STILLWATER — In a sport full of unique paths, there aren’t a ton as unique as Jayden Jernigan’s career as a Cowboy.

A former three-star recruit in the 2019 class, Jernigan made an instant impact at Oklahoma State as a true freshman. In 2019, Jernigan played in all 13 of the Cowboys’ games on the interior of the defensive line, a spot where players often need to physically develop for a year or two before jumping in. Then Jernigan sat out the entirety of the 2020 season. OSU coach Mike Gundy said Jernigan “had a couple things” with COVID, and they had trouble getting him cleared.

But after a surprise freshman year and a sophomore year without any on-field action, Jernigan appeared on OSU’s initial two-deep, sharing an “or” with Brendon Evers last week. Jernigan is expected to play in his first game in 618 days on Saturday when the Cowboys host Missouri State in Boone Pickens Stadium.

“I’ve had a long, long road with lots of ups and downs,” Jernigan tweeted Tuesday. “But that’s all behind me now. Blessed to say God has given me another opportunity to go back on the field with my brothers.”

Jernigan made 13 tackles as a freshman in 2019, recording sacks against Baylor and TCU and adding tackles for loss against McNeese and Texas A&M. He had a career-high five tackles against Tulsa in what was just the third game of his career.

More than his on-field production, Jernigan apparently helps morale. Sione Asi, who came in as a junior college transfer alongside Jernigan in OSU’s 2019 class, said he would recommend putting a microphone on Jernigan on the field because he is good at keeping the energy high during practice. That type of leadership apparently started when Jernigan was just a freshman.

“I was with him every day just learning from him,” Asi said Tuesday. “It was good to learn from him because he came in ready, and he does that with the whole D-line. He’s a leader. We needed him, especially as a freshman. No one expected that from him, but he stepped up big time and he came in ready. We’re just glad that he’s back.”

In his time away, Jernigan has transformed his body. He was listed at 6-foot, 300 pounds as a true freshman. He enters 2021 at 6-1, 285. Asi joked that he has tried feeding Jernigan some Polynesian food to put some weight back on him (Asi is listed at 320 pounds), but Gundy said didn’t seemed worried about Jernigan’s lighter frame.

“He’s practiced well,” Gundy said Thursday. “He’s down, he’s about 280 now. He was in the 290ish earlier when he was playing. And then he was out. He had a couple things with the virus and took a long time to get him clear, and then he had another little injury. But he’s had a really good camp, and he’ll be in a rotation and I’m excited about watching him. You know, it does a guy good to see a young man that was out basically a year and then able to find his way back and get out there and compete.”

Jernigan rejoins a deep defensive line. He and Asi are joined by Evers, Israel Antwine, Samuela Tuihalamaka and Collin Clay as interior defensive linemen. But according to Asi, Jernigan will still stand out in that group.

“You just wait because he’s definitely learned a lot in the year where he wasn’t playing at all,” Asi said. “He took that year as a year of reflection. Expect big things for him come this year.”

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With the 2021 football season nearly upon us, Mike Gundy held his first radio show of the season Monday evening alongside the great Dave Hunziker to hit on a number of topics before the season-opener on Saturday.

Here are a few highlights of his radio appearance.

• “I’ve been very fortunate. This has always been a special place,” Gundy said entering his 17th season at OSU. “We’ve had good people here, good players. … I’m healthy and feel good, still really enjoy being around the players, and the game is exciting, practice is exciting … that really hasn’t changed much for me. In fact it’s started to kind of come around for me again from the standpoint that I just have one at home now with Gage being a junior. Now I have a lot more time to work. I allotted a lot of my time to my kids, so now — and Gage is pretty self-sufficient — other than that there’s not much to do besides football.”

• Gundy on people retiring around him: “I hear people say ‘Oh John Wilson, who we went to school with, he retired.’ I start to hear about my friends who are retiring or close friends from high school who have put 30 years in school systems in Oklahoma and down in Texas double-dipping. It’s hard for me to fathom retirement. It’s kind of turning a full circle for me. I’m just glad to be able to continue to do it. It’s a new time at Oklahoma State. We have a new president, new athletic director. It’s a new time. I think it’s a great time for Oklahoma State right now.”

• Gundy on coaching 17 years at OSU: “I’ve been fortunate. It’s been a good match. Being from here, having the luxury of knowing this place as well as I do. … Different things that are important in longevity. My history here has allowed me to make more good decisions than bad decisions.”

