Mike Gundy’s style

The OSU football coach prefers privacy as he has his million-dollar mullet shaped and trimmed.

FRISCO, TEXAS — The last time Mike Gundy walked into the hair salon to get his mane trimmed, he made sure it was a stealth operation.

He slipped in before the Stillwater shop opened and made sure the blinds were lowered.

People around town are pretty invested in his signature mullet, and any sight of Gundy in a barber’s chair might’ve cause a little panic.

After all, it’s happened before.

“Right after the bowl game, I trimmed it just a little and somebody walked by and took a picture through there and put it on social media,” he said. “So that’s when we learned to close the blinds and do it after hours.”

When Gundy debuted his ’do at Big 12 Media Days a year ago, he didn’t have any idea that it would become so iconic. And he certainly didn’t think that a hairstyle would transform into a marketing strategy for his program.

In February, Gundy even did a SportsCenter hit with ESPN’s Barry Melrose to talk about their locks. The interview lasted just four minutes, but Gundy is convinced that the airtime was invaluable in recruiting.

“I’m going to say that the dollar figure is somewhere in the millions for the amount of time that we’ve had on the air for that,” he said Tuesday afternoon. “I was very fortunate to get a new contract and should probably get an extension and a raise for that free marketing for the university.”

So a year after the mullet first went viral, it was back — this time with a little extra curl, a result of his recent trip to the hair salon.

“It was at ponytail potential at one time,” he said. “So I either had to go with that or trim it a little.”

Despite the trim, his players still love it.

“I like the curl in it,” linebacker Chad Whitener said. “I support the curl, but I don’t necessarily support the trim. He has product in it, for sure.”

And the cut has been just as popular with his fellow head coaches.

“They like it,” Gundy said. “Bob (Stoops), he liked it. Dana (Holgorsen) wanted me to perm it. Coach (Bill) Snyder just shakes his head at it.”

Gundy reflects on 10-year anniversary of outburst

With the big 5-0 on the horizon, Gundy is also approaching another milestone.

It’ll be 10 years since he exploded into his infamous “I’m a man, I’m 40” speech later this fall.

With more than a decade since the tirade, Gundy reflected on the words that defined much of his tenure with the Cowboys.

“I think things through a lot different,” he said. “Patience has become a big part of my life in a lot of areas. Dealing with the players off-the-field issues, gameday decisions, at home, with my kids. At that time I was young, energetic, all the different things that you do at that age, but now, I think so much, not that I would not have been frustrated, but I would’ve not ever reacted like that now, like I did then.”

He hasn’t tried to recreate the outburst since, although there were talks of doing a re-enactment with Jim Rome in Los Angeles over the summer. Gundy’s busy schedule kept the plan from coming together.

But even if Gundy won’t reprise his rant, at least one person might.

“My 15-year-old could,” he said. “He’s good at it. He’s got capability of winning a talent show at the junior high by doing it.”

Washington amazed by transformation

James Washington never saw such growth for himself at Oklahoma State.

Not his evolution into a premium wide receiver, he could envision that.

Washington never saw himself 40 pounds heavier than when he first arrived on campus. Yet after playing for the Cowboys as a 175pound true freshman in 2014, Washington now weighs in at 215 — 40 pounds heavier — a significant difference, especially at his position.

“I never thought I’d be this big,” he said. “I thought I was big at 175. Being 215 and running a low 4.4 40 and running right by people is unbelievable to think about.”

Washington carries the weight well, solidly packed onto his 6-foot frame. And he’s never stopped working, apparently adding 10 pounds since spring, since he’s listed at 205 in the team’s media guide.

Cowboy trio land on more watch lists

Before quarterback Mason Rudolph stepped in front of the microphones to talk about his on-field expectations Tuesday morning, he was honored for what he’s done off it.

Rudolph was named to the Wuerffel Trophy Watch List, an award given to a player for excellent community service, academic and athletic achievement.

Meanwhile, James Washington and Jalen McCleskey were each named to the Biletnikoff Award Preseason Watch List.

Colorado is the only other team with two receivers on the list.

Washington led all Power 5 receivers with 1,380 receiving yards and 19.2 yards per-catch average last season, and McCleskey led OSU with 73 receptions. The pair combined for 33 touchdown receptions.