Cowboy defense needs Bundage healthy
STILLWATER — Calvin Bundage is a quick-strike player.
Explosive and aggressive.
Those are the things that make him a destructive force in the Oklahoma State defense.
And those are the things that were missing when Bundage injured his right leg early in Saturday’s 41-17 loss to Texas Tech on Saturday.
OSU coach Mike Gundy, who does his best to keep his players’ injury information in-house, didn’t indicate whether Bundage would be available when the Cowboys travel to Kansas for an 11 a.m. kickoff on Saturday, televised by the Fox Sports Network.
It might not matter. The Cowboys, 18-point favorites in Lawrence, should be able to handle Kansas, even if Bundage doesn’t play. But before long, OSU will need Bundage at full speed.
Devin Harper is a solid backup at the Cowboys’ outside linebacker position.
But Bundage’s speed is hard to replicate. And that’s what makes him special.
“Calvin being full speed changes our defense a lot,” said junior cornerback A.J. Green. “He keeps pressure on the quarterback. They have to check on where he is all the time. The offensive line has block a certain way for him. His rush helps us a lot in coverage.”
Bundage played with the injury through the first half against Texas Tech, and returned for a few series in the second half with tape on his right ankle and calf after receiving treatment. But he wasn’t close to his normal self.
He finished with four tackles, two of them for loss and remains the Cowboys’ leading tackler through four games with 30, six for loss.
His value to coordinator Jim Knowles’ defense is unquestioned. But he wasn’t the player the Cowboys need him to be against Tech — or what they’ll need against most of the other Big 12 offenses that operate in space and make defensive speed a critical asset.
“He can come off the edge. He’s a good blitzer,” Gundy said on Monday. “He’s flexible, can get low. He’s pretty powerful. He can run to the ball and make plays.”
At times this season, Knowles has used the 6-foot-2, 215-pound Bundage in roles that resemble a defensive end, a typical linebacker and a safety in pass coverage.
You can argue whether or not he’s the Cowboys’ best defensive player, or their most important. But he’s clearly their most versatile — a quality Knowles loves.
“He’s got to be close to the line of scrimmage, somewhere in the box, or blitzing — preferably blitzing — or attacking in pass rush situations,” Knowles said. “He’s got to be able to go inside or outside.
“You can’t harness a kid like that. You gotta let him go. Because he’s got that unique ability to make plays and hunt the ball.”