A Timeline of QB Updates From Mike Gundy and My Take Heading into the 2018 Season

One thing that stood out to me in Stillwater last week is that Mike Gundy hasn’t given a definitive answer for Game 1 when you ask him about quarterbacks. Part of this is that I genuinely think he doesn’t know about Dru Brown and Spencer Sanders, and part of it is that he knows he needs to hedge a little because he doesn’t know what Taylor Cornelius is going to do when you flip the lights on.

So I thought I’d give a running list of updates from Gundy about the QB position and where OSU stands starting with his Big 12 Media Day appearance a few weeks ago. My thoughts on where things stand right now are sprinkled in after each quote.

July 17, 2018 — Big 12 Media Days TV Interview

“Yeah, he came out of spring and had a really good 12 practices so I would think he would be our guy … ” Gundy said of Cornelius. “… But we have some guys behind him, some young players, an incoming transfer that we’ll have to see how they do when they get here. They haven’t been here yet.

“He’s got good height, he runs really well, he throws the ball well. The only thing he hasn’t done is play in front of a crowd. [He] has a great feel for our offense. We’ve put him in situations in practice over the last three years. Hopefully that will pay off for him during the season.”

I would think he would be our guy doesn’t exactly scream, No. 14 is the starter!

July 17, 2018 — Big 12 Media Days Presser

“When we came out of spring we felt very comfortable with Taylor, so certainly going into August he’s our guy. He’s been with us a number of years. He understands our offense. We’re confident in his abilities.”

Ditto this. Going into August is a huge hedge.

July 17, 2018 — Big 12 Media Days Scrum (after presser)

“Do I like Taylor as a quarterback going into August? Sure. Do I know how he’ll play when it’s his job in front of a crowd? No. That’s the only uncertainty there. It’s our responsibility as a coaching staff and as an organization to put him in a position to have success if he ends up being the guy in the first game. We as a group have a lot of confidence in his ability going into August.”

Gundy has always been big about flipping the lights on, and while he’s continuing to hedge, I have no reason to think Cornelius isn’t going to get every opportunity in the first few games to solidify himself as QB1 in Stillwater.

July 17, 2018 — Big 12 Media Days Scrum (after presser)

“The only thing we can do is know who we were when we came out of spring ball. Going into August he’s the best player we have at the quarterback position. We have a couple three players who will get a lot of reps with the twos. Could something change in three weeks? Sure. Do I have any indication one way or the other? No.

“That’s why I said he’s our starting QB right now. Do I expect him to be our starting QB when the season starts. I would say percentages say yes. I don’t think it’s a guarantee just because we have a couple other guys coming in that we don’t know anything about.”

Again, I think Gundy is just being honest here. Cornelius is probably going to be QB1 throughout the year but with the percentages say yes quote, he’s giving himself a window to jump through if it goes badly.

August 4, 2018 — Stillwater Media Day

“It’s really difficult from a standpoint of reps. The ones can only go on the field so many times. … For the most part if you reflect back on Mason after playing those two or three games his freshman year, you couldn’t just bet the house that he was still going to be a good player, because he really didn’t have that much experience. But we had to say, ‘ok you’re our guy.’ We’re going to push all our money over there with you and we’re getting behind you.

“And because of the way that reps are distributed in practice, that’s why Taylor’s our guy. He’s proven to us that he understands and that we can win with him and be successful.”

This is an interesting point. That no matter how good the newcomers are, they’re just not going to be able to get enough reps to grab the position before the first game.

August 4, 2018 — Stillwater Media Day

“When you have Wudtee and Dru and Spencer come in, their reps at this time are limited. Could it happen? Sure. You could have a guy come in and just take over. Then you have to try to find a way to make it work for two people. That’s not something we would want to do. Unless it’s a goal-line, short-yardage situation. But if somebody earned that right then you’d certainly have to facilitate it. It could happen, but it’s not likely to happen early in the season until we give the other guy his opportunity and he’s earned his stripes from being here.”

HOWEVAH! Gundy has left the door open in case 1. Cornelius flops or 2. Sanders or Brown are clearly better. Although at this point I would trust Russell Westbrook to buy me a suit before I’d trust Mike Gundy to pick me a QB based on fall practice.

August 4, 2018 — Stillwater Media Day

“I will say that I’m surprised that (Dru Brown) and Spencer can function as well as they did in practice with handling our offense and being as young as they are, and/or as new.”

?

Ultimately, I think I was wrong about all of this. I thought they’d hand Spencer the keys and let him go from Missouri State on. Based on everything Gundy has said to this point, I’m not ruling out that he (or Brown!) is the starter after Boise State and beyond, but they’re both going to have to be otherworldly in limited action as the backup in fall camp to take the spot in Game 1 away from Cornelius. I don’t think that’s going to happen, partly because I don’t think Gundy wants it to and partly because it sounds like Cornelius has actually been really solid.

The lights have yet to come on, and we’ll see if No. 14 is an adequate heir to the winningest QB in Oklahoma State history, but for now it sounds as if he’s at the very least going to get the opportunity to be just that.