• Gundy on how his familiarity with OSU has helped him: “One thing that I can clearly say and not have any regrets in saying is that I don’t think there’s anybody that walks the face of the earth that knows more about Oklahoma State football than me. I came here in 1986. If you want to talk about football, or things like that, there’s a lot of people that know more than me. But as far as Oklahoma State football? I came here in 1986, was gone about five years and been here ever since. I do know the ins and outs of this place. That has helped in a big way. Sometimes in our profession we get out of our box. We go in a direction that maybe is not beneficial and somewhat unrealistic. In doing that you waste a lot of time and effort instead of focusing on who we are, what our strengths are, and be innovative. We’ve been innovative, but we know who we are so we don’t get in a position where we set ourselves back.”

• Gundy on staying in his box: “I get a good number of calls in the offseason from head coaches. They want to know how, in my opinion, they create longevity. One thing I say is that you have to be who you are. You can’t be someone you’re not. Your fans, players, administration pick up on it. And then when things go wrong, which they will, you can’t do a 360 change. … You’ve gotta be real careful about changing things.”

• What Gundy sees in Missouri State: “They’ve got a very experienced coach who has had success everywhere he’s been. They took a lot of transfers. Their QB has been very successful, dual-threat guy. Some defensive guys … they just have a number of guys. And they have an advantage in that they just played [in the spring]. We’re not taking them lightly at all. Our guys understand and have practiced well, we need to get going. I would guess their depth isn’t quite what ours is, but when you have an experienced coach and you have a QB who has a lot of reps and you have a couple guys who can make a play on the edge, they are a threat. We’re aware of all that. We’ve practiced well. Scheme-wise, [Petrino] hasn’t changed much. With this QB, you would think he would do a lot of things he did with Lamar Jackson [at Louisville].”

• Gundy on Missouri State talent level: “Based on what you’re reading and the information you’re getting,” he says this might be most talented FCS team OSU has faced.

• Gundy on his super seniors: “If you think about this, the illustration I use was, if we just had these four guys from last year that thought about coming back — Cam Murray, Dillon Stoner, Amen Ogbongbemiga and Calvin Bundage — if you take those four guys and their experience and production and put them on your team now and add them to your starting 22, look how much better you’d be. So when we talk about the super seniors and the way it’s set up right now, because there’s going to be super seniors next year, you could set yourself up if you hit on some guys, you get two or three guys that are game-changers and all of a sudden you’re a lot better football team.

“There’s no substitute for experience. Period. I don’t know about other sports, but in football, guys who have had a lot of reps and been in games and played on the road, there’s just not a substitute for that. That’s why it’s a big advantage.”

• What Gundy likes about his 2021 team: “They’ve worked really hard. We talk about the ability for them to come together as a group and care about each other. It’s so important in every team sport I imagine, I know it is in football. And they’ve done that. So, I like that part about them. I think they’ll play hard for each other. Offensively, we went through such a tragedy on the offensive line that just by our depth chart we’re already better. Just having guys that have practiced who are healthy. We’re going to be better because of that. We’re going to be better at quarterback. At wide-out, we lost Tylan and Stoner, but Tay Martin should be able to fill one of those voids. And then you have Brennan Presley who really came on last year. … This group of young wide receivers might be like that young group that Mason played with during his three years, where there was four or five of them that got to play in the NFL. And then the RB position, we’ve never had this many running backs at one time, guys who can make plays.”

• Gundy on how he feels about different units: “Offensively, we’re in a really good position. Special teams, I’ve shared this with our players, we have a number of guys that play corner, safety, linebacker, wide-out or fullback, who can run fast and make a play. We should be really good on special teams. And then we have good returners, we have a home run threat at returner with Presley, and we have a returning kicker that had great success, we have a punter who was successful and is improved, and we have a deep-snapper who is good enough to snap in the NFL. We should be really good on special teams. Defensively, we have a very fast team. We have a lot of experience at safety. We’ve talked about how important that is. We have Bernard and Holmes at corner, and both those guys are solid. We’ve got Malcolm back at backer and Devin Harper. Then up front we’ve got some depth and we should be able to roll tackles in throughout the year, and we should have at least three of our ends that we roll in. And those guys have played quite a bit when you talk about Brock Martin, Tyren Irby and Trace Ford. If we run to the ball, we’ll be just fine because I think we can cover a lot of ground.”

