UP FOR GRABS
S
TILLWATER — Keondre Wudtee dropped back, spied a receiver streaking down the left sideline and flicked the football that way.
The throw seemed nearly effortless, a beautiful motion, a tight spiral.
If only the end result had looked so good.
The pass was too long. The receiver didn’t even have a chance to make a play on it, and the ball fell untouched to the Boone Pickens Stadium turf.
But in that one play, we saw the back-up quarterback dilemma facing Cowboy coaches. There’s no drama, of course, at the very top of the food chain. Mason Rudolph is the guy for as long as the NCAA will allow him to stay in Stillwater. We were reminded of that with his stellar performance Saturday in the spring game, won by the Orange 24-0.
But who Rudolph’s back-up will be is one of the biggest questions facing the Cowboys.
“It’s critical to get a back-up named at the quarterback spot,” Cowboy defensive coordinator Mike Yurcich said, explaining the urgency comes in wanting the No. 2 quarterback to have as many practice reps as possible. “When you have to share reps and you’re unsure of who that back-up is, you’re not giving yourself a fair chance at getting that No. 2 guy prepared.”
Yurcich and Cowboy coach Mike Gundy wanted to name a backup by now, but none of the candidates has separated himself from the pack.
If Saturday is any indication, Taylor Cornelius is closer than any. The fourth-year junior threw for 77 yards and one touchdown and rushed for 34 yards. He was composed. He was smart.
“I thought Taylor played well,” Gundy said but quickly added, “The defense was a little loaded on the Orange.”
The Orange team had defensive ends Jarrell Owens and Cole Walterscheid.
“They put a lot of pressure on the Black,” Gundy said.
That, in turn, put a lot of pressure on the Black team’s quarterback. Most of the day, that was Wudtee, and he was only 1 of 6 for 6 yards. He was sacked once and had three rushes for minus-4 yards. Not good. And yet, one spring game does not a story tell. Wudtee, only a redshirt freshman, has shown maturity in the meeting room and leadership in the locker room. He has demonstrated a strong understanding of the offense but has yet to translate it on the field. Recently, the coaches cut Rudolph’s practice reps and gave them to Wudtee to help him along.
“We have a good idea of what we have with Taylor,” Gundy explained of the decision. “Wudtee hasn’t had as much work.”
Reading the tea leaves or between the lines or wherever else you see fit, it sure sounds like the Cowboy coaches believe Wudtee has the bigger upside.
That long pass that fell incomplete Saturday is a microcosm of why. All of the mechanics were superb. All of the reads were spot on. And the way he threw the football? So pretty.
But at the end of the day, none of that matters if the pass goes over the receiver’s head.
“We won’t (name a back-up quarterback) until August,” Gundy said. “From today, certainly Taylor played better than everybody else. If we had to do it today, it would be him.”
But of course, the Cowboys don’t have to do it now, and so Wudtee will continue to get opportunities to improve and prove himself. But at some point, the results will have to be there. At some point, he will have to win the job.
That didn’t happen Saturday — but even in his shortcomings, he showed why the Cowboy coaches will continue to give him that chance.