Familiar face
Who’s been seen strolling the sidelines of OSU football practices?
STILLWATER — Carrying a 4.0 GPA into the start of his fifth year of college, Britton Abbott has already earned degrees in management and marketing. His MBA is in the works. He’s been a FirstTeam Academic All-Big 12 honoree the past two seasons and was an academic All-American last year, recognized as Oklahoma State’s Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
But it’s possible the most mentally stimulating challenge Abbott has faced in Stillwater is handling the Cowboy back position. OSU’s fullback/tight end hybrid requires the duties and techniques of both positions, as well as the mental wherewithal to take it all in. Abbott, a redshirt senior, has seen the Cowboy back develop since its introduction in 2015 and understands the responsibilities that come with it.
“Behind quarterback, we have to know the most,” Abbott said. “It’s a pretty good load, but we take pride in knowing what’s going on and knowing our job, as well as being able to help everyone else.”
The creation of Cowboy backs coincided with Mike Gundy’s hiring of Jason McEndoo to coach them. A longtime offensive line coach at Montana State, McEndoo believed his time was stretched thin then.
“But with this position, there’s no time,” McEndoo said. “It’s neverending.”
Behind quarterback, we have to know the most. It’s a pretty good load, but we take pride in knowing what’s going on and knowing our job, as well as being able to help everyone else.”
Britton Abbott
The time challenges result from the number of tasks the Cowboy backs need to perform. They must know how to run block and pass protect, run routes and catch passes, and they could be asked to do any of those on a given play.
Given the flexibility of the position, McEndoo often tells his players they have to be “the eraser,” meaning Cowboy backs have the opportunity to erase a mistake should a teammate make one.
It requires “FBI,” football intelligence, for Cowboy backs to balance all that’s asked of them, McEndoo said.
For that reason, he tries to be hands-on in practices, making sure each player is proficient in all aspects.
“They all have to be able to mix and match,” McEndoo said. “At the end of the day, this is the true hybrid position. It’s tight end, fullback, wide receiver all rolled into one.
“Kinda the Swiss Army knife of offense.”
Sione Finefeuiaki and Abbottreturnfromlastseason to serve as OSU’s fullback-style Cowboy backs, but at 6-foot and 6-2, respectively — “I call ’em my two hobbits,” McEndoo quipped — they didn’t pose much of a receiving threat in 2017. With the Cowboys also having the nation’s best collection of receivers, Cowboy backs caught only 11 passes for 152 yards. McEndoo expects that to change this season.
Junior college transfer Jake Ross is 6-6, and although he didn’t play football until his junior year of high school, his length and collegiate experience should prove valuable.
OSU also moved Jelani Woods from quarterback to Cowboy back. McEndoo compared him to a baby giraffe, but the 6-7 Woods said the transition hasn’t been too difficult, given his experience as a tight end in high school and the knowledge of the playbook he required behind center.
“Mentally, you’re being a quarterback,” Woods said. “You’re all over the field. You’ve got to know your job, plus others.”
Abbott, too, is a former quarterback, earning Kansas’ Class 5A Player of the Year honors in 2013 at Liberal High School. When he walked on at OSU, the Cowboys didn’t have coaches committed to fullbacks or tight ends. Instead, those players shuffled around workouts for running backs, receivers and offensive linemen.
McEndoo’s hire provided cohesion. It also gave a marketing opportunity to Gundy, who wanted to brand the position with an OSU-specific title. After iterations such as Outlaw back and Pistol back, McEndoo and Gundy settled on simplicity.
In their chaotic position, the Cowboy backs don’t have the same option, but they plan to make the most of that situation.
“The longer the position has been here, the more roles it’s taken on,” Abbott said. “We’ve taken that challenge upon our backs and just enjoyed it.”