Daily Bullets (August 18) – Meeting McKaufman, The Third Safety

More than Big Pat

Backup Cowboy wide receiver Patrick McKaufman is heralded for his height. There’s a scholarship graveyard full of Cowboy Basketball seven-footers that never merited a win on the hardwood. Jenni Carlson digs into what else to be excited about McKaufman.

McKaufman finished the season with 13 catches for 125 yards. Not exactly earth shattering, but when he was invited to a prospect camp at OSU, he showed potential that was eye-popping.

“He stood out,” Dunn said. “He’s got tremendous ball skills, which is typical for a quarterback. He’s quick. He’s really good at the line of scrimmage.

“And he’s 6-6.”

The coach chuckled.

“I was like, ‘OK, here’s a guy that could maybe step into that role that Marcell had.'” [New$OK]

Not only is he 6’6″ but he’s got quarterback roots… and some sweet ballskills. That’s worth getting juiced about.

Also – you’d be hardpressed to find another Power Five school with two 6’6″+ quarterbacks turned pass-catchers on a roster.

Filling the Gaps

The further the Pokes get into the fall camp, the more the three safety positions are appearing to fill in nicely. Kenneth Edison-McGruder and Thabo Mwaniki are joined by returning, and local-boy-done-good, Malcolm Rodriguez to round out the safety position.

When Rodriguez is on the field, he’s typically in the right position. And he makes plays.

“Malcolm makes plays to set other people up to make plays,” Edison-McGruder said.

Entering his second season, Rodriguez is having an important camp at a position of need for the Cowboys. He’s penciled in as OSU’s starter at the strong safety (“rover”) position in Jim Knowles’ 4-2-5 defense, where he’ll likely appear alongside Edison-McGruder and sophomore Thabo Mwaniki as the three safeties. [TulsaWorld]

With KEM’s linebacker experience making him a shoe-in for the run-heavy “strike” safety role and Mwaniki’s athleticism and open-field coverage capabilities, Rodriguez appears to be doing well as a third banana.

OSU and NCAA Notes

CRFF ranks the thirteen season openers under Gundy….The Urban Meyer investigation ends on Sunday, report coming next week….HCS is selling low on the Cowboy offensive line….Tom Fornelli picks his five breakout college QB’s for 2018, USA Today looks at the biggest QB competitions

PFF breaks down James Washington’s recent performance in Pittsburgh.

…On to of that, he graded out as Pittsburgh’s top offensive player that week.

On offense, James Washington led the way for the #Steelers with his big game! pic.twitter.com/gnU5Wf2mE0

— PFF PIT Steelers (@PFF_Steelers) August 17, 2018

Second best orange isn’t bad at all.

School Color Rankings: Orange Edition

1. Tennessee
2. Oklahoma State
3. Oregon State
4. Clemson
5. Florida https://t.co/z2EzFHGthS

— Tom Fornelli (@TomFornelli) August 17, 2018

Hovland advances to the semis.

Stop us if you have heard this before … last out, first in! Hovy is on to the semifinal round at the #USAmateur! #okstate #golfschool pic.twitter.com/lkL7xxnpgb

— Oklahoma State Golf (@OSUCowboyGolf) August 18, 2018

I have no clue what OSU would do (wave the wheat?) but this is hilarious to think of.

Arkansas Athletics announces ONE Hog Call planned for Friday, August 31 at 1 p.m. CST. The ONE Hog Call invites Razorback fans across the globe to drop what they’re doing, stand up united as ONE fan base and Call the Hogs in unison to show their love for Razorbacks.

— Wally Hall (@WallyLikeItIs) August 17, 2018

Yesterday on PFB

• OKC Dave’s annual OSU Fan Survey is out – chime in with your two cents!
• Marshall’s five predictions for 2018 was good
• Breaking down Mason Rudolph’s struggles in his first start
• Which Cowboys Back will emerge this year?

Stuff I’m Consuming

• How Oklahoma City was born in a day
• Can neuroscience predict how likely someone is to commit another crime?
• A fun narrative: will DeMarcus Cousins destroy the Warriors?