Experiments ongoing with O-line combos
STILLWATER — Entering last week’s season opener, Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy repeatedly said he believed his offensive line could improve on last year’s group, but the results one game in did little to impress him.
After the Cowboys opened the season with a 58-17 victory over Missouri State, Gundy said the offensive line played “average at best,” citing a handful of times Bears defenders slipped through gaps and disrupted the Cowboys’ offense.
“I don't know if any of ’em played great,” Gundy said earlier this week. “There were times they played really good as a group, and then there were times they turned people loose.”
Despite the sentiment, Gundy’s perception of the offensive line stems from the Cowboys possessing depth they haven’t had in recent seasons. OSU’s first-team offense was on the field for the first three quarters or so of the
Cowboys’ victory, during which seven linemen shifted around the five positions.
Arlington Hambright was the left tackle for every drive, while Teven Jenkins always served as the right tackle. Marcus Keyes, a preseason All-Big 12 selection, played the fewest snaps of the group, all at left guard. Shane Richards, a fifth-year senior who redshirted last season, started at right guard. Johnny Wilson split time at right guard and center in 2017 but started and played exclusively at center in the opener. With backup center a question mark leading up to the season, Deionte Noel drew reps behind Wilson, playing left guard, as well.
Larry Williams was the only lineman to play on each side of the ball, splitting his time on the field about 60-40 at left guard and right guard. Williams, who spent the past two seasons at right guard but missed extensive time with injuries both years, said he’d hoped to get moved to the left side because of his friendship with Hambright.
“We talk about it all the time,” Williams said. “We thought it’d be like a dream to play next to each other.”
He doesn’t mean to take anything away from Jenkins, though. Williams said he enjoys all of his fellow
O-lineman, on and off the field.
“Honestly, I think it’s one of the best O-lines I’ve ever played with,” he said. “Not even just football, but as far as attitude and character and personalities, I feel like we’ve got a pretty good group.”
Whether that translates to better-thanaverage play will begin to be seen Saturday when OSU hosts South Alabama. But Gundy doesn’t expect the offensive line to fully develop until about a month into the season.
“I think we’ll get a little bit better each week at it,” he said. “When you have some new guys working together, I felt like Oct. 1 was a good mark for us to say these guys are really starting to play better.
“We think it’s an advantage to keep guys fresh, and we’ve not ever had that luxury. Hopefully, we can keep those seven guys rotating in as we move forward and try to keep some of those guys fresh.”