Former Edmond-Santa Fe Pass Rushers Draw More Praise as Season Nears

Before an injury kept Calvin Bundage out of the entire 2019 season, he was a fan favorite in Stillwater. In his absence, a young pup from the same high school Bundage was from took his place.

Oklahoma State enters 2020 with former Edmond-Santa Fe Wolves Bundage and Trace Ford gaining more notoriety as the season draws near. OSU defensive coordinator Jim Knowles has already said Bundage is “more locked in than he’s ever been,” and Knowles called Ford an “All-American prospect.”

Then Knowles said a sentence that is sure to have Pokes’ fans daydreaming until Sept. 12: “Right away, we can get [Bundage] coming off the edge, him on one side, Trace on the other.”

But Knowles isn’t the only one hyping up the former Oklahoma high school standouts.

Let’s start with Bundage, who had 129 total tackles in his first three seasons in Stillwater before last season’s back injury. He had 4.5 sacks in that time and 14.5 tackles for loss while providing energy to his teammates with big hits.

“It looks like he didn’t miss a beat, at all,” junior safety Tre Sterling said. “I remember his first practice back, I think, this fall camp, he had three sacks in a row — three-and-out. The way he rushes, I’ve never seen … Me, Kolby [Harvell-Peel] and Tanner [McCalister] were all talking about it today, and Amen [Ogbongbemiga], never seen anyone rush like that before, with so much speed and so much violence. It’s ridiculous. He’s going to be better than he was before his injury. It’s gonna be interesting.”

Onto Ford, who is listed as a defensive end, but it would be more accurate to list him as an all-around defender. Ford had 29 total tackles as a true freshman. He had four tackles for loss, three sacks, an interception, a forced fumble, five pass breakups and a team-leading nine quarterback hurries.

“It’s always good having guys with Trace Ford’s type of energy,” senior corner Rodarius Williams said. “That guy is like a roadrunner — he never stops. On the back end, you need that. We ain’t trying to cover for 10 seconds, we need three seconds and ball out.”

It will be interesting to see how and how much Bundage is used in what will be his redshirt senior season (although he will get another one in 2021 as this will be a free season for all players). Malcolm Rodriguez and Amen Ogbongbemiga seemed to lock up the Cowboys’ linebacker spots last season, but Bundage can certainly get some snaps there.

Knowles alluding to Bundage coming off the edge makes you wonder if he’ll be used as a passing down defensive end. Like last season, expect Ford to play linebacker/defensive end/nickel corner/safety.