OSU’s seven super seniors are making a large impact
STILLWATER — Malcolm Rodriguez is getting used to the jokes.
Old man. Grandpa. He’s heard them all.
Rodriguez is one of seven Oklahoma State football players who took advantage of the NCAA rule granting an extra year of eligibility to players because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Super seniors, they call them. That’s the official term, anyway.
“Everyone makes us feel old, that’s for sure,” Rodriguez said.
But with age comes experience, and the value of that experience is immeasurable for the Cowboys, who host Tulsa at 11 a.m. Saturday at Boone Pickens Stadium.
Tulsa, too, knows the value of super seniors, with 14 on their roster, the majority of whom are starters.
“The super seniors, at whatever school it may be, is a huge advantage,” OSU coach Mike Gundy said. “You get a super senior that doesn’t count on your 85 (scholarships), that’s another body that’s got a lot of experience.
“If you have three or four super seniors who are essentially a freebie, they don’t count on your numbers, and they’re a defensive guy, defenses are gonna play better.”
Gundy illustrated his point by listing four former Cowboys who considered returning to OSU as super seniors: Amen Ogbongbemiga, Dillon Stoner, Cameron Murray and Calvin Bundage.
“If you took those four guys and put them on our team right now, how much better would we be, with experience and depth?” Gundy said. “That’s what super seniors do for you. My math’s not great, that’s 20-something percent if you have 22 starters and put four or five super seniors out there. That’s what those guys can do.”
Even without those four players, OSU still has seven super seniors in Rodriguez, Devin Harper, Christian Holmes, LD Brown, Tay Martin, Logan Carter and Danny Godlevske.
Six of the seven started against Missouri State, and all seven would have been in the lineup, except Carter, who would have started at tight end but is out because of injury.
All of them are playing a key role for the Cowboys, on the field and off.
“Everyone looks up to us, asks us questions,” Rodriguez said. “We’re always reassuring them and keeping them on the right path. I do my best to help them out.”
For Rodriguez, he’s using his extra year to further develop his knowledge of coordinator Jim Knowles’ defense.
“I’m learning everybody’s role on the defense, not just my position, but what the defensive line’s doing, what the back end’s doing,” said Rodriguez, who had a team-high 15 tackles in last week’s win over Missouri State. “It’s just maturing to that aspect and critiquing little things like run-pass option and stuff like that.
“When I first got to linebacker, I was always going downhill, hitting the gap. Now I can read the play and let it play out. You can tell the maturity is definitely there.”
Alongside Rodriguez at linebacker is Harper, a super senior who returned for his first chance to be a regular starter on the Cowboy defense. In his first game, he had nine tackles, 1.5 sacks, a fumble recovery and two of OSU’s 11 quarterback hurries.
Despite being in his sixth year on campus, he still felt some nervousness before he took the field.
“A little butterflies, but nothing crazy,” he said with a smile. “I had some busts here and there, but as a whole, it was pretty good. I’m just looking to get better.”
Even with his own admission of his mistakes, he played well and is something of a known commodity, in terms of what he can bring to the defense, because the team has seen him perform in practice and games over the previous five years.
“He’s a playmaker,” Rodriguez said. “Devin’s been in the system for a while. His time is here, and he’s a playmaker, so every time you see him out there, you expect something special.”