Sophomore standout
Wallace establishing himself among Cowboys’ receiving greats
OSU’s Tylan Wallace is making his presence known this year, especially against Texas last weekend.
STILLWATER — Even Tylan Wallace didn’t think it was going to be a touchdown.
In the final minutes of the first half in Oklahoma State’s 38-35 upset of No. 6 Texas on Saturday, Wallace, running up the right sideline, turned to see a Taylor Cornelius pass sailing toward him. He noticed Texas cornerback Kris Boyd saw it, too. As Boyd leapt, thoughts of an incompletion or interception seemed logical. But as he has done repeatedly in his breakout sophomore campaign, Wallace timed his jump perfectly, snaring the ball while airbound and cruising between Boyd and Longhorns safety Brandon Jones for a 36-yard touchdown that gave the Cowboys a 31-14 halftime lead.
“I was a little nervous about it,” Wallace admitted afterward.
The score was part of a 10-catch, 222-yard, twotouchdown performance for Wallace, who continues to establish himself among the program’s elite receivers. Wallace said he surprises himself “all the time,” especially doing so with Saturday’s end-of-half touchdown, but such plays are becoming routine.
“He’s a special player,” offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich said. “He’s got a knack for timing his jump up, so he plays a lot taller than what he is, especially on vertical throws. He’s a gamer. He loves it. The bigger the game, it seems like the bigger he’s gonna play.
“He’s a great example to everybody else of you play like you practice. He goes hard every day, and the results are not surprising.” Wallace ranks fifth nationally in receiving yards and fourth in yards per game. He has the country’s secondmost catches of 20-plus, 30-plus and 40-plus yards, and thus the most yards per reception of any player who has caught more than 35 passes. His 222 yards were not only a career high, but also the second-most from a Cowboy underclassman and eighth-most from an OSU receiver. The names of those who accom-
plished the seven ahead of Wallace are a who’s who of Cowboy passcatchers: Adarius Bowman, James Washington, Dez Bryant and Rashaun Woods. Justin Blackmon, the two-time Biletnikoff Award winner, capped
out at 207.
Wallace fits the mold of many of those players. At 6-foot, he was underrecruited out of Fort Worth’s South Hills High School; after Saturday’s game, he made sure to note the Longhorns never extended him a scholarship offer. The storyline is one that matches most of the Cowboys’ recent receiving greats.
“That’s one thing I try
to do, model my game after (them),” Wallace said. “I want to be up there with those guys and be one of that guys that were the great receivers that come through Oklahoma State.”
He’s well on his way, though OSU coach Mike Gundy stopped short of declaring him already in that echelon. Wallace is essentially a freshman still, Gundy said, given he had only seven catches a season ago.
“I think he has a chance to; I don’t think he’s there yet,” he said. “I think he has enough skill and mental toughness to at some point get there.”
Until then, Wallace will keep doing what he has been, surprising nobody but himself.
“Surprise, no,” Cornelius said, “but it’s still amazing to watch.”