Oklahoma State Cowboys 2018 Football Preview
Opening Statement: Times have been solid in Stillwater the last few years with Mason Rudolph tossing the ball to James Washington and others, but those days are gone now, and the Cowboys have to start thinking about a retooling on offense that puts Justice Hill up front as the face of the team. Hill is a back capable of rushing for 2000 yards, and if he is made the focus of the offense, especially early, a rebuilding offense has some room to grow. Defensively, the Cowboys are also in a bit of a retool mode, which is not great, considering that they already ranked just 79th nationally in total defense, and 116th nationally against the pass. It may be a step back to the middle of the wide open Big 12 in 2018.
Breakdown Offense: Rudolph finished his career as the all-time leading passer in Oklahoma State history, and that is a huge mark to attain. It's also a huge level of production to simply replace in one off-season, and now the Cowboys are looking at as many as 4 QBs to replace Randolph in camp. Taylor Cornelius, who attempted all of 10 passes last fall seems to have an edge, but don't count out Hawaii transfer Dru Brown, as he is the most accomplished of the group. Keondre Wudtree is also in the mix, as is Spencer Sanders, an incoming freshman.
Justice Hill is the new, and most experienced, star on offense. He rushed for 1467 yards and 15 TDs last season, and should be one of, if not the very best, returning backs in the Big 12. He averaged 5.47 yards per carry last fall on 20.62 carries per game. JD King rushed for 469 yards last fall, and is once again the primary backup. LD Brown carried 34 times as a freshman last fall, and will be the 3rd back once again.
Jalen McCleskey is the lone returning starter at WR, but he does have some talent. He caught 50 passes last fall for 645 yards and 5 scores, but is not the pbig play receiver that the Cowboys lost after last season. He did average 12.9 yards, but is more the possession type. Dillon Stoner, a sophomore, is slated to replace a starter, and caught 44 passes as a freshman. Tyron Johnson caught 18 passes as a sophomore, and will also project to start. Tylan Wallace, Tyrell Alexander, Braydon Johnson, and Austin Parker all look to add some depth and take some reps this fall.
Britton Abbott caught 4 passes last fall, and returns as the starter at TE, but Jake Ross could pass him up in fall camp.
The line also has to replace 3 starters this fall, as only Marcus Keyes (LG) and Johnny Wilson (C) return as starters. Teven Jenkins (LT), Larry Williams (RG), and Arlington Hambright (RT) are slated to lock down starting jobs in camp.
Breakdown Defense: A new DC arrives on campus in Jim Knowles, and he has some work to do. He does have the availability of 7 returning starters, with 3 coming on the defensive line in DE Jordan Brailford, DE Cole Walterscheid, and DT Darrion Daniels. Brailford finished last season with 11 TFLs, 5 sacks, 57 tackles, and 3 QB hurries. Walterscheid totaled 6.5 TFLs, one sack, 20 tackles, 3 QB hurries, and 2 forced fumbles. Daniels finished with 5 TFLs, 26 tackles, 2 PBUs, and 2 QB hurries. Enoch Smith is slated in as the new starter at DT. He totaled 5.5 TFLs on rotation last fall, and added 2.5 sacks, 14 tackles, and one QB hurry.
The LB corps returns 2 starters in Justin Phillips and Calvin Bundage. Phillips totaled 64 tackles, 9.5 TFLs, 2.5 sacks, 2 PBUs, and 2 QB hurries last season. Bundage totaled 54 tackles, 5.5 TFLs, one PBU, and 3 QB hurries. Kenneth Edison-McGruder is the new starter with the unit. He totaled 21 tackles in 9 games last fall, and will be a senior.
The secondary gets both starters back at CB in Rodarius Williams and AJ Green. Williams was one of the better cover guys in the Big 12 last fall with 10 PBUs, but he needs to start turning some of those into turnovers to stop drives. Green led the team with 4 INTs, and totaled 5 PBUs in total. Thabo Mwaniki is penciled in as the new starter at S, while Malcolm Rodriguez is penciled in at FS. Both are sophomores.
Breakdown Special Teams: Matt Ammendola was a busy guy at PK as a sophomore, as he attempted 29 FGs last season, hitting 23 of them. He was perfect on 70 PATs.
Zach Sinor is back at Punter after a successful season that saw him average 43.13 yards per punt on the year.
Tyron Johnson is back to return kicks after averaging 20.3 yards per return in 2017, and LD Brown is the second guy on kickoff returns. Stoner and McCleskey are also back to handle PR duty.
Final Analysis: There is plenty of talent coming back on defense, but defense has not been a strong suit in Stillwater for some time, as has been the issue throughout the Big 12. Offensively, the Cowboys lose far too much talent and production to even think that they can get close to what they were able to do last fall, when they averaged 45 points per game and ranked 4th nationally with that number. The QB issue probably will not be entirely ironed out until week 3 of the regular season, after games against Missouri State and South Alabama, which should both be easy wins. The final 3 games of the season are a brutal stretch for the Cowboys, and that period of time should cement their place somewhere in the middle of the conference. A bowl game should be well within reach, but competing for the Big 12 title is a major stretch this season.
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