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Comparing Production Between Oklahoma State’s Outgoing and Incoming Transfers

A statistical look at how OSU’s staff replaced outgoing production.

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[De'Zhaun Stribling/Instagram]

PORTAL TRACKER

The transfer window is set to close Wednesday, ending a six-week period where college football rosters all across the country were turned upside down.

Oklahoma State was no exception to that, having lost 16 scholarship players to the portal in this window. But, the Cowboys have also found ways to recoup some of that loss, moving 12 players in from the portal. How exactly the Cowboys’ newcomers compare to the outgoers will have to wait for the fall, but we can compare some of that through stats.

It’s important to note that not all stats are created equal. The Big 12 is different than the Pac-12 which is different than the American which is different than Division-III ball, but these are the numbers we have. It’s also important to note that not all of OSU’s outgoing transfers will be replaced by incoming transfers; some will be replaced by players already on OSU’s roster. So with all that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the changes in OSU’s offense.

Quarterback: Spencer Sanders ➡️ Alan Bowman

Measurements
Spencer Sanders Alan Bowman
Height 6-1 6-3
Weight 210 217
Career Stats
Spencer Sanders Alan Bowman
Comp-Att 765-1,254 486-724
Comp% 61.0 67.1
Yards 9,553 5,329
Yards per Att 7.6 7.4
TD 67 34
INT 40 18
Best Season
Spencer Sanders (2021) Alan Bowman (2018)
Comp-Att 243-392 227-327
Comp% 62.0 69.4
Yards 2,839 2,638
Yards per Att 6.9 8.1
TD 20 17
INT 12 7

You can see the appeal with Bowman off his true freshman season in 2018. He completed passes at a high clip, and his 2.42 touchdown-to-interception ratio in 2018 also stands out to the 1.67 ratio Sanders had in 2021. The issue with that is 2018 was a long time ago.

I also didn’t even include rushing statistics because it’s a no-contest in favor of Sanders. In Sanders’ worst rushing year (2020), he still ran for 255 more yards than Bowman did in his best (2019). Some of that could probably be attributed to the different offensive philosophies between OSU and Texas Tech, but expecting Bowman to run like Sanders is probably unrealistic.


Running Back: Dominic Richardson ➡️ Elijah Collins

Measurements
Dominic Richardson Elijah Collins
Height 6-0 6-1
Weight 210 215
Career Stats
Dominic Richardson Elijah Collins
Carries 272 353
Yards 1,139 1,506
Yards per Carry 4.2 4.3
Touchdowns 15 11
Best Season
Dominic Richardson (2022) Elijah Collins (2019)
Carries 149 222
Yards 543 988
Yards per Carry 3.6 4.5
Touchdowns 8 5

Elijah Collins had an up-and-down career at Michigan State in terms of production. He showed out as a redshirt freshman in 2019 before playing seven games in 2020, missing five with injury in 2021.

What’s good for OSU here is that Collins doesn’t have to come in and shoulder all the load on his own. The Cowboys are set to bring back Ollie Gordon, Jaden Nixon and Deondre Jackson. If Collins could get some of that 2019 mojo back and the other three progress as expected, that’ll be a good sign for the Pokes.


Outside Wide Receiver: Bryson Green, Stephon Johnson Jr., Langston Anderson ➡️ De’Zhaun Stribling, Leon Johnson III

Measurements
Bryson Green Stephon Johnson Jr. Langston Anderson De’Zhaun Stribling Leon Johnson III
Height 6-1 6-2 6-1 6-3 6-5
Weight 205 182 202 204 207
Career Stats
Bryson Green Stephon Johnson Jr. Langston Anderson De’Zhaun Stribling Leon Johnson III
Catches 48 17 5 95 110
Yards 723 293 77 1,053 2,146
Yards per Catch 15.1 12.1 15.4 11.3 19.5
Touchdowns 7 2 0 10 23
Best Season
Bryson Green (2022) Stephon Johnson Jr. (2022) Langston Anderson (2022) De’Zhaun Stribling (2022) Leon Johnson III (2022)
Catches 36 17 4 51 55
Yards 584 293 69 602 1,156
Yards per Catch 16.2 12.1 17.3 11.8 21.0
Touchdowns 5 2 0 5 14

It’s borderline irresponsible to compare Leon Johnson’s DIII stats to the other four’s Power Five stats, but Johnson’s production at whatever level is still worth mentioning.

But the comparisons among Bryson Green, Stephon Johnson Jr., Langston Anderson and De’Zhaun Stribling are interesting. Green, Anderson and Stribling have two seasons of stats. Anderson gets a rough shake for being injured for much of his time in Stillwater, and there is a difference of offense between OSU and Washington State. But Stribling’s numbers stack up here.

Also of note is the Cowboys are gaining some height on the outside with the additions of Stribling and Johnson — at least according to what both were listed at their previous schools.


Inside Receiver: John Paul Richardson ➡️ Arland Bruce IV

Measurements
John Paul Richardson Arland Bruce IV
Height 6-0 5-10
Weight 180 198
Career Stats
John Paul Richardson Arland Bruce IV
Catches 72 44
Yards 671 396
Yards per Catch 9.3 9.0
Touchdowns 6 2
Best Season
John Paul Richardson (2022) Arland Bruce IV (2021)
Catches 49 25
Yards 503 209
Yards per Catch 10.3 8.4
Touchdowns 6 1

Remember when I said the OSU offense and the Washington State offense have differences … well the same is even more true for the Hawkeyes’ offense. Iowa threw the ball 349 times in 2022. Even while rotating through three quarterbacks, OSU had 524 pass attempts in 2022. So take all those numbers for what you will.

Bruce has had more success in the run game in his time, as well, which could also be attributed to offensive style. In his career, Bruce had 21 carries for 116 yards and four touchdowns. Richardson had two carries for -11 yards and no scores.

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