm-ups before Bedlam in Norman. ESPN has a good choice on their team with LSU sophomore kicker Cade York. He beat Florida late in the season with a 57-yard game winner at the end.
| Name, Ht., Wt., School | FG | Pct. | 20 & In | 30 & In | 40 & In | 50 & In | 60 & In | PAT |
| Cade York, 6-1, 198, LSU | 18-of-21 | 85.7 | 0-0 | 4-4 | 5-6 | 3-4 | 6-7 | 36-36 |
| Alex Hale, 6-0, 204, Oklahoma State | 13-of-14 | 92.9 | 1-1 | 4-4 | 5-6 | 3-3 | 0-0 | 10-10 |
The distance kicks give York a clear edge here, but Hale had shown he had the leg to hit field goal attempts beyond 50. He just didn’t get any opportunity. Hale should be back completely healthy next season and I believe he will have a chance to earn some honors.
Numbers aren’t everything, but they can be quite enlightening when it comes to looking at “way too early” scenarios.