• Gundy on what he has learned from pandemic: “We’re responsible for taking care of each other, protecting ourselves, doing everything we can. I learned from seeing it up close with friends back home that are my age that are no longer with us anymore, and friends of mine from other places that are my age that are no longer with us, I learned the severity of it and how serious it is. … We found out we could meet and use Zoom and we could save a lot of money. From a football standpoint, a year ago we practiced all our young players close to just as many reps as our 1s and 2s because we didn’t know who was going to get the virus. We practiced everybody all the time because I told the coaches that some [backups] might be the starters. When it was over, I started looking at the results that we got out of it, and I thought ‘we should have been doing this the last 15 years.'” Gundy added that approach is something he plans — and has — implemented into a more permanent schedule. Lot more 3s and young guys running in practice.

• Gundy on covid and the Delta variant: “I was getting a little nervous four or five weeks ago, it was scaring me with how contagious this one is. I’ll be honest — I was more worried this July than I was last year. Last year it wasn’t this way. Hopefully enough people are getting vaccinated and we can get fight through this so we can get back to a normal life. We want a full house on game day, we want everyone to stay safe, so hopefully you’re vaccinated and if not protect yourself and protect everyone else.”

• Gundy on how fans can help in realignment: “You can fill that stadium. If you want to play a part, you buy season tickets, you come to the games because someone is watching. Don’t kid yourself. People are watching. If we have a full stadium and you’ve done your part and bought tickets, you’ve contributed to helping this university and athletic department continue on when we start talking about conference realignment.”

The post What Mike Gundy Said Monday in His First Radio Show of 2021 Season appeared first on Pistols Firing.

The long, arid college football drought will finally end this Saturday when Oklahoma State kicks off its 2021 season with a visit from Missouri State.

To wet your whistle, let’s take a look at some of the Cowboys set to make the biggest impact on the field this fall, with some insight from inside the program. We’ll start with the offense.

Next Man Up: Tay Martin

Tylan Wallace left some big cleats to fill, and they won’t be the best way to fill them isn’t by committee. But returning senior Tay Martin has a big frame and a big game and, from all we’re hearing out of fall camp, is up to the task.

Cowboys offensive coordinator Kasey Dunn called him “a hell of a player.”

“He’s playing great for us right now, taking over for Tylan. He’s taken on that role,” said Dunn. “When he first came in there was a little bit of ‘Ahh, I’m pretty good, let me play, I can do whatever I want to do.’ He’s bypassed that now, man. He’s all in.”

Rising Star: Brennan Presley

Presley had his coming out party, and a big one at that, with 118 yards and three scores in OSU’s bowl win over Miami. That’s left many ready to crown him the next great Cowboy receiver. Mike Gundy tempered expectations a tad but it’s obvious he’s excited to see 80 get the ball in space.

“He’s come a long ways,” said Gundy. “He started to get considerably better at the end of the year based on reps, settled in, started to figured out. You saw him improve, particularly in the bowl game. He had a month to prepare. Now he’s been here in the summers, and he’s kind of a guy that we’re used to. Once you know what direction you go, you can go really fast. Guys that are thinking, which is a young player at any position, they don’t play as fast. I think he started to take that next step. We’ll know a lot more in a couple, three weeks, but I would guess that his reps have gotten to a point where his comfort levels is getting pretty high.”

Name to Know: Dezmon Jackson

The role of most exciting Cowboy rusher — at least in my mind — seems to fluctuate weekly, which is a good sign for OSU’s depth. But I cannot get past Mike Gundy’s comments last week when he compared senior tailback Dezmon Jackson to one of the most underrated backs to ever play for him.

“He was a lot like Keith Toston,” said Gundy. “Toston might be a little bit more physical, and Dez might be a little bit more agile. But, they both run standing straight up, and then they can make a cut. They’re a little faster than what you think. A little bit like Keith Toston.”

Don’t Forget About: Braydon Johnson

Somehow, the Pokes’ leading returning receiver has been relegated to a background character in this summer’s narrative. But the speedy home run threat might turn some heads this fall now that he’s finally back in his natural role.

