Jenkins anchoring right side of veteran offensive line
STILL WATER—When Charlie Dickey arrived as Oklahoma State's new offensive line coach last winter, one of his first goals was to learn the boundaries of his players' comfort zones.
He didn't want to throw the group into chaos trying to fit them into positions where they were out of place.
Red shirt junior T even Jenkins spent time at both left and right tackle last season, and he's perhaps the Cowboys' most athletic lineman in a 6-foot-6, 310-pound frame.
Dickey and Jenkins had to work together to identify what was going to be best for the team, and that resulted in Jenkins staying at right tackle.
“You want to make sure your players have a comfort level, and you evaluate them from there,” Dickey said. “You take a guy like Teven who has experience and has started, and you've got to trust that and believe that.”
Jenkins, who has also played right guard at OSU, has been on the right side dating back to high school, and he' s extremely comfortable there. But he likes having some flexibility in his game, too.
“I like to have it in my game to be versatile enough that I can move to the left,” Jenkins said .“I love playing right tackle, but if they need me to play anywhere else, I can do it.”
Position preview: Offensive line
Here's a look at Oklahoma State's offensive line:
Starters
Teven Jenkins (RJr., 6-6-, 310)
Ry Schneider (RJr., 6-3, 320) Johnny Wilson (RSr., 6-3, 304)
Marcus Keyes ( RSr., 6- 3, 309)
Dylan Galloway (RJr., 6-5, 297)
Key backups
Matt Kegel (RJr., 6-5, 307) Bryce Bray (RFr., 6-5, 300)
Hunter Woodard (RFr., 6-5, 295)
Tyrese Williams (RFr., 6-3, 300)
Hunter Anthony (RFr., 6-7, 330)
J acob Farrell ( RFr., 6- 6, 308)
Scouting ahead
This season: A couple of position battles remain, with Schneider and Woodard competing at right guard, while Galloway and Bray fight it out at left tackle. The other three spots are held down by guys with more t han a season's worth of starts behind them — or in the case of Keyes, nearly three seasons' worth.
Under new offensive line coach Charlie Dickey, the group is taking on a more physical mindset, which is what Mike Gundy was looking for when he reached out to Dickey in the first place.
With the gifted skill position players such as Chuba Hubbard and Tylan Wallace, plus two capable quarterbacks battling for the starting job, the offensive line could be the key to keeping the Cowboy offense rolling.
The future: Former offensive line coach Josh Henson bulked up OSU's recruiting up front over the last two years, with the slew of redshirt freshmen who are trying to fight for playing time, plus a few more true freshmen with promising futures.
The current depth of the line is full of youth, but the future looks bright.
Additionally, Dickey has picked up where Henson left off, gathering four highly regarded commitments in the 2020 class.