Mike Gundy discusses Twitter post by Spencer Sanders’ mother, Page
The Twitter post came a little more than two hours after kickoff two Saturdays ago, when Oklahoma State’s offense had stagnated on its way to a 31-12 loss at Kansas State.
“Please give my boy a chance,” tweeted Carrie Sanders, the mother of OSU true freshman third-string quarterback Spencer Sanders.
More than 1,000 people shared the post that afternoon, and it eventually made its way in front of OSU coach
Mike Gundy.
He says he doesn’t often hear directly from parents seeking more playing time for their children, and hasn't been made aware of any such calls to assistant coaches this season. But he understands.
“Every momma loves their boy,” Gundy said. “They want him to play more, or they want him to get more carries, or they want him to get more catches, or whatever it may be.
“The only difference in anything that’s happening in society today versus what’s happened forever, is that now you have a way to make it public. But those things have gone on forever. It doesn’t mean anybody’s right or wrong. It just means people have a way to express an opinion, so the world can see it.”
Gundy has said in the days since the Kansas State loss that he has not changed practice work for his quarterbacks, with senior
Taylor Cornelius remaining in the starting role. Gundy reiterated on Monday that senior graduate transfer Dru Brown is the team’s No. 2 quarterback. Boone Pickens Stadium at 7 p.m. Saturday.
Texas coach Tom Herman said Ehlinger, the team’s starter who injured his shoulder early in the Oct. 13 win over Baylor, has resumed throwing.
“He threw a Nerf football, I think, 10 times (Sunday), threw a real football 20 times,” Herman said on Monday. “He’ll progress to throwing a real football 30 times (Monday).
“We’re on track. We’ve got to see if we continue to stay that way. It’s one thing to throw a football 30 times in a training room to a trainer. It’s another thing to go out there and let the ball rip and roar around the field during a practice. We’ll know more (Tuesday) when we put the pads on.”
Gundy says that OSU’s job to game plan for the offense doesn’t change much, regardless of who is playing quarterback.
“The schemes are relatively the same,” Gundy said, adding that Ehlinger is more likely to run more than Buechele. “(Ehlinger) is a really thick, strong kid, so they seem to have more designed runs for him. A little bit of difference, but not a lot.
“We have to do the best job we can to try to get ready for both styles.”
Morning kickoff set for OSU-Baylor
For the third time in as many such games, Oklahoma State will get an 11 a.m. kickoff on the road.
OSU’s third road game of the year, Nov. 3 at Baylor, will be a morning kickoff televised by FS1.
OSU had morning kickoffs in its only other road games, at Kansas and Kansas State.
True freshmen starting quarterbacks are not all that common, but not all that rare, in major-college football. But true freshmen starting quarterbacks in the same game is incredibly rare. And it is scheduled to happen Saturday in Ames, Iowa, where Iowa State hosts Texas Tech.
Tech’s Alan Bowman and ISU’s Brock Purdy have been instrumental in taking their teams to the upper division of the Big 12.
Bowman has played six games and completed 71 percent of his passes for 2,088 yards, 14 touchdowns and four interceptions.
Purdy has played virtually only in two games but has led the Cyclones to impressive victories at Oklahoma State (48-42) and home against West Virginia (30-14). He has completed 75 percent of his passes for 572 yards, seven TDs and two interceptions.
“It’s definitely unique,” said Iowa State coach Matt Campbell. “This is our first time in this situation with Brock, but fortunately, he’s been able to grow and develop.”
Purdy was highly recruited out of Gilbert, Arizona — Alabama and Texas A&M were among his scholarship offers — but Bowman drew limited interest while in high school at Grapevine, Texas. Ole Miss and Tech were his best offers.
“Young guys, playing at an extremely high level, it’s very rare to see that in Power 5 football,” Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury said. “It is really impressive to see what (Purdy) has done his short time as a starter. To play at that high a level. It says a lot of about him and what they’re doing with him.”
Turpin suspended
TCU star receiver KaVontae Turpin has been suspended from the team after his arrest Sunday on a domestic violence complaint.
Turpin scored two touchdowns Saturday against Oklahoma, on a 99-yard kickoff return and a 41-yard pass play. But according to an arrest affidavit obtained by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Turpin and his girlfriend got into an altercation Saturday night. According to a witness, Turpin was “manhandling” his girlfriend as he dragged her across a parking lot with one arm across her neck.
“We’re gathering information,” TCU coach Gary Patterson said Monday on the Big 12 coaches teleconference. “He probably won’t play against Kansas (this week). He knows how that all goes. All of them do.”
Turpin, a senior from Monroe, Louisiana, has 29 catches for 410 yards this season and 145 career catches. Turpin has six touchdowns in his career on kickoff or punt returns.
Thursdays OK with Holgorsen
The worst scheduling assignment in college football is the dreaded Saturday/Thursday backto-back — a game with only four off days between games. The Big 12 doesn’t really ask its members to play such a schedule anymore. The OU at Iowa State game in 2016 is the only such quick turnaround in the Big 12 since 2013.
And that’s as it should be, says West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen. That kind of schedule was more common in the Big East, the Mountaineers’ former conference. But since starting Big 12 play in 2012, WVU has not had a Saturday/ Thursday turnaround. And Holgorsen is fine with playing Thursday nights, so long as it comes after 11 days off, not four.
“Those are pretty tough if you only have five days to get ready,” said Holgorsen, whose team hosts Baylor on Thursday night. “I like the way the Big 12 does it ... always following a bye week. ”
An added benefit — Thursday games break up the off week, which can get too long, “especially if coming after a loss,” Holgorsen said. “Or if you have a lot of momentum, you don’t want that bye week. You want to get playing. I like how this one sets up. We didn’t play very good at Iowa State. We need to get out there and play, but we had a few things we need to fix as well.”
The 2019 Big 12 schedule was released last week, with two Thursday night games — TCU at Kansas State on Oct. 17 and West Virginia at Baylor on Oct. 31. All four of those teams have the previous Saturday off.
Robinson to have surgery
TCU quarterback Michael Collins, who played the final 2 ½ quarters against Oklahoma on Saturday, apparently will keep the job for the rest of the season. But that’s because starter Shawn Robinson is facing shoulder surgery.
Patterson said Monday that Robinson has been trying to play through the injury but will no longer.
Robinson’s effectiveness running and throwing the ball has waned, and turnovers have plagued him all season. Robinson has completed 60.6 percent of his passes but has eight interceptions to go with his nine touchdown passes.
“He’s tried to play,” Patterson said. “I think it’s hurt his confidence. Hurt his escapability, how he runs the read option. There came a point in time, for the betterment of him, he needed to go ahead and get things taken care of.”
Collins replaced Robinson in the second quarter Saturday against OU and led the Horned Frogs to 17 quick points and got TCU within 28-24 at halftime. But the Frogs scored just three points in the second half, and the Sooners won 52-27. Collins suffered a hand injury during the game and finished 7-of-17 passing, for 142 yards, two TDs and one interception.
“The biggest thing, he gave us a spark and we scored some points and we got back in the ballgame,” Patterson said.
“He hurt his hand, but that’s all better.”