Oklahoma State Injury Report for BYU Game
PROVO, Utah – Oklahoma State comes off a bye week into the game here in Provo at LaVell Edwards Stadium (The Rock) to take on the unbeaten and No. 13-ranked BYU Cougars. Oklahoma State is unbeaten in history against the Cougars beating BYU in two bowl games in the seventies and then the double overtime 40-34 last season in the final regular season game in Stillwater. Head coach Mike Gundy would love to have his full compliment but he won’t. Gundy will get an offensive lineman back.
Jake Springfield has been out since the opening game of the season with South Dakota State. The veteran of 42 starts was battling a stress fracture but he will be back and available for the game at BYU.
Good timing as the Oklahoma State offensive line coming off the bye week may have some changes and is looking for an improved performance and especially the output in the running game. One other offensive note is that quarterback Zane Flores, a very talented player who has yet to make his debut is not on the trip. Scott Wright from The Oklahoman broke the story that Flores went back to Nebraska on Tuesday and had surgery on his foot. The surgery is season ending but gives him the time needed to be rehabbed for the off season and spring football.
Oklahoma State is still missing two All-American caliber defenders in edge rusher/end Collin Oliver (foot) and linebacker Nick Martin (knee sprain and meniscus). Those two will not be available until November at the earliest. Those two are huge difference makers.
Also missing for the BYU game will be back up Leo end in Jaleel Johnson with a labrum injury. Safety Dylan Smith also is hampered with an unknown injury.
The defense gets a linebacker back in graduate Justin Wright. The Tulsa transfer missed most of last season with a knee injury during the bye week before the Kansas State game. Then this season in practice the week before the Cowboys opener with South Dakota State, he suffered an injury to his other knee. He has worked his way and rehabbed back. A veteran with 256 career tackles, 27.5 tackles-for-loss, and 7.5 sacks. We were told they will work him in carefully, but he could definitely help.
On the back end, Oklahoma State will be without safety and current leading tackler Trey Rucker. The super-senior safety suffered a hamstring or muscle injury in the second half of the West Virginia game. The hope was he will be good to go after getting attention and treatment during the bye week and two weeks overall since the WVU game. In the end he was unavailable and the decision was made not to take him on the trip.