Marcus Keyes anchors blossoming offensive line
STILLWATER — Oklahoma State offensive line coach Josh Henson has a couple of position battles to keep an eye on this August.
Left guard is not one of them.
Without much fanfare, junior Marcus Keyes has gone about doing his job at left guard for two seasons now, and he’s back out there handling his business in preseason camp.
The 6-foot-3, 309pound Keyes is getting a little more credit for his work now, too.
He was named to the preseason watch list for the Outland Trophy, given annually to the country’s best college offensive lineman.
“I’m just doing my job, doing what I have to do,” Keyes said of the recognition. “That’s all I have to do.”
Keyes has started 26 consecutive games, playing through the pain of a shoulder injury last season that required surgery in the spring.
“It was bad,” Keyes said of the pain. “I played through it and just had to fight through the pain.
“They got me fixed up. I feel fine. I have full range of motion, so I’m better now.”
Only two OSU linemen started all 13 games last season, but that doesn’t mean Keyes will be surrounded by a bunch of new faces on the offensive line.
Center Johnny Wilson and right tackle Teven Jenkins got plenty of playing time in place of injured players last season. One of those injured players, Larry Williams, was granted a sixth year of eligibility and is back at right guard.
Expect senior Shane Richards to be heavily involved in the rotation as well, having worked at both right guard and right tackle the past two years.
Henson only has a couple of major decisions to make during August camp, as far as the twodeep is concerned.
He needs to figure out who his starting left tackle is going to be, which sounds like a frightening situation for a team that throws as often as the Cowboys. But Henson has a couple of solid, though inexperienced, players to work with in Arlington Hambright and Dylan Galloway.
It’s more a matter of one of those players separating himself. Galloway was recovering from shoulder surgery in the spring, which gave Hambright 15 practices worth of time to work into the first team role.
Henson also needs to identify who his backup center will be — a decision that sounds far less important, unless an injury hits the middle of the line.
Ry Schneider, a sophomore walk-on from Minco, entered August as the second-teamer, and Keyes has been working on his snaps in case he could be needed there. A few others are getting a look as well.
Coach Mike Gundy continues to heap praise on the group in general, saying that by the start of October, he expects this group to be better than last year’s starting five, which included three seniors.
With two, and possibly three, starters out during the spring, the new lineup is just now beginning to find its rhythm.
“I think everyone really understands each other,” Wilson said. “The first couple practices, we had some little miscommunications.
“I think we’re doing better, and by the time we’re done with camp, we should be rolling.”