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ASSOCIATED PRESS
Oklahoma State quarterbacks Spencer Sanders, left, and Dru Brown, right, pose for a photo during the NCAA college football team’s media day in Stillwater Okla., on Aug. 3.
STILLWATER, Okla. >> Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy has a blessing or a problem, depending on your perspective.
Gundy has two quarterbacks he considers capable of starting in redshirt senior and former University of Hawaii player Dru Brown and redshirt freshman Spencer Sanders. He said he is open to playing both and is in no hurry to commit to one.
“They’re both pretty good,” Gundy said. “And I know sometimes, they say if you can’t name one, you don’t have any. I don’t see that as the situation here.”
Both were with the program last year and waited behind Taylor Cornelius. Brown started every game for Hawaii two years ago and passed for 2,785 yards and 18 touchdowns before transferring to Oklahoma State. Sanders was the Texas Gatorade Player of the Year in 2017 before redshirting last season.
“They’re both poised, and they’re both athletic as heck,” Oklahoma State running back LD Brown said. “It’s a great quarterback battle.”
Gundy said he wants both to be aggressive about making plays during camp.
“I don’t want them to go out and play scared,” he said. “You can’t play quarterback in this offense and play scared. You’re going to make mistakes. We throw the ball down the field so many times, so eventually, something bad is going to happen. So what? We don’t want guys to play with fear. We want guys to be relentless and be gunslingers.”
The season opener is Aug. 30 at Oregon State.
TYLAN WALLACE
Wallace seemingly came out of nowhere last season to become a Biletnikoff Award finalist. He caught 86 passes for 1,491 yards and 12 touchdowns. He had 10 catches for 220 yards and two touchdowns against Oklahoma last season. In a three-game stretch last season against Texas, Baylor and Oklahoma, he caught 28 passes for 544 yards and five touchdowns.
“It was definitely a real crazy ride,” he said. “Going in, I always feel like I knew I had the ability to do what I did, I just had to show everybody I could do it. It’s all about waiting your turn.”
He won’t sneak up on anyone this season — he’s a preseason all-Big 12 selection.
NEW OFFENSIVE COACHES
Sean Gleeson is the new offensive coordinator. He replaced Mike Yurcich, who now is quarterbacks coach at Ohio State.
Gleeson was offensive coordinator for a Princeton squad that went undefeated in 2018. The Tigers led the FCS in scoring offense with 47.0 points per game and ranked in the top 10 nationally in total offense, rushing offense, third-down conversion percentage and pass efficiency. The Tigers set an Ivy League record with 470 points. He’s fitting right in at Oklahoma State.
“Sean is doing good,” Gundy said. “He’s very high energy. He loves to get into practice and all that. He’s excited about football. At some point he’ll settle down a little bit. I really feel comfortable with his knowledge and understanding our tempo, the way we play and what we’re trying to accomplish with our schemes.”
Charlie Dickey is the new offensive line coach. He joined the staff after coaching under Bill Snyder at Kansas State for 10 years.
STRONG CORNERS
Oklahoma State has two third-year starters returning at cornerback in A.J. Green and Rodarius Williams. Green is a preseason All-Conference selection who finished among the league leaders with 11 passes broken up last season. Williams had eight pass breakups last season. Williams knows there are high expectations of the pair.
“I feel kind of old, and it’s great that people are looking at us, but we just have to live up to it,” he said. “There’s no pressure. We just have to play our game.”
CHUBA HUBBARD
The sophomore running back is a preseason All-Big 12 selection. His opportunity to seize control of the position came when Justice Hill was injured late last season. In four games as the primary back, Hubbard averaged 106.3 yards a game and 5.4 yards per carry. He is primed to have a greater role this season now that Hill is in the NFL.
ELDER FRESHMAN
Tom Hutton is a 29-year-old freshman punter from Newborough, Victoria, Australia. He comes from the ProKick Australia program that has produced three Ray Guy Award winners. He has no American football experience, but has played Australian Rules Football.
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