Notebook: Stribling Under the Radar, OSU’s Third Corner and OSU’s Secondary Benefitting from OSU Receivers

STILLWATER — The Cowboys met with reporters on Saturday for the second time since the start of fall camp.

Before Oklahoma State opens its season at 1 p.m. Aug. 31 against South Dakota State, here are three more storylines that stood out from that media availability.

Stribling Flying Under the Radar Despite Strong Start to Last Season

The Cowboys had two receivers appear on the Biletnikoff’s preseason watch list, but had De’Zhaun Stribling not suffered an injury early last season, they might’ve had a third.

After transferring from Washington State, Stribling played in just four games with the Cowboys last season before suffering a wrist injury that kept him out the remainder of the year. But in those four games he played, Stribling had 14 catches for 198 yards and a touchdown. The only Cowboy with more receiving yards than Stribling in that stretch was Jaden Bray, who has since transferred to West Virginia. But Stribling, no matter the three-quarterback rotation that the Cowboys employed through the first three games, arguably looked the best of OSU’s receiving corps.

Preseason watch lists don’t mean everything (you could argue if they mean anything), but Stribling being omitted could be a look into what the country at large thinks of the Cowboys’ receivers. Brennan Presley and Rashod Owens were more than deserving, but it feels a little odd that perhaps the best pro prospect in the Cowboys’ receiving room is going into the year unnoticed.

“Oh most definitely,” said Owens on whether Stribling was flying under the radar. “I’m really excited to see what he can do this year. He’s got a lot of anger built up. A lot of people are not really noticing about him, so I feel like we tell him every day to keep that mindset of being an underdog. Play like it. In practice, he shows it every day.”

Cowboys Have Options for Third Corner

The Cowboys return both of their starters at corner from 2023, but they’ll likely need at least one other guy to step up and fill a role.

Korie Black and Cam Smith are both back with a combined 43 starts between them (Black has 26 by himself). But gone is DJ McKinney to Colorado, who was on the field just about as much as the starters last season. In fact, McKinney played more coverage snaps than Smith did, according to PFF. So with McKinney in Boulder, there is opportunity in Stillwater.

Kale Smith got a good amount of run in his redshirt-sophomore season last year, so he’d at this point seem the most likely to see an expanded role. List at 6-foot, 175 pounds, Kale hails from Midwest City and finished the 2023 season with 22 tackles and a pass breakup. According to PFF, he was targeted 11 times, where he allowed eight catches for 109 yards.

Perhaps a forgotten transfer to some of the fanbase, Kenneth Harris also returns in 2024 after redshirting last season. He transferred in from Arkansas State, where in three seasons with the Red Wolves, Harris made 71 tackles, intercepted three passes and broke up another 22 passes.

The Pokes could also move around some safeties with Lyrik Rawls returning from injury and Kobe Hylton joining the position group from UTEP. Dylan Smith, Cam Smith’s younger brother (but no relation to Kale Smith), would perhaps be a candidate for a move to corner. The younger of the Smiths played quite a bit as a true freshman last season, making 21 tackles and intercepting two passes. Cameron Epps was also at one point considered a big-bodied corner. Listed at 6-foot-2, 205 pounds going into his redshirt-sophomore season, Epps made 40 tackles and intercepted three passes in 2023.

So the Cowboys aren’t lacking options in the secondary, but it’s likely someone would need to step into a bigger role to keep the momentum going in 2024.

“We don’t really look at it as starter and second string because, essentially, when you’re out there, you’re a one,” Cam Smith said. “Our coach treats us, whoever’s out there, as a one in that moment.”

Receivers Good for Secondary Development

Sort of melting those two notes together, it’s hard to imagine there are many secondaries in the country getting as quality work in fall camp as the Cowboys’ secondary is.

The group has the benefit of working against Presley, Owens and Stribling every day. And let’s not forget Talyn Shettron, who despite being listed at 6-foot-2, 195 pounds is apparently the speediest of the Cowboys’ pass catchers. It’s not just that the group is an excellent receiving corps., the group also has varied looks. Owens is a big-bodied bruiser. Presley is a shifty slot man. Stribling excels in his route running.

“I’d say we’ve got one of the best receiving corps. in the Big 12, for sure,” Epps said. “They make plays, we make plays — it’s just good competition every day.”