10 Thoughts on Oklahoma State’s Spring Game

STILLWATER — The Cowboys battled through some wet and unseasonably cold weather on Saturday to play their first legitimate spring game in some time.

The orange team got the better of the white team 14-10. Here are 10 thoughts from the game.

1. Quarterback Takeaways

As fun as it was to see the four-man quarterback battle, there wasn’t a ton to take away on a rainy day where no one threw for more than 60 yards.

They’d also draw a whistle any time they were breathed on, so unless they were running in wide open spaces, it was hard to get a good gauge on that.

Tyler is writing our more all-encompassing quarterback story (which you can read here), but the box score from the day:

Orange Team:
Garret Rangel — 5-for-6, 48 yards, 8 rushing yards
Hauss Hejny — 5-for-5, 33 yards, -4 rushing yards

White Team:
Zane Flores — 8-for-15, 60 yards, 1 INT, -33 rushing yards (sacks)
Maealiuaki Smith — 6-for-10, 54 yards, 2 rushing yards

In total, the four threw for 195 yards on 36 attempts. Flores had the lone interception, but it came on a last-second heave to the end zone.

2. There Goes Rodney Fields

The biggest play either offense made Saturday was a 74-yard run from Rodney Fields to open one drive.

That run alone would’ve seen the redshirt freshman more than double anyone else’s rushing total, and Fields finished with 92 yards on four carries.

3. Quick Whistles Hurt the Box Score

In an effort to keep the Cowboys as healthy as possible, officials were whistling plays dead early.

It made for some moments where a quarterback would’ve likely wiggled free but was ruled down for a sack or, in some cases, touchdowns being taken off the board. This isn’t a big takeaway from the game but it is just something to know when referencing the rest of these takeaways.

4. Sam Jackson V Was a Weapon in the Return Game

The first touchdown from the 2025 Cowboys was an 80-yard punt return from Auburn transfer receiver Sam Jackson V. Not long after, Jackson had a big kick return, as well.

There might be an argument that at full speed, someone would’ve gotten him down a little earlier on either return, but it’s hard not to be impressed with Jackson’s day. Jackson played quarterback at TCU and Cal before moving out to receiver at Auburn. He didn’t have a catch Saturday but still managed to stand out as a special teamer.

5. Those Early Whistles Hurt Kalib Hicks the Most

Oklahoma transfer running back Kalib Hicks had a better day than his nine carries for 16 yards and three catches for 21 yards let on.

Hicks was twice called down inside the 5-yard line thanks to being touched, but if it was 100% live, he would’ve scored. Then on the orange team’s final drive, Hicks got a ball out of the backfield and spun past a defender. He looked to be home free, but was ruled down because he was touched.

He didn’t have the highlight-reel run that Fields had, but more often than not, he was making the necessary play.

“I told him you do that next fall, and it won’t end up this way,” Gundy said. “But I was really pleased with what took place today because if we go as as fast as we can, as hard as we can, as physical as we can, but we also have to take into consideration getting somebody hurt. So it worked out good, but it’s not 100% fool-proof.”

6. Da’Wain Lofton Moving Around

With four receptions, Da’Wain Lofton caught more balls than anyone else Saturday, and they were doing some different things with him.

After primarily being used in the slot last season, Lofton played mostly on the outside in the spring game, gaining 24 yards on those four catches. Gundy said some of Lofton playing on the outside had to do with injuries elsewhere. Talyn Shettron missed the spring game after Gundy announced a few weeks back that he was injured. Ayo Shotomide-King was also a late scratch.

“He can play both,” Gundy said. “So he’s a jack-of-all-trades guy for us right now. He had the experience of doing it last year. At Virginia Tech, he played outside some also. So we’ve used him in both spots. We’ve got two or three wideouts who are banged up a little bit out there. So we just moved him around out there.”

7. Freeman Was Also Getting Free

Lofton and Gavin Freeman were in similar spots to each other last season — both transfer slot receivers who played four games while maintaining a redshirt.

Freeman led the game in receiving yards, finishing with three catches for 32. He initially had a 17-yard touchdown catch, but a light whistle brought it back to the 1-yard line. He just kept finding open space.

8. Who Played Where on the O-Line

I tried my best to keep up with who was playing where on the offensive line because the group is so new that it was hard to say for sure where any of the Cowboys’ linemen would line up.

The white team initially rolled out with the following:

LT — Jamison Mejia
LG — Louie Canepa
C — Jarret Henry
RG — Jakobe Sanders
RT — Noah McKinney

Sanders and Henry were flipping spots throughout the day.

I had a harder time keeping track of the orange team because of the way they were facing, but Nuku Mafi and Davis Dotson were playing tackle at different parts of the day, Kasen Carpenter was playing at center, and Gage Stanaland was getting some run at guard.

Canepa went down with an injury during the game. No word on how he was postgame.

9. What’d the Defense Look Like?

When the rosters were released Friday afternoon, each team had only one defensive end listed, so I was further intrigued about what Todd Grantham’s defense would look like.

The players listed as outside linebackers appeared to essentially be ends, as well. We’re at an odd time in the game of football where defensive ends are picking up new titles like edge rushers, outside linebackers, etc. Poasa Utu, listed just as a linebacker, was also playing on the edge some.

It’s only a spring game, but the defense looked stylistically more similar to the pre-Nardo era. There were four guys on the line of scrimmage with the outside linebackers on the edge often being in a standup stance with two traditional linebackers, three safeties and two corners.

I’ll leave super impressed with the linebackers the Cowboys brought in. Akron transfer Bryan McCoy was a tackling machine. I had him at seven before running down for interviews toward the end of the game. Saginaw Valley transfer Brandon Rawls did his best Goldberg impersonation on this WrestleMania Saturday with a big hit that brought out some oohs and ahhs from both sidelines. Then Ole Miss transfer Trip White earned a Gundy shoutout with how he played.

“The guy that played pretty well today, that looked really fast on the field was Trip White,” Gundy said. “He ran really well. I think he looked fast to me today. Not that he wasn’t fast, but I just noticed him running really fast. They threw a screen to somebody, and it looked like it’s going to be a big play. Then, all of a sudden, he showed up for maybe a one-yard gain and made the play.

“And then what was more impressive was as fast as he was coming over and making the play, he was able to hold the guy up, and he did. They didn’t even go to the ground, like that’s really hard to do, and it showed his athleticism and his strength.”

Corner Kenneth Harris also deserves a shoutout, as he had an interception and a sack.

10. Jaleel Johnson Certainly Looks the Part

This isn’t as much of a thought as it is look at how cool Jaleel Johnson looks entering his redshirt junior season.

When he committed to OSU four years ago, he was listed at 235. He’s listed at 260 nowadays. He should be the first guy who gets off the bus.