Daily Bullets (August 7)

Rarified Air

As college football’s preeminent deep threat, James Washington is in a league of his own.

…(L)ast season, there were 19 players who had at least 20 catches of 20 yards or more. None of those players had more than one catch of 80 yards or more.

Washington had three.

“Very few can make that play,” Dunn said of catching the deep ball, a skill he estimates less than a tenth of all college receivers can do consistently. “So when you see us throw that deep ball to James and he makes that catch, it’s rare.” [NewsOK]

In probably the deepest dive into Washington’s deep ball skills, the fine tuning is exposed and you just wonder how this isn’t more replicable.

OK State/Pitt last year was the Mason Rudolph to James Washington show: pic.twitter.com/1L3QIom6sY

— Connor Rogers (@ConnorJRogers) July 20, 2017

The Big “If”

The Cowboy offensive line finished on a tear in 2016. Continued optimism abounds but success isn’t a given.

Franchise quarterbacks don’t enroll every day, but Rudolph hasn’t been protected as a Brandon Weeden was a few years ago. In 28 starts, Rudolph has been sacked 69 times. OSU is fortunate that he is healthy and ready for the Aug. 31 opener against the University of Tulsa.

“If you play 15 games, you’d want to give up less than 20 sacks,” Gundy said. “One, your quarterback isn’t getting hit. Second, you lose games by having negative-yardage plays. When you have second-and-16 all the time, you’re in trouble.”

OSU’s projected 2017 starters would comprise one of the more experienced lines in college football. Right tackle Zach Crabtree, right guard Larry Williams and left tackle Aaron Cochran are fifth-year seniors. Cochran is the huge graduate transfer from California.

Center Brad Lundblade is a fourth-year senior. Left guard Marcus Keyes is a third-year sophomore. The projected starters have combined totals of 17 years of college experience and 95 major-college starts. [TulsaWorld]

It’s felt like it was just a matter of time until the hard earned maturity outweighed the lack of experience.

OSU and NCAA Notes

Check out T. Boone Pickens’ ranch that would make King Solomon blush….Yahoo thinks OSU has the second-best quarterback room in the Big 12….How analytics are sweeping through college football….Joel Klatt has Mason Rudolph ahead of Baker Mayfield in his top five QB list

Rickie finished T10 after his best round on Sunday – gotta be the orange, right?

???#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/cRPpiSbkgH

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 6, 2017

Overlooked is getting to see this guy back on the field/red zone/end zone again.

It's been a long year of recovery for #OKState WR Marcell Ateman (@ItsMarcell) which is the reason why he expects to have a huge 2017. pic.twitter.com/UuFJZpP4wA

— Dylan Buckingham (@DylanBuckingham) August 6, 2017

Golden era.

If #OKState cracks top 10 this season, will be 8th time in 10 years. Gundy said he could've never imagined that as a player/assistant.

— Mark Cooper (@mark_cooperjr) August 5, 2017

What You Missed on PFB

• See what Justice Hill has to say about his sophomore season
• An ESPN analyst thinks OSU has the best offense in the country
• A veteran Seattle Seahawk is pretty impressed by Chris Carson
• See what Tyron Johnson had to say at OSU Media Day
• Chris Lacy and Jalen McCleskey talk about the 2017 season

Other Stuff I’m Reading

Great story on how a couple of Louisiana natives changed mid-life….No time for 18 holes? Play five.….Why guys need friends

Hope everybody in Tulsa was safe this weekend.

Here's a video look at this stretch of businesses. All sorts of damage pic.twitter.com/6p8GPW5wzX

— Corey Jones (@JonesingToWrite) August 6, 2017