Wallace’s route to success not easy
Mike Gundy glanced at the opposite end of the practice field and noticed Tylan Wallace running full-speed routes.
Normally, that wouldn't be a problem.
Normally, that would be a good thing.
But a week ago Tuesday when Gundy wanted his players in recovery mode after a couple hard bowl practices, the Oklahoma State coach was none too happy to see anyone going more than half speed.
He walked to the other end of the field to chat with Wallace and his accomplice, quarterback Taylor Cornelius.
"I don't want you guys doing this," Gundy told them. "You need to take a day off."
"Coach," Wallace said, "I don't need a day off." Gundy sighed. "Well, let me rephrase," he said. "Stop running routes."
As the Cowboys ready for the Liberty Bowl, Wallace has a chance to add to an already spectacular season.
His 1,408 receiving yards ranks as seventhbest ever by a Cowboy, and considering Missouri has allowed some big-time games by bigtime receivers — Biletnikoff Award winner and Alabama receiver Jerry Jeudy went for 147 yards against the Tigers — Wallace has a legitimate shot at the top three.
But as good as he's been, Wallace's big season is even more impressive because he paired with a first-year quarterback who had never started before.
And those full-speed routes on a half-speed day are a sign of why things have worked between Wallace and Cornelius.
"It's unlike Mason and James who grew up together and got so good," Gundy said of Mason Rudolph and James Washington, the quarterback-receiver combo who played three full seasons together.
How many times did we see the connection and the chemistry between Rudolph and Washington on display? How often did it seem they knew what the other was thinking?
But even without a long-term relationship built with Cornelius, Wallace is having a season comparable to what Washington had last year.
Washington 2017: 74 catches for 1,549 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Wallace 2018: 79 for 1,408 and 11.
This type of thing isn't unprecedented. Look at OSU's record book, and you'll see Justin Blackmon topped the charts as a sophomore playing alongside first-time starter Brandon Weeden. Look around college football, and you'll see Marquise Brown and Kyler Murray playing in sync at Oklahoma. Murray started at Texas A&M before transferring but had limited reps with Brown prior to this season.
"They train all summer. They do that on their own. They know the system," Gundy said of college football players nowadays. "It didn't used to be that way."
But still, the connection between Wallace and Cornelius didn't just happen. It wasn't magic. It wasn't ordained. They had to work at it. "That was a really big thing," Wallace said. "We had to get that connection going to be successful."
After being on the second-team offense together last season, they worked together often during the spring and summer. Once the season started, they came early to practice or stayed late after to get more reps. And they are still working to get better together — even if it means defying coach's orders on a recovery day at practice.
"It's probably easier having the same quarterback year after year," said Wallace, who could conceivably play with a different quarterback every year of his OSU career. "A relationship is a big thing. But ... relationships can be built within a short time."
Tylan Wallace has made sure of that.