The Oklahoman

OSU football

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four sacks last season at Edmond Santa Fe.

Weeden to make TV debut in OSU opener

Former OSU and NFL quarterbac­k Brandon Weeden has been working to earn a spot as a television broadcaste­r, and his color commentary debut will come on Sept. 4.

Weeden will be in the booth at Boone Pickens Stadium for the 6 p.m. kickoff between the Cowboys and Missouri State, televised by ESPN+.

Weeden will be joined in the booth by Courtney Lyle, who has called play-byplay for a variety of sports on ESPN and the SEC Network. Shane Sparks will be the sideline reporter.

Weeden quarterbac­ked the Cowboys to a 23-3 record over two seasons as a starter, helping the team to a Big 12 title in 2011. Weeden threw for 9,260 yards and 75 touchdowns, completing 69.5% of his passes at OSU.

Gundy has high expectatio­ns for special teams

With experience­d players at kicker, punter and long snapper, plus an exciting new return man in Brennan Presley, expectatio­ns are high for OSU’s special teams this season.

Alex Hale, who is returning from a torn ACL in his non-kicking leg, was 13of-14 on field goals before the injury last year. Punter Tom Hutton improved his per-punt average by nearly two yards in his sophomore season. And long snapper Matt Hembrough — who Gundy says “might be good enough to play in the NFL” — has been as reliable as they come at his position.

But Gundy’s excitement about his special teams goes well beyond the specialist­s themselves.

“If we’re not really good in special teams, then I’ll be disappoint­ed, because we’ve got experience at punter, experience at kicker, experience at deep snapper,” Gundy said.

“And we’ve got a bunch of guys that weigh between 190 and 210 that can run and tackle.

“We can say what we want, but we should be good.”

 ?? BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN ?? Collin Oliver signed with OSU last December, and now, the defensive end is earning high praise from coaches and teammates.
BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN Collin Oliver signed with OSU last December, and now, the defensive end is earning high praise from coaches and teammates.

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