While attention focuses on offense, the defense is also gaining confidence
FRISCO, TEXAS — Layers of reporters crowded around tables seating Oklahoma State offensive stars Mason Rudolph and James Washington Tuesday at Big 12 Media Days in Frisco.
Self-promoted Heisman Trophy “candidate” Zach Sinor — the punter! — packed them in, too.
Meanwhile, only occasionally was OSU linebacker Chad Whitener chatted up, even as the only real questions surrounding this team swirl around him, or his side of the ball: defense.
For sure, the Pokes have glam, with two legit Heisman hopefuls in Rudolph and Washington and a coach still stirring a buzz with his mullet.
But can they bring the bam, defensively?
Amid heightened expectations that reach as high as a Big 12 championship and even the College Football Playoff,
the lingering issue surrounding OSU remains attached to a defense that lost six starters and will feature brand-new starters and backups at the pivotal position of cornerback.
“Justifiably so,” said Cowboys coach Mike Gundy.
Gundy was talking more about the questions being justified, rather than any overriding concern.
“I think we’ll be better on defense than what people think,” Gundy said, “because we’re faster. Over the last six or seven years, we’ve got a little bit of a different cut of an athlete to start working with in recruiting. They’re a little taller, a little longer, a little faster.
“So we’ve got to have two or three guys in our secondary that need to play well that nobody really knows about, because they haven’t played. But they’re a little further along athletically than what we had five, six, seven years ago. That’s why I think it gives us a chance to be a little better.”
Whitener sees the Cowboys defense as better, too, although that’s nothing new.
Critics have painted OSU’s defense unfavorably for years, including the last time the program stood in such high regard, 2011. The numbers are seldom pretty. Last year, the Cowboys ranked No. 92 nationally in total defense and No. 53 in scoring defense.
“I think it’s how everybody perceives every Big 12 defense, we all rely on our offense,” Whitener said. “Personally, I feel like that’s bullcrap.
“The offenses we play, they’re very high-paced and efficient offenses. The way we win is we need to slow them down more than they slow down our offense. And we’ve been really good at that the last two or three years.”
Good enough to help the Cowboys post 10 wins in five of the last seven years. Good enough to regularly rank among the nation’s best in takeaways and third nationally since 2010 in non-offensive touchdowns with 39.
“They don’t get enough credit, because of the guys we have on offense,” Rudolph said of the defense. “The receivers and (running back) Justice Hill get so much attention. But those guys on defense are hard workers.
“We’re fired up about those guys.”
Introductions will be in order, for sure.
The Cowboys suffered significant personnel hits from the starting lineup, losing leading tackler Jordan Sterns, corner Ashton Lampkin, tackles Vincent Taylor and Motekiai Maile and linebackers Devante Averette and Jordan Burton. Also gone are key contributors Derrick Moncrief and Lenzy Pipkins.
Whitener will miss those guys, especially as buddies. But he looked around in the spring and this summer and saw able replacements.
“I think we’ll be good,” Whitener said. “I’m not worried about it.”
The returning starters are proven, beginning with Whitener and safety Tre Flowers, a Preseason All-Big 12 pick. Ends Cole Walterscheid and Jarrell Owens are also back and faith in the new corners prompted coaches to move starting corner Ramon Richards into Sterns’ old free safety spot.
The front, despite its losses inside, should remain a strength with ends Tralund Webber and Jordan Brailford capable of being regulars and Darrion Daniels and DeQuinton Osborne experienced at the tackles. And there’s serious buzz surrounding Trey Carter — who has thrived in his move from end to tackle — linebackers Justin Phillips, Calvin Bundage, Kenneth Edison-McGruder and Kirk Tucker. If Vili Leveni returns to health from a second Achilles injury, that’s another quality experienced player in the mix.
So the real question comes down to the corners, which is no small thing, not in a league that prefers the pass. The Cowboys found help in grad transfer Adrian Baker from Clemson.
And they’ll lean on sophomores A.J. Green and Madre Harper and redshirt freshman Rodarius Williams to form the two-deep.
Gundy said the corners need time to grow, which requires surviving a testy September that includes Tulsa, road games at South Alabama and Pittsburgh, and a visit from Texas Tech.
“Hopefully, offensively, we can carry them until we get them developed,” Gundy said.
The glam before the bam. Whitener’s not worried. “I feel like we don’t get enough credit,” he said. “But we’ve got to earn our credit every year. And we’re going to do that this year.”