Five Seniors OSU Football Will Miss the Most in 2020

Oklahoma State returns nearly every starter on defense and the brunt of its key veterans on offense from last season, but it will nonetheless be left with picking up pieces left by key seniors who occupied leadership roles or played key on-field parts to success.

Here are the five they will miss most.

1. Matt Ammendola, K

Kickers never get the love they deserve, and often, they’re only appreciated only after their careers are over. This will be the case with Matt Ammendola. He made 20 of his 26 field goal attempts last season (76.9%), and made 48 of his 49 extra points attempts (98.0%). In placekicking, that ranked top-55 nationally. In extra points, that ranked top-35 nationally.

Both above average.

Ammendola’s not Stephen Gostkowski, of course, but he’s also not a flop like the NFL version of Roberto Aguayo. He was — for multiple seasons — a reliable leg. And I always felt decently confident he could knock it through the uprights in key spots. That’s a luxury most college football programs can’t enjoy, even if it feels like a low bar of expectations.

2. Jordan McCray, WR

Going in to last season, it definitely felt like Jordan McCray was going to be the stop-gap to help bridge us to the C.J. Moore era. Turned out, it was C.J. Moore that served as the stop-gap for McCray. The grad transfer ranked fourth in total receptions and yards receiving last season as a big-bodied threat, ranking fourth in yards per catch, by far his most efficient college season after toiling away three seasons at South Alabama.

3. Dru Brown, QB

Reports of optimism that Dru Brown was a slightly-poorer mans version of Baker Mayfield were, perhaps as expected, greatly overblown. But Brown was good for his role: a viable back-up who could jump to action in a pinch, a behind-the-scenes leader, a quality piece of depth at a premium position where the No. 1 plays a brand of style that could potentially give rise to injury problems. It’s too bad he won’t be back in 2020 if only to provide stability at the position behind Spencer Sanders.

4. A.J. Green, CB

No chance I could forget A.J. Green. I’d argue, actually, that his career will age much like Ammendola’s. He was highly productive and reliable at a vital position, and we’ll wind up remembering him more fondly years later than perhaps we did in the moment.

What I’ll miss most about Green is his big-play-in-big-spot ability. Remember this?!

A.J. Green!!!!! pic.twitter.com/Sn6Qy1QyQ5

— Pistols Firing (@pistolsguys) November 11, 2017

Or this?

Quite a hit here by A.J. Green to cause a TCU fumble to start the second half. pic.twitter.com/79yUnkEVUE

— Pistols Firing (@pistolsguys) November 2, 2019

Also, remember when he picked Will Grier off twice on Morgantown and was basically Jalen Ramsey for a day? That was awesome.

5. Philip Redwine-Bryant, LB

A former walk-on, Redwine-Bryant played in every game the last two seasons of his  career as a critical special-teamer and later as a glue guy on defense. He was also a former team captain voted by his teammates and widely regarded as a positive influence in the locker room. He’s the type of player that’s hard to replace even if the production on paper doesn’t pop.