Pieces come together for D-line

STILLWATER — Oklahoma State has had some good defensive linemen during Mike Gundy’s coaching tenure.

What the Cowboys haven’t always had in that time frame is good defensive line play.

There were up-anddown moments, and times when the line was the weak link of the defense.

Those days seem forever ago now. So does National Signing Day 2014, the day that set the Cowboy defensive line on course for where it is now, looking like a force as Big 12 play arrives.

No. 15 Oklahoma State hosts Texas Tech at 6 p.m. Saturday inside Boone Pickens Stadium. Weatherpermitting, the Red Raiders would be willing to throw the ball 60 times if needed.

That would be 60 chances for OSU to add to its nation-leading 16 quarterback sacks.

But back to that 2014 signing class.

It included five defensive linemen. One of them, a three-star defensive tackle named Joyan Williams, was gone before his freshman season ever began.

The other four — Trey Carter, Jordan Brailford, Cole Walterscheid and Jarrell Owens — will all play key roles on Saturday. Three of the four will likely start.

The 2014 recruiting class was essentially the first class recruited by defensive line coach Joe Bob Clements, who had been hired in January 2013.

“When we all came in

together, we could see the talent,” Owens said. “Coach Clements has brought in some pretty good guys and collectively, I feel like we’re a pretty solid senior class.”

Now in his sixth season, Clements is seeing the rewards from the building blocks he put in place with that class.

A year later, he added Darrion Daniels at defensive tackle to join the core group of Clements’ rebuild job of the Cowboy defensive line.

“He’s definitely intense and very hands-on,”

Brailford said of Clements’ coaching style. “He tells you what he wants and he’s gonna get into you if you don’t ask questions and get things right. But he’s very open to you asking questions.

“He’s always there to help.”

Along the way, Clements coached Vincent Taylor and Emmanuel Ogbah, who are in the NFL now and made their own contributions to OSU’s future.

And a few other factors have added to the success of this year’s line.

Greg Richmond was hired as an additional assistant coach alongside Clements, and brought a jolt in both recruiting and coaching ability.

Brailford, who is classified as a redshirt junior after injuries led to him being granted an extra year by the NCAA, is fully healthy and playing with a combination of speed and strength that is going to make NFL scouts take notice.

And above all, new defensive coordinator Jim Knowles has unleashed the linemen, pushing them

to play aggressively and attack the quarterback.

“The system that Coach Knowles brought in gives us a chance to attack out of our stance and really get upfield to execute and use our speed and power,” Owens said.

Richmond, who is as passionate about OSU football as anyone, has the look of a top-notch recruiter. On the practice field, he acts like he’s still one of the guys.

“He brought some young energy,” Brailford said of Richmond, who finished his OSU career in 2003.

“He’s out there running with us when we gotta run to the ball. He brought some new drills that we had never seen or done before, and I think he really helped in our versatility.”

In the three years before Clements was hired, OSU averaged 19.5 sacks per year. In his first five seasons, the Cowboys have averaged 25.7 — a number they could reach by midOctober this year.

“We’ve got to continue to get better,” Owens said. “We have good chemistry. We need to continue to execute together.”