Adrian Baker sits out, three true freshmen play in opener
Thursday night’s 59-24 rout of Tulsa was led mostly by Oklahoma State’s veteran players and returning starters.
Among the first-year Cowboys to get into the action were left tackle Aaron Cochran, the graduate transfer from Cal, and true freshman running back J.D. King.
King’s impact was hard to miss, particularly the 71-yard touchdown run that contributed to his 95-yard night.
“He showed a little bit more burst in the open field than I thought he had,” coach Mike Gundy said.
Two other true freshmen, receiver Tylan Wallace and safety Thabo Mwaniki, also played. Running back Chuba
Hubbard did not play, and could still redshirt. Same goes for defensive end Brock Martin of Oologah, who had been among the true freshmen pushing for playing time during the preseason.
One notable absence Thursday was Adrian Baker, the graduate transfer cornerback from Clemson. He was not suited up for the game, but his absence was not injury-related.
Gundy said Baker was “not ready,” though he expects the senior to be dressed for the South Alabama game next Friday.
JALEN MCCLESKEY TO REMAIN AT PUNT RETURNER
After making a poor decision to field a punt deep in OSU territory, then fumbling the ball into the end zone to be recovered for Tulsa’s first touchdown, Cowboy return man Jalen McCleskey stayed in to return a couple more punts.
He was ultimately replaced by Dillon Stoner in the second half, but Gundy expects McCleskey to return to the role with confidence next week.
“After he fumbled the ball, he went into a shell,” Gundy said. “He had two chances to return it, and he fair caught it. There was nobody within 15 yards of him. He’s a gym rat. He’ll come around.
“We’ll instill confidence in him, show him what he did wrong and start with ball security. And put him back out there. He’ll be a good player for us. He just needs to do a better job taking care of the football.”
KEVIN HENRY OWNS UP TO MISSED PUNT BLOCK OPPORTUNITY
Oklahoma State linebacker Kevin Henry burst through the line of blockers untouched on Tulsa’s first punt attempt Thursday night.
But he was so shocked by his open path to the punter, he forgot one key part of the play: blocking the punt.
Henry drifted off to the right as the punter adjusted and bypassed him without any trouble.
Dr. Saturday, Yahoo Sports’ college football news coverage Twitter account, posted the clip, saying “this Oklahoma State player was so surprised he wasn’t blocked, he forgot to block the punt.”
Henry owned up to his mistake on Twitter late Thursday night, calling himself “a complete scrub for this,” with a string of laughing emojis.
He later added that Dr. Saturday’s analysis was dead on. “I was so surprised I wasn’t blocked,” he tweeted.
QUOTABLE
Defensive coordinator Glenn Spencer on how the coaching staff handled their Houston-area players during the Hurricane Harvey disaster:
“Coach (Gundy) talked to the team and said, ‘Hey, if anybody has any issues back home, let us know. If there’s any way we can help, let us know.’ So we talked about it as a team, how fortunate we are, right? This is a game. There’s people down there fighting for their life. I’m sure they wish they could be down there to help. But it’s definitely on their mind. They did a great job of trying to stay focused for each other, with the job we had at hand.”