“He’s a slot receiver. We’ve had to bounce him around a little bit at times with injury but that’s his strength,” said Gundy this fall. “He’s extremely fast, we all know that, and he’s very shifty. And he’s got enough strength to where he can block inside on nickel backs and safeties and such. That’s his spot. We’re expecting him to have a good year. He’s in good shape, and he’s very focused at this time. So if he’ll just stay the course, he should have a good year. If he stays healthy, and he’ll get a chance to play this game to the next level, all based on his work ethic from this point moving forward.”

Don’t Sleep On: Spencer Sanders

Sanders has been nothing if not a polarizing franchise QB during his time at OSU. With eye-popping highlight plays set against head-scratching turnovers — and with injury limitations sprinkled throughout — it’s hard to know exactly how high his ceiling is, or how low the floor.

But benefiting from his first full year of coaching stability, his first full offseason — and what should be a much-improved offensive line — I think I’m more excited than skeptical for his third year at the helm, and where he could lead the Pokes offense. And Mike Gundy seems to agree.

“My personal opinion is last year the spring ball that he missed and summer conditioning because of COVID set him back,” said Gundy. “And I feel like in the two months that we watched him over spring ball, he’s developed more than he has in two years.

“So, we’ll find out once the season starts. There’s never been a question with his toughness, his commitment, and his competitive nature.”

The post OSU Football: Superlatives and Quotes for the Cowboys Offense appeared first on Pistols Firing.

Lee Redick, known best among the OSU fanbase as “Mr. Orange Power” for leading the “Orange Power” chants during sporting events, is retiring from his role after more than two decades, he told OSU’s Jessica Morrey in a feature story this week.

“I’m just too old and my knees are shot, so it’s time,” he said. “It’s been the best 22 years of my life. I’ve loved it.”

Redick has proudly donned a bright orange hunting suit in his role as OSU’s most recognizable super fan. You’ve likely seen him at football games. And more likely, you’ve heard him as he gets the famous “Orange Power” chant going at games with his booming voice, bright orange gear and big sign to get Cowboys fans engaged in big moments.

The role he thrived in originated in 1999 when Redick was at the Big 12 men’s basketball tournament. Redick said he used to yell “Orange” because it was his favorite cheer, but at the tournament, his wife encouraged him to ask others to join him in the chant.

“And it just took off,” Redick says. “It was just a magical experience. … It was just so much fun.”

OSU this season in Redick’s place says it will appoint an honorary “Stillebrity” to lead the Orange Power cheer. Before that happens, though, Redick offered one reminder about the chant before he leaves it in the hands of someone else about the purpose of the chant.

“Orange Power is done while we’re on defense,” he said. “My goal is to take a second and long and turn it into a third and long. Crowd will take over in a third-down situation, and we get the ball back. There’s strategy! We’re trying to help our team win. And Orange Power does it.”

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OSU’s football season — finally! — is upon us.

Before we dive 10-toes deep together into the 2021 campaign, though, we’ve got one last preseason giveaway to take care of. All you’ve got to do is follow the accounts in our handy-dandy social guide listed below (which you should and probably are doing anyway!) and then leave a comment in the post to enter (where it says “Click to Comment” at the bottom of this story) a drawing for a free hat from our store.

That’s it.

OK, ready, go.

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With the Pac-12 deciding against expansion (for now), the ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12 joined together in an alliance and the SEC up to 16 teams in its super-league with OU and Texas, more and more it seems an inevitability that to survive, the Big 12 must expand.

Plucking teams willy-nilly won’t do, though. To position best for the next television contract, the league must think strategically about expansion. What schools can add television value? What schools would help build competition on the football field with playoff expansion on the horizon? Does the geographic footprint get expanded with the addition of a school or schools? And if so, does that expansion make sense?

Lots of factors to take into account if the league opts to expand. Taking those into consideration, this should be the order of calls the league office should make if it does indeed choose to expand from eight.

1. BYU

Here’s the deal: BYU on a Big 12 map would be the outlier. The league has no teams west of Lubbock much less all the way in Utah. But BYU makes sense from a competitive standpoint (they’ve been very good in football since going independent in 2011) and from a distribution standpoint (they rank very highly in average viewership). Those factors should be tops among any list.

