Three Storylines to Follow Entering Fall Camp

Summer is almost over; football is nearly here.

Oklahoma State starts its fall camp on Wednesday ahead of one of the more highly anticipated OSU seasons in recent memory. The Cowboys are coming off a 10-4 year as a contender in a new-look Big 12 conference. Win this updated league, and the Cowboys will almost certainly earn a spot in the first 12-team playoff. But before all that comes, a month of fall practices as the veteran-heavy Pokes prepare for the season.

Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on over the next month of so.

1. Hitting the Ground Running

The nonconference slate did not go as planned for the Cowboys last season, that much is certain.

OSU scrapped out a win against Central Arkansas to start the year before needing a second-half comeback against Arizona State to advance to 2-0. But then OSU couldn’t escape disaster against South Alabama, as the Jaguars beat the Pokes 33-7 in Stillwater. That’s honestly not the first time the Pokes have struggled in the noncon. Everyone, of course, remembers the Central Michigan debacle in 2016, but more recently, those Chippewas scored 44 on OSU to start the 2022 season. OSU’s Fiesta Bowl-winning 2021 campaign started with a 7-point win against Missouri State, a 5-point win against Tulsa and a 1-point win against Boise State.

With as good as this Cowboy team is supposed to be, it’d save the fans’ cardiologists a lot of work if OSU could take care of business in this opening stint to save the real stresses for the start of the Big 12 slate — Utah and at Kansas State.

There is, though, reason to believe this nonconference will be a bit different than last year — namely OSU knows what it is entering 2024.

The start of last season saw OSU rotating three quarterbacks and Ollie Gordon receive just 19 combined carries through the nonconference. Well, Alan Bowman is the Cowboys’ quarterback, and after claiming the lion’s share of carries, Gordon went onto win the Doak Walker. Those two paired with seniors roaming the receiver and offensive line rooms should give this 2024 squad a higher floor than the 2023 one had.

Defensively, the Cowboys should take a step forward in Year 2 of Bryan Nardo, as Nardo and his staff have 14 games of data and the offseason to evaluate what went well and what needs to be improved with a lot of the same pieces the Cowboys had last season.

Then there’s the fact that the Cowboys should be on high alert entering this season based on two factors. The first factor is that their opening-day opponent (South Dakota State) is coming off back-to-back FCS national titles. The second factor is that it should be fresh in the Pokes’ mind how bad things went in the noncon a year ago.

2. How Will the New Transfers Play Into Things

Not too much has changed from spring ball to fall camp, but there are a few new faces entering the fold.

OSU added a trio of transfers since the spring in wide receiver Gavin Freeman (Oklahoma), wide receiver Da’Wain Lofton (Virginia Tech) and running back Trent Howland (Indiana).

All three of those guys come in spots where OSU needs a little depth.

At receiver, the Cowboys return a stellar trio of Brennan Presley, Rashod Owens and De’Zhaun Stribling. A healthy Talyn Shettron could also be in line for a breakout season. But it feels as if it’s been a while since OSU went a whole season using only three or four receivers, and the depth behind that group is rather inexperienced.

Lofton comes in after spending three seasons with the Hokies in which he totaled 35 catches for 410 yards and three scores. Wearing No. 5, Lofton is listed at 5-foot-11, 175 pounds and should add some dynamic depth behind Presley in the slot. The same can be said for Freeman, a former OK preps standout at Heritage Hall. In two seasons in Norman, Freeman showed some big-play ability. His first college touch ended in a 46-yard TD in 2022, and he scored via a punt return in OU’s 2023 opener. Freeman will wear No. 17 and is listed at 5-8, 185 pounds.

Both or either of those guys could play a factor, and each also has a redshirt available, meaning they could play in four games and still save a year. Lofton has one season of eligibility remaining, and Freeman has two.

Then Howland is tasked with giving Gordon some rest. The Cowboys initially brought in Arkansas transfer AJ Green, but an offseason injury to Green saw the Pokes jump back in the portal and land Howland. Howland was the Hoosiers’ leading rusher in 2023, putting up 354 yards and two scores on 75 carries. Whereas the Gordon-Green backfield would’ve been one of thunder and lightning, Gordon and Howland are thunder and more thunder — with Howland officially listed at 6-3, 240 pounds.

I also wouldn’t count out Sesi Vailahi from playing into things at running back after some impressive performances as a true freshman last season.

3. Will Any Freshmen Find a Spot in the Rotation

The Cowboys are a veteran-heavy group in 2024, meaning snaps for freshmen might be a little sparce, but there are plenty of good, young players on campus this fall.

Tight end Josh Ford and defensive end Armstrong Nnodim stood out in the spring with how far ahead they were physically compared to most high schoolers. With a summer in the Glass Factory, there could be two or three more who start to poke their heads out this fall.

It could all come down to opportunity, but I wouldn’t be shocked seeing a young defensive back (like Landyn Cleveland) finding a way to factor into things. We’ve also talked about how the Cowboys’ depth at receiver is an unknown commodity, so maybe a Tre Griffiths could carve out a role on the outside.

It’s tough to pin down where a surprise freshman could come from with how experienced this squad is, but there are plenty of good prospects on the Cowboys’ roster.