Cowboys add QB
Senior quarterback Dru Brown announced Saturday he will transfer to OSU.
STILLWATER — Dru Brown liked what he saw at Oklahoma State over the weekend, and the graduate transfer quarterback can’t wait to get back to campus.
A two-year starter at Hawaii, Brown announced his decision to play his final season at Oklahoma State with a Twitter message late Saturday night. He is expected to complete his degree in May or June, at which point he can transfer without penalty.
Brown, listed at 6-feet and 200 pounds, made an unofficial visit to OSU over the weekend, getting to know head coach Mike Gundy and offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich, and learning what lies ahead for him in a quarterback battle that will include senior Taylor Cornelius, sophomore Keondre Wudtee and incoming freshman Spencer Sanders.
“Coach Gundy and Yurcich are both QBs who understand what it takes to play the position. They are giving me the opportunity to compete to play and that is all you can really ask for from the staff,” Brown told The Oklahoman via email as he traveled back to Hawaii on Sunday evening.
“They explained to me the culture that they have that has led to them winning games and being a team with a family atmosphere. The overall program speaks for itself, but also the fact that I’m fairly close to my family that lives in Texas helps as well in making my decision to go there more clear-cut.”
Brown says he will be on scholarship at OSU, which could lead to a potential scholarship numbers problem for the Cowboys. They have already signed 23 players who counted against the total of 25 allowed for the 2018 recruiting class. And they have commitments from two defensive linemen who are expected to sign on Wednesday, which would fill up the class before Brown’s arrival in the summer.
OSU representatives cannot discuss Brown or his impact on the scholarship situation, per NCAA rules, until he officially joins the team, so the questions will remain, either until he arrives or the situation resolves itself.
Cornelius and Wudtee will get a head start on the competition to replace quarterback Mason Rudolph during spring practice. Sanders and Brown will enter the fray in the summer.
In his time at Hawaii, Brown showed the type of commitment to football that Gundy craves in his program.
“Coach (Nick) Rolovich described Dru as a gym rat for football,” said Stephen Tsai, who covered Hawaii for the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. “He says he came to Hawaii to play football. He doesn’t party, he doesn’t do anything. He just plays football.”
After transferring from the College of San Mateo in California, Brown played in 25 games over the last two seasons at Hawaii, starting the final 22.
This past season, he completed 254 of 412 pass attempts (61.7 percent) for 2,785 yards with 18 touchdowns and eight interceptions as Hawaii went 3-9.
“Even though he’s a little bit shorter, he was able to stay in the pocket a lot,” Tsai said. “He’s got an adequate arm. He completed about 70 percent of his passes within 20 yards.
“And he was pretty good when he was out of the pocket, throwing on the move.”
Hawaii allowed 30 sacks with an offensive line that got hit hard by injuries, and lost its position coach, who left the team in the middle of the season.
Brown had received interest from Vanderbilt and Tennessee after he announced his plans to transfer last month.
Intrigued by the high volume of production by the Oklahoma State offense, Brown feels he can fit in. Hawaii had some aspects of run-pass option — a heavy piece of OSU’s offense — in its game plan, and ran at a fast pace as well.
“They have been productive year in and year out,” Brown said of the Cowboys. “I think that the coaches will use me in whatever way they feel will give us the best chance to win and that’s all I can ask for.
“Overall, I am very excited and grateful that they are giving me this opportunity and can’t wait to get out there and make an impact.”