Just Who Are the "Freakiest" Athletes on the Oklahoma State Football Team
STILLWATER – Oklahoma State was in helmets, shoulder pads, and shorts on Friday (Aug. 16) for the final fall camp practice as the camp will conclude with a scrimmage scheduled on Saturday. Sunday is on off day and classes for the fall semester begin on Monday. Practices will start to trend toward game week-type preparation for South Dakota State nToday the Cowboys worked on various situations. The kicking game got a thorough run thru with kickoffs, punts, returns, and field goals and extra points. Among the situations the offense and defense worked thru included one minute, four minute and several down and distance scenarios. The practice didn’t get anythong added today as it ended on schedule about the same time the sponsors of the Cowboys Radio Network were arriving for a preseason gathering in the North Club Level and Boone Pickens Stadium.
One of the highlight plays on Friday on offense came with the first team as quarterback Alan Bowman hit De’Zhaun Stribling streaking down the left sideline. Stribling battled with the defenders but fought his way into the end zone. Stribling is going to make a difference healthy this season. He is very explosive and the former track athlete is one of the faster players on the team even at 6-2, 205 pounds.
Stribling when asked on Thursday kind of deflected to some of the other receivers citing what a good fall camp Talyn Shettron is having. He talked up both Brennan Presley and Rashod Owens. He also threw out the comps on transfer Gavin Freeman.
“G-Freaky, Gavin, OU he’s doing great, putting his time in, getting familiar with all the plays,” Stribling said.
Then when I asked about the jumps, Freeman’s ability to go up and jump defenders has been on display. I know that Stribling can get up too. Check out the cover photo on this story as Stribling is up making a grad earlier in camp in the end zone for a score. I just flat our asked if he had ever considered asking Freeman to get 40-yard run together and then see who could get up the highest.
“G-Freaky, man he is, there’s a lot of things he can do that’s beautiful man,” Stribling responded. I took that as a way of deferring any personal competition, be it speed or jumping, on the back burner. Right now it’s not that critical.
The defense has had a good week of practice and one of the elder statesman on defense is cornerback Korie Black. Black has accepted the title of fastest player on the team and his defensive teammates will back that up. However, the OU transfer Freeman is new. Head coach Mike Gundy has bragged about Freeman getting up to and beyond 22 miles-per-hour in five games at Oklahoma. I don’t have the read outs for the Cowboys physical output analytics from Catapult. Those are done everyday and the read outs would be interesting. The coaches have them.
Teammates see them and at media day, most of the players, primarily on defense testified that Black is the fastest Cowboy.
“Yeah, I am,” said the Waco Connally High School product that was a state qualifier in the 400 meters.
In the Waco, Texas track records list from Athletic.net, it is another former Cowboys in Perrish Cox that shows up in the 100 meters with a time of 10.94 seconds, third in the Waco lists. Black ran with a little more endurance and is third all-time in the 400 meters at 50.37. He is also part of the fastest 4x400 relay team in Waco with a 3:17.32 that he ran the opening leg and it was anchored by Devin Miles.
For comparison, Stribling ran an 11.66 in the 100 meters in high school and he had a personal record of six-foot even in the high jump.
Freeman at Heritage Hall in Oklahoma Class 3A had his personal bests at the state meet. He had a 10.81 in the 100 meters and a 22.45 in the 200 meters placing second in both events. He did not jump, but I can vouch that his jumps are strong.
Asked about his speed as a weapon on the field in playing corner, I liked Black’s answer of bringing smarts and football geography into the answer.
“Luckily I don’t have to use a lot of it while I’m covering,” Black said of speed. “I try to cover with angles so it kind of slows the game down. I don’t have to use too much of my speed.”
I can see where there is some debate to be had over the fastest and the biggest ups, but when it comes to strength, while there are some very strong players on the Oklahoma State team, I believe what I was told and that is defensive tackle Justin Kirkland all 6-3, and 352 pounds of him is the strongest on the team.
I know for sure he is the strongest right now he has ever been in his life. He is an older player having gone on his mission for the Church of Latter Day Saints. I asked him if this is the strongest he’s been?
“Yes, I think so. Coach Glass, I mean, he truly is the best. He knows how to take care of your body but still push it to the absolute limit,” explained Kirkland. “I think he does such a good job of letting us go, too. I mean, if you want to throw on 500 pounds on a bench, and you’re feeling good, he’ll let you go for it. Stuff like that. I truly think I’m the most agile I’ve ever been. I’m 352 pounds and the strongest I’ve ever been as well.
Okay, how strong.
“Like a one-rep max for squat is probably like 650 (pounds),” Kirkland started. “Bench is on a good day with some pre-workout, probably like 508 pounds. And then maybe, if we’re doing 225 for reps, probably 51. I’m trying to get it on video, then put it on twitter before next year. So I’ll try to back that up.”
Bench rep test, the NFL Combine bench press test and we were impressed when Malcolm Rodriguez did 36 at the OSU Pro Day in 2022. The official NFL Combine record is 49 by Stephen Paea in 2011. In 1999 Justin Ernest had 51 reps, though he never played in the NFL.
Mike Gundy has liked what he has seen this fall from Kirkland.
“Justin’s in better physical condition,” Gundy said. “He understands the competition at this level and the continuous grind every day. And that’s different than it was a year ago… You have to go through it to understand it.”
Oklahoma State center Joe Michalski knows it. He goes against Kirkland every day in practice.
"He's a load. He's a big dude,” Michalski witnessed. “I mean, that's probably the strongest person I've ever seen in my life. It's fun. We get along, so there's no bitter rivalry, there's no dirty $#!+. Iron sharpens iron. We make each other better every day."
Moment of truth, Does Kirkland believe he is the strongest Cowboy?
"I'm not going to toot my horn, but yeah, I think so.”
We do too.