Position breakdown
With Oklahoma State’s spring practice set to begin Tuesday, The Oklahoman examines the Cowboys’ offensive line.
STILLWATER — Aside from quarterback, you won’t find a position group at Oklahoma State that opens spring practice with as much uncertainty as the offensive line.
Both the depth and the talent are improving, but with three seniors graduating off last year’s front, and a fourth player’s future in limbo, the position battles should be intense.
Oklahoma State kicks off spring football practice Tuesday.
Until then, The Oklahoman will break down each position group, based on who will participate in spring workouts.
In this edition, we’ll look at the offensive line.
Scholarship players lost: Aaron Cochran, Zach Crabtree, Brad Lundblade, Lemaefe Galea’i Scholarship players returning: Shane Richards, Larry Williams, Deionte Noel, Johnny Wilson, Marcus Keyes, Arlington Hambright, Larry Joubert, Teven Jenkins, Dylan Galloway, Matt Kegel.
Newcomer: Hunter Anthony
THREE STORYLINES TO WATCH Keys to success
When the Cowboys take the field on Tuesday for their first practice, junior Marcus Keyes will be the only player on the line with more than a handful of starts under his belt at OSU.
He’s been solid at left guard over the last two seasons and managed to stay healthy last fall, when everyone around him seemed to be falling to injury.
He was one of the young guys on the line last year, but he’ll be the vet this spring.
The Cowboys have some other experienced players around him. Johnny Wilson played over half the season at center and right guard, filling in for injured players. Tackle Teven Jenkins did some fill-in work as a redshirt freshman last fall.
Tackle Shane Richards is a fifth-year senior who redshirted last season to save himself for this opportunity as a starter.
Deionte Noel and Dylan Galloway both mixed in as backups.
Waiting on Williams
Larry Williams likely won’t be available to practice with the team until at least April 18 — if at all. The right guard is waiting on the NCAA to vote on a rule change that would ultimately grant him a sixth year of eligibility because of the broken ankle he suffered after playing only three games last season.
If the rule change gets denied, Williams will be headed for pro ball. Because of that, OSU coaches don’t want him risking his NFL stock with a potential injury during spring practices. So he’ll sit out until the NCAA vote comes down.
If Williams gets his sixth year, he immediately helps to solidify the interior of the line, joining Keyes at left guard and Wilson — who was solid when pressed into duty last year — at center.
Without Williams, line coach Josh Henson will be looking for other answers at right guard. Noel could be in the mix, along with Larry Joubert, who was a late recruiting steal by Henson after he was hired last spring.
A Douglass High School product, Joubert was snagged out of Northeastern Oklahoma A&M after it appeared he would be heading out of state.
Tackle hunt
Henson has a few options at his two offensive tackle positions, but spring will be important for determining a couple of things.
For one, who is most comfortable on the left and who fits best on the right.
And second, will any of them establish themselves as sure-fire starters?
Richards, Jenkins, Galloway and Arlington Hambright look like the top four candidates for the jobs, though Matt Kegel has been in the program for a couple years now, and Tuttle product Hunter Anthony is getting an early start after enrolling as a freshman in January.
OSU coach Mike Gundy said in December that he rarely expects an offensive lineman to be able to contribute much in his first year or two, because of the jump in physicality from high school to college.
But Anthony’s early arrival, plus his monster frame at 6-foot-7, 320 pounds, could at least give him an opportunity to work into the two-deep.
Richards is even bigger at 6-8, 325, and after redshirting last season, he’s likely hungry for the opportunity to put a stranglehold on a starting job.