Cornelius on Unitas Award watch list
Oklahoma State quarterback Taylor Cornelius has been named to the preseason watch list for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award.
Oklahoma State coach
Mike Gundy isn’t quite ready to go into the details of his list, but he said that he feels three or four true freshmen could be in line for significant playing time this season.
“We don’t have to play a lot of them in the two-deep right now,” Gundy said. “Not like a few years ago when we played seven or eight or nine guys. We may play three or four guys, I’m not sure — at this point, not necessarily in the two-deep.”
Gundy refrained from throwing out any names, though safety Jarrick Bernard and cornerback
Tanner McCalister have both gotten good reviews at positions where the Cowboys don't have a lot of depth.
Particularly at the receiver and defensive back positions, players can be valuable additions on special teams, like
Malcolm Rodriguez was after he pulled his redshirt in the middle of last season.
Though he played little on defense, he says the experience was vital as he prepares to be a starter at safety in his true sophomore season.
“Coming in, that first game at Texas Tech, it was a lot faster than high school,” Rodriguez said. “You just gotta fly around and have fun out there.”
Deciding who redshirts and who doesn’t isn’t the only question with true freshmen anymore, now that players can participate in four games and maintain their redshirt status.
“We’ll have to say, ‘These guys are active,’ and then ‘These guys could potentially be active with the four-game redshirt,’” Gundy said. “I don’t have a clue how to use those guys. I wish somebody knew. We just have to play it by ear.”
Taylor Cornelius on Unitas Award watch list
Following once again in the footsteps of former OSU quarterback Mason Rudolph, current Cowboy Taylor Cornelius has been named to the preseason watch list for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, it was announced Tuesday.
Rudolph is the reigning winner of the award, which recognizes the nation’s top college quarterback, who is a college senior or fourth-year junior on schedule to graduate with his class. Criteria to be considered for the award include character, citizenship, scholastic achievement, leadership qualities and athletic accomplishments. The winner of the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award will be recognized Dec. 7 at the Embassy Suites Baltimore Inner Harbor Hotel & The Grand.
DeQuinton Osborne signs with Denver
Former Cowboy DeQuinton Osborne is back in the NFL. After a short-lived free-agent stint with the Dallas Cowboys immediately after the draft, Osborne had been looking for his next opportunity.
He found it on Wednesday, when the Denver Broncos announced his signing.
The 6-foot, 300-pound defensive tackle led OSU with six sacks and 11.5 tackles for loss last season. Regarded for his quickness and ability to use his lack of height in his favor, Osborne finished the year with 44 tackles overall.
Quotable
Gundy at Tuesday's Oklahoma City Cowboy Caravan on Barry Sanders and the 1988 offensive line serving as OSU's homecoming grand marshals:
"It’s good to get Barry back. He’s starting to be involved a little more. He’s so seclusive. That’s why he retired; he retired because he couldn't go to the grocery store and he didn't like that people continued telling him how good he was everywhere he went out in the suburbs of Detroit . ... He doesn't watch enough highlights of himself."