Freshman RB Jahmyl Jeter in line to play Liberty Bowl

STILLWATER — In the span of two weeks, Oklahoma State lost the two running backs atop its depth chart at the season's beginning. The attrition, though, has created an opportunity.

Jahmyl Jeter, a freshman running back out of San Antonio, has seen an increase in practice reps as the Cowboys prepare for their Dec. 31 meeting with Missouri in the Liberty Bowl.

With Justice Hill electing to sit out to prepare for the NFL Draft and J.D. King transferring to Georgia Southern, Jeter has quickly risen to third on OSU’s depth chart behind Chuba Hubbard and LD Brown.

“He’s coming around,” Hubbard said. “Everyone’s a

little tentative at first. But he’s talented. He’s big, strong, fast, elusive and smart. He’s doing a great job.”

Jeter, who per team policy is not made available to the media as a first-year player, has yet to play this season. Because of college football’s new rule that allows players to participate in four games and retain their redshirt, Jeter is guaranteed to redshirt regardless of whether he plays in the bowl.

Coach Mike Gundy said Jeter had some minor struggles in his initial practices with the Cowboys’ third team.

“He realized that he wasn’t redshirting anymore,” Gundy said. “He looks good doing it, but he went the wrong way a few times, so hopefully, we can get him fixed in a couple weeks.

“Works real good if you put ‘R’ on their right hand and ‘L’ on their left hand.”

Jeter, listed at 6-foot and 210 pounds, rushed for more than 1,000 yards in his junior and senior seasons at Brennan High School. He chose the Cowboys over offers from Texas A&M, Iowa State and SMU, among others.

Given that Jeter is only months removed from high school graduation, Brown can relate to the difficulty of adjusting.

“The transition from high school to college is super fast,” he said. “You’re out there with guys who are just as fast as you, just as big as you, stronger than you.

“He’s got a lot of learning to do, but we’ll get him straight.”

Neither Brown nor Hubbard had the benefit of the four-game redshirt rule when they sat out their freshman seasons. Hubbard said bowl season was still beneficial for him a year ago, as he participated in scout team drills and was able to take a few hits in practice.

Jeter’s adjustment might come quicker, especially with the possibility he could go up against a Missouri rush defense that ranks 22nd nationally.

“He’s a big boy,” Brown said. “When he runs behind his pads, he’s gonna be hard to bring down.

“He’s gonna fit right in with the running back group here. I’m really excited for him to get more reps and get involved and get some game-time reps, as well. It’ll be exciting to see.”