2. Houston

I’ve been among the cadre of characters calling for the Big 12 to give Houston a Barry Sanders-sized stiff-arm in expansion. I admit, I think I was wrong. The Cougars represent a city that ranks top 10 in Nielsen rankings and they not only have a big, loyal audience, but good sports teams, too. They just made the Final Four and are consistently one of the better non-Power football programs thanks to its hefty resources and booster backings. The addition of Houston would also keep the footprint of the Big 12 largely intact while expanding to a mega-market in a mega-state.

3. Memphis

Among the many reasons I’m not totally against a merger with the AAC is that the league is loaded with quality programs. Memphis is among the appealing schools, with a Penny Hardaway-coached basketball program barreling toward top-20 quality and likely sustainable paired with a football program that is perennially underrated. Tigers fans are hardcore sports fans and — selfishly — I’d love to see Memphis in the Big 12 if for no other reason that a road trip to get BBQ there once every other year sounds delightful. Beale Street, anyone?

4. Cincinnati

Cincinnati has a bigger television market than Oklahoma City, Tulsa and Memphis, and it has undoubtedly made strides of late as a football program. Under Luke Fickell, the team has won 31 games in the last three seasons and taken only six losses in that span. The basketball program is typically good, and while it has taken a step back in recent years after Mick Cronin’s departure, it remains one of the best in the AAC.

5. UCF

Look, does UCF make sense if you plot it on a Big 12 map? Absolutely not! Does it matter? For the Big 12, perhaps not! UCF is the largest school for enrollment in the great state of Florida and among the biggest in the entire country with nearly 72,000 (!!) students. (More than triple OSU!) We’d probably have to sit them down and let them know they can’t go around claiming themselves as national champions — especially for the 1945 season — but there’s lots of appeal with this program in terms of size and what it could bring from an athletics perspective.

6. Boise State

Definitely think Bob Bowlsby would have to draw a hard-line stance on one thing: Under no circumstances is blue turf acceptable. Outside that, though, Boise’s football program, like UCF, has been nothing if not consistent of late. Like UCF, Boise on a Big 12 map doesn’t make much sense, but there is still a lot the school could add to an expanded Big 12.

7. SMU

This would be a market play for the Big 12. If it wants to corner the Dallas metroplex, SMU makes sense on that front as a potential expansion team. Dallas/Ft. Worth is a top-five national market. The problem here lies in the fact that SMU — despite some pretty significant investments — has not been all that good in football or basketball, with only one 10-win season in football since 1984 and two NCAA Tournament appearances since 1993.

The post Ranking Best Teams to Target if Big 12 Decides to Expand appeared first on Pistols Firing.

Oklahoma State on Tuesday dropped a 30-second tease video ahead of its season-opening game on Saturday against Missouri State, and boy oh boy, it has all the goods to get you absolutely amped for the 2021 season. The video starts with narration from Mike Gundy before giving way to highlights of a packed-out Boone Pickens Stadium with Gus Johnson and other commentators talking up the hallowed venue.

“This is why you play this game, for the guy next to you,” Gundy can be heard saying. “Bring your own party,” he adds, a phrase he often uses to encourage players to bring their own energy to the game.

Oh yeah, that’s the goods. If your heart isn’t beating a tad faster after watching that, then you might need to get that checked out.

OSU is going to be a heavy favorite Saturday so I can understand not getting completely over-the-moon amped — it’s Missouri State and not, you know, Texas or Oklahoma — but football is football and football is back. The Pokes kick off their season Saturday night at 6 p.m.

The post This Video Will Get You Amped for OSU’s Season-Opener on Saturday appeared first on Pistols Firing.

With conference realignment ringing off the hook all offseason, it hardly feels true but: It’s game week for Oklahoma State. The Pokes open their 2021 season on Saturday with a home tilt against Missouri State.

Ahead of the start of the season, our team, as we do, has laid out preseason predictions for how we think 2021 will unfold. Those predictions are below. Some of us, as is typically the case, are more optimistic than others. But we all are predicting a winning record and some fun football ahead.

Let’s jump right in.

Offensive MVP

Marshall Scott: Spencer Sanders. Picking the quarterback to be a team’s offensive MVP is always safe, but I think it’ll hold true because of the depth at the other skill positions. With four capable running backs, it’s hard to say any will warrant an MVP selection, and I also expect Tay Martin and Brennan Presley to split the receiving yards more equally than in the past. And who benefits from all of this? A more experienced Sanders.

