Presley wants more trick plays in future
STILLWATER — Oklahoma State receiver Brennan Presley wants another shot at throwing the ball on a trick play after a failed attempt at Texas last Saturday.
Presley misfired on a throwback pass to quarterback Spencer Sanders that would have gone for big yardage. Sanders had multiple blockers in front of him with only a couple of defenders in place to try to make a play.
“It’s just so much different in the game. In practice, I have time,” Presley said. “I caught it, and all I wanted to do was just get it out as fast as I could. I was like, ‘I don’t wanna get sacked. I don’t wanna get strip-sacked. I don’t want to throw the pick.’
“I was just thinking too much about it. Because I can make that throw, trust me. I can throw.”
On the play, all five offensive linemen laid flat on the ground at the snap, letting the Texas defensive front run by. Sanders threw the ball backward to Presley, who took a couple of steps and turned back to throw to Sanders. With the offensive linemen back on their feet and in place to block, the play was set to go for a big gain had the throw been on target.
“After I saw how out of place the defense was and how open it was, that’s when I was like, dang, could’ve ended the game right there,” Presley said.
“If I would’ve set my feet, it would’ve probably been a couple yards farther, but I threw it the same as I have been in all of practice. I wasn’t thinking, set my feet and make a perfect throw. I just thought, just get it back to him.”
Still, shortly after the possession ended with a field goal that put OSU up 25-24, Presley’s happy-go-lucky personality took over when quarterback coach Tim Rattay walked by.
“Hey I’m gonna need you to work with me on my throwing next week,” Presley told Rattay.
But for those who know Presley, that kind of lighthearted attitude is no surprise.
“We might’ve scored on that play, so it was kind of a big deal,” OSU coach Mike Gundy said. “He was already over it. I wasn’t over it. He was over it. He just has that personality about him.”
And Presley is ready for his next chance to throw the ball on a trick play.
“I talked about it after the game,” he said. “I was like, hey, we need to put in a different play, because I can get it. It’s just fun having those tricks out there.”
Cowboys focused on improving pass protection
After the last two games, Gundy has commented that some of Sanders’ struggles at quarterback have been caused by a lack of pass protection by the offensive line.
Junior right guard Hunter Woodard echoed that sentiment.
“We’ve got to make our pass protection more solid,” Woodard said. “There’s no way around that. We let up too many hits on Spencer and put some pressure on him on Saturday, and we gotta fix that.
“Iowa State has some good guys up front. They’re really good athletes. They have a good nose, a good rush end, they’ve got some good players that we need to cover up and take care of.”
McCalister details his job on game-sealing interception
Oklahoma State defensive back Tanner McCalister was in a position where he had two routes to choose between covering late in the game against Texas, when he drifted back and made a leaping interception that sealed the 32-24 win over the Longhorns on Saturday.
“We were in a zone coverage,” he said. “So my job was to cover the flat and try and help with any (vertical routes). They threw what we like to call eye candy into the flat, I think it was a tight end. What they want to do with that is they want the safety, who was me, to bite on the flat, so they can throw it over my head.
“Knowing that, I played the (deeper) route, tried to bait him into it and hopefully he didn’t see me — I don’t think he did, which is why he threw it. When I saw the ball in the air, I was surprised, but I had to go try to high-point it and get it. Luckily I came down with it.”