Five Thoughts on Tylan Wallace Returning to OSU for His Senior Year

Oklahoma State’s 2020 season got one of the biggest boons it could hope for when Tylan Wallace announced that he would be returning for his senior season.

Two-thirds of its Big 3 are now signed up for what could be a pretty exciting year. If Spencer Sanders’ development continues on the trajectory it was on when he went down with injury — and especially if a certain someone who donned No. 30 this season decides to follow Tylan’s lead — the Cowboys should be a force to be reckoned with come next fall.

But as far as OSU returning an elite wide receiver in Tylan Wallace, I had some thoughts and here they are.

1. It Shouldn’t be a Shock

I, like many others, went on record with my prognostication that both No. 2 and No. 30 would punch their NFL Sunday Tickets following 2019, even with Wallace’s truncated junior season. Both are pros and have Day 1-2 talent, but a lot had to do with the draft grade each received from the College Advisory Committee, and some recent changes to the way those grades are handed down, may have helped the Cowboys. (I’m basing the rationale for Tylan’s return solely on its merits as a business decision.)

In the past the committee would dole out five different grades:

Potential first-round selection

Potential second-round selection

Potential third-round selection

No potential to be drafted in Rounds 1-3

and no potential to be drafted.

That is a lot of options, especially for an elite-level athlete with a chance to still boost his stock in workouts and the combine.

But now the only ratings they give are: potential first round, potential second round or neither. That’s a big difference and less of a safety net if you’re in Tylan’s shoes and weighing your options at the next level.

We don’t know what grade either Chuba or Tylan got, but if you’re Tylan and you get the latter — which should probably be expected due to his time lost due to injury — a chance to boost your stock in 2020 looks all the more appealing.

2. A Potential Big 4?

I was completely willing to accept the possibility that I am way too high on Braydon Johnson — until I remembered the first quarter of OSU’s bowl game. Now that I know that it’s a possibility, I am downright giddy about seeing Tylan and Braydon Johnson line up on either side of the field in 2020.

When used correctly, OSU is much more dangerous on offense with a prolific No. 2 option at wideout. A transcendent talent like Tylan only raises the games of those around him, and now that Johnson has come into his own a bit, Tylan probably wonn’t mind the help stretching defenses. Think Blackmon-Cooper, Bowman-Dez, Washington-Ateman. This dynamic duo will be a scary thing to unleash on the Big 12.

3. #Freak

With all the Braydon Johnson talk, I don’t want it to appear like I’m taking Tylan for granted. Lest I be guilty.

4. His Legacy at OSU

Tylan won’t catch James Washington when it comes to all-time receiving yards at OSU, but in essentially a season and a half as a featured target, he climbed up the ranks of Cowboy receivers pretty quickly.

Here’s where Tylan sits now with potentially 13 games to go.

146 catches — 10th
2,512 receiving yards — 6th
20 touchdowns — T6th (with D’Juan Woods and Adarius Bowman)
17.2 yards per catch — 2nd (behind only James Washington)

Before he went down, Tylan was on pace to finish within a Spencer’s throw of his sophomore total of 1,491 that saw him finish second in Biletnikoff voting. If he turns in that kind of season in 2020 he’d be easily within the top 5 in OSU history for a career.

Beyond the numbers, Tylan Wallace has already etched his name into a wall at Boone Pickens Stadium. Had he bowed out as soon as he went down with injury, Tylan would already be one of the best wide receivers to come out of a school that has made a name for churning out #freaks. But Tylan will build on that legacy by simply showing up to Boone Pickens Stadium on September 3.

5. A Chance for More

The 2020 Cowboys sans Tylan Wallace and Chuba Hubbard looked somewhat compelling but definitely deflating. Now, at least with Tylan in the fold, Oklahoma State has the potential to be pretty good.

This is what the offseason is about. Hope. Oklahoma State has a higher ceiling and a lot more of that H word with Tylan Wallace on board.