Kyle Boone: Spencer Sanders. This wasn’t my response when I answered this question very recently, but if OSU’s offense is as good — or even close to as good — as we think it could be, it’ll be because QB1 makes a leap this season.

Kyle Cox: I feel pressure to pick someone other than Spencer Sanders, but it’s hard to not pick the third-year returning quarterback who will be replacing his top two playmakers from a year ago in Chuba Hubbard and Tylan Wallace. So, yeah I’ll fall in line.

Defensive MVP

Marshall Scott: Devin Harper. Here’s something that might be a little out there. Harper replaces Amen Ogbongbemiga at OSU’s Mike linebacker position. That position’s starter has been at least Top 2 in tackles for the Cowboys’ since Jim Knowles got to OSU ahead of the 2018 season. Injuries and solid depth have lessened Harper’s role until this point, but when he is on the field, he makes plays. He already has two career INTs, one of which he returned for a touchdown.

Kyle Boone: Trace Ford. Coming off an ACL tear, I’ve been hesitant to be too bullish on his 2021 prospects. But he’s the most talented player on defense playing what I think could be the most impactful position (LEO) in 2021. Even with an experienced secondary I think he leads the way for a top-15 defensive unit this season.

Kyle Cox: I think I picked Ford when asked recently, but for the sake of variety, give me all the KHP stock you’re selling. Not enough has been spoken or written about the former back-to-back all-conference honoree. He’s a bonafide baller who impacts on the game whenever he is on the field, whether a team goes to the ground (over half of his tackles were on ball carriers) or through the air. OSU may be stacked at safety, but he’s the best of the bunch.

Who leads the team in rushing?

Marshall Scott: LD Brown. Back to playing it safe. Brown has bided his time, watching Chris Carson, Justice Hill and Chuba Hubbard get drafted. He should be the leader among the Pokes’ backs entering his sixth college season. I wouldn’t count out Utah State transfer Jaylen Warren, though.

Kyle Boone: LD Brown. It seems like OSU is determined to take a committee approach to this backfield, but LD gets the edge for me. He’s likely to be the No. 1 option of the committee and last season he showed he’s much more than a speedster/scatback. If he gets 10-12 touches a game he has the potential to be an insanely efficient rusher who leads the team as a super senior.

Kyle Cox: Dezmon Jackson. I fully expect LD Brown to be RB1 on Saturday but a lot can change over the course of a season and I think Jackson is the most exciting, and the most ready to carry an offense. It will be RB-by-committee, but Gundy has said he’ll ride the hot hand. And his Jackson-Keith Toston comparison is not leaving my memory any time soon. If he can stay healthy, I think Dez is the guy.

Predict the yards and TDs for Spencer Sanders

Marshall Scott: In his first two years as a starter, Sanders eerily had the same completions and attempts (155-for-247). This year, I say he bests his freshman and sophomore seasons, going 162-for-255 with 2,250 passing yards and 20 touchdowns. On the ground, give me 95 attempts for 450 yards.

Kyle Boone: Sanders goes 175-for-280 passing (62.5%) for 2,400 yards and 20 touchdowns, all (save for the completion rate) finishing as career-bests. He also adds 110 rushing attempts for 405 yards on the ground and four rushing scores.

Kyle Cox: I think at this point you have to go with 155-for-247, right? But seriously, I think Sanders takes a big step forward this year. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 2,500 yards and 20 touchdowns through the air seems right for a QB that’s going to lead OSU to Arlington (in addition to his ground game contributions).

Who leads the team in receiving?

Marshall Scott: Tay Martin. Slotting in at OSU’s coveted Z spot, this just makes sense until proven otherwise. I’ll say 900 yards and eight touchdowns.

Kyle Boone: Tay Martin. I think he finishes just shy of 1,000 yards receiving and gets, say, six receiving touchdowns on the year.

Kyle Cox: Tay Martin, based largely on his position. If you listen to Mike Gundy, Martin is a different player than he was last year and OSU will need him to be. He’s got some pretty big cleats to fill in that Z spot vacated by Tylan Wallace, but he’ll also have plenty of opportunities to put up numbers.

Who finishes the season second in receiving?

Marshall Scott: Brennan Presley. I could realistically see Presley having a Josh Stewart-esque sophomore season, but I’ll stay somewhat reserved for now, saying he finishes with 800 yards and seven scores.

