Cowboys hoping secondteam WRs step up
Braydon Johnson sprinted down the middle of Kansas’ Memorial Stadium, about 7 yards separating him from any Jayhawks defender as Oklahoma State quarterback Taylor Cornelius’ pass sailed toward him.
But the ball finished just beyond Johnson’s reach, a slight overthrow. It was the closest the Cowboys came in Saturday’s 48-28 victory over Kansas to getting a big play out of a receiver other than Tylan Wallace, Tyron Johnson or Landon Wolf. Of Cornelius’ 312 receiving yards Saturday, 306 went to that trio, potentially a sign of the Cowboys’ fading receiver depth.
Patrick McKaufman and Tracin Wallace are done for the season with knee injuries. Jalen McCleskey is using college football’s new redshirt rule to sit out and transfer. Dillon Stoner didn’t travel to Lawrence after suffering an injury a week before against Texas Tech, and his status remains unclear going forward.
“By numbers, we’re kinda getting down to just a few guys anyway,” OSU coach Mike Gundy said during his weekly news conference Monday. “We’ve really got four wide receivers that aren’t playing now that were in our twodeep, essentially, when we started the year, so we’re gonna have to get some quality work out of (Braydon Johnson). (LC Greenwood is) gonna have to give us some work. Are they ready to play? I don’t know.
“The other guys, the load’s pretty heavy.”
A play after overthrowing Braydon John-
son, Cornelius hit Tyron Johnson for a 64-yard touchdown. It was one of four pass plays exceeding 39 yards for the Cowboys, surpassing the total they posted in their first four games.
Braydon Johnson has been listed on OSU’s depth chart as an outside receiver, but he got work inside leading into Saturday, when he showed the ability to get open and contribute as a deep threat as the season continues.
“He’s a player that’s going to be interesting to watch as we progress through ’cause he’s gonna get reps now,” Gundy said. “He’s got blinding speed, and so he’s a really good threat for us and what we do offensively. Hopefully, he’ll mature fast and be able to make some plays for us.
“I would say in his future, if he continues to work hard and does things right that he’ll get a chance to catch some deep balls.”
Gundy expressed little concern about opposing defenses trying to limit specific OSU receivers, given that it would require pulling a defender out of the box and potentially open space for the Cowboys’ running backs. OSU’s Justice Hill leads the Big 12 in rushing.
“I wouldn’t think anybody would really want to do that against us right now,” Gundy said.
Wolf’s first catch of Saturday was a 42-yard touchdown, surpassing the 41 yards he had entering the game. Serving as McCleskey’s replacement with Stoner out, Wolf finished with a teambest 116 yards and six catches.
The Cowboys are hoping for similar impacts from Braydon Johnson, Greenwood and other receivers when their opportunity comes.
“The group behind us, they can do almost anything we can do, honestly,” Tylan Wallace said. “They go out there. They play hard. They’re fast. Once they get their moment, everybody will see it.”