Kyle Boone: Brennan Presley. I feel like it’s going to be a WR1A and WR1B approach this season so Presley will finish just shy of 1,000 yards receiving as well with a dozen scores of his own.

Kyle Cox: Boring, but true. Brennan Presley looked like an all-conference player in the bowl game. I don’t expect him to necessarily bring down triple digits and triple TDs every outing, but he’s only going to get better. He’ll be exciting to watch this fall.

Freshman of the Year

Marshall Scott: I think it’s going to have to be Blaine Green. With guys getting an extra year because of the pandemic, OSU won’t lean on a ton of young guys, and Green is the early starter at OSU’s X receiver.

Kyle Boone: Blaine Green. Green earned a starting slot at receiver after a strong camp and figures to be an explosive option for OSU in the passing game right away this season.

Kyle Cox: Collin Oliver. I think Green is going to be impactful, but he’s not the true frosh who will get the most pub in 2021. The four-star pass rusher has garnered plenty of praise during fall camp and Gundy recently said that he’s “gonna get to play a lot.” If you’ve earned that much praise and confidence from your head coach before your 19th birthday, it’s got to mean something.

Tackle leader

Marshall Scott: Devin Harper. If he’s going to be the Defensive MVP as I predict, I assume this will be his spot to hold. I’ll predict a nice, even 100 tackles.

Kyle Boone: Malcolm Rodriguez. Led the team in tackles last season and figures to repeat as the Caleb Lavey-like presence of the defense this season.

Kyle Cox: Rodriguez has been the Cowboys’ tackle leader the last two seasons and was No. 2 three years ago. My money’s on the incumbent.

Sacks leader

Marshall Scott: Trace Ford. Ford is the Cowboys’ leading returner in sacks from a season ago. Depending on how slow OSU takes his return from his ACL tear, I think Ford will do some damage this year in opposing backfields.

Kyle Boone: I’ll go Tyler Lacy here. Trace Ford is going to lead the team in quarterback hurries and forced errors but Lacy has a chance to double his sacks from last season and push for a potential double-digit sack season. Breakout year incoming.

Kyle Cox: Trace Ford. Let’s not make this complicated. If he’s healthy, which all signs seem to indicate he is, Ford’s the best QB hunter on the roster and he should be set for a big year with the opportunity to have an All-Big 12 First Team-worthy campaign.

Interceptions leader

Marshall Scott: Kolby Harvell-Peel. Harvell-Peel didn’t get thrown at a ton last season, but he still tied the team lead in picks. I think he builds on that this year.

Kyle Boone: I’ll go Tre Sterling. He was a breakout star last season hawking the back end of the OSU defense, including one INT he housed for a TD. I think he’s probably ready to prove in 2021 that 2020 was no fluke, and he has, for my money, the best hands of any OSU player in the secondary. (Kolby Harvell-Peel coming in as a close second.)

Kyle Cox: Kolby Harvell-Peel. As stated above, I think KHP has a bag year in 2021 and that includes ramping up his disruption in the passing game. He’s coming off five and two INTs the last two years. The last Cowboy to have multiple picks in consecutive years was Ramon Richards (four-straight!). I think KHP makes it three in a row.

Surprise of the year

Marshall Scott: Tyler Lacy. Lacy isn’t quite a household name yet, but he has oodles of potential. At 6-foot-4, 295 pounds, Lacy could move around on the Pokes’ defensive line, and I think he could be a guy whose stock soars this season.

Kyle Boone: OSU wins two games as underdogs. This would track, given OSU’s remarkable track record as a dog under Mike Gundy. Best early guesses are: Texas and Iowa State. OSU likely to be a dog against OU as well, but could be favored in every other game this season. Winning 66.6% of games as a dog would be an accomplishment (if it can win the others!)

Kyle Cox: OSU wins one version of Bedlam. I think the Cowboys are getting slept on a bit, and for good reason, but the O-line’s improvement and depth at running back will be a boon for Spencer Sanders and the offense. I will not say which episode of Bedlam they win, but I am (obviously) predicting a trip to Arlington.

Big 12 record and placing

Marshall Scott: 6-3 and in some strange tie for second or third

Kyle Boone: 6-3 and third place

Kyle Cox: 7-2 and in second place

Final record (including bowl)

Marshall Scott: 10-3

Kyle Boone: 10-3

Kyle Cox: 11-2

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