‘He’s Fast, and He’s Tough’: Redshirting Still a Possibility for Freeman, but He’s Impressing Early

STILLWATER — There aren’t a ton of personnel questions surrounding the Cowboys this season because of how experienced they are, but how Gavin Freeman will be used in his first season with the program has become an interesting topic.

A slot receiver who transferred from Oklahoma, Freeman at one point looked in line to redshirt this season at Oklahoma State, but he was the Cowboys’ fourth receiver in their season-opening win against South Dakota State. He played 21 offensive snaps, according to PFF, and finished the game with two catches (on two targets) for 10 yards. He also returned a kick and a punt.

Freeman could still play in four games (and whatever postseason games the Cowboys take part in) and redshirt, but Gundy said that’s still up in the air.

“Because of the four games and the postseason opportunities, I don’t know that it’s fair to say one way or the other right now,” Gundy said. “I will say that we’re very pleased with what he’s bringing to the table. He still has a ways to go learning our system, but he’s made really good strides. We’ll just have to play it by ear as we move along.”

I wrote in 10 Thoughts on Saturday that there was a comparison to be made between Freeman’s situation and that of Leon Johnson III’s last season, and Gundy hit on that a bit Monday.

The plan was initially to redshirt Johnson. He came to OSU via Division-III George Fox. Gundy said he wanted to redshirt Johnson so he could get used to the jump in level, but injuries at receiver that year — to guys like De’Zhaun Stribling, Jaden Bray and Talyn Shettron — left OSU thin at the outside receiver sports. And a Big 12 title was still on the line for the Cowboys. So, Johnson and OSU made the decision to burn the redshirt and use his final year of eligibility. It worked out, as Johnson had two games of 130+ receiving yards and three more with 60+ receiving yards. And the Cowboys made the Big 12 title game.

Gundy gave some interesting insight in OSU’s redshirting ideology.

“You always, first and foremost, wanna do what you think is best for the young man and what he wants to do,” Gundy said. “Now, those two don’t always jive together. If they did, then we wouldn’t have the questions that you’re asking right now. Second, we ask and think what’s best for the team. Years ago, coaches made that determination. Over the last three or four or five years, there’s a mutual conversation between the player, their family, their representatives and the coaches as you move forward. It’s just one of the changes that we’re going through that’s part of the game. I guess ultimately a coach could just say, ‘This is what you’re doing,’ one way or the other. That’s not what we do here because I think long term, it’ll be counterproductive in a free agency world.”

Another aspect to Freeman playing as much as he did Saturday is he just got on campus.

He committed to OSU in May, meaning he missed spring ball in Stillwater and thus joined the Pokes for workouts this summer and didn’t start official practices as a Cowboy until fall camp. But despite the limited time, Freeman was already on the field Saturday.

“He’s fast, and he’s tough,” said Gundy of Freeman’s quick impact. “He has always had success with the ball in his hands. He disregards his body at wide receiver. He takes hits all the time. He tries to hurdle people. He runs through people. He’s a returner. He wrestled for 10 years. He just has a toughness about him, a competitive nature that you want guys like that on your team.”

Freeman was a walk-on at Oklahoma — where his father played. He initially committed to a scholarship offer at Texas Tech, Freeman’s only Power Five offer coming out of Heritage Hall. He was elite with the Chargers. As a senior, he caught 74 passes for 1,438 yards and 18 touchdowns and rushed for 117 yards and another four scores, according to MaxPreps. Also a ridiculous return man, Freeman had a ridiculous 2,260 all-purpose yards that year.

Despite all of that, Freeman was just the No. 1,744 recruit in the 2022 class, according to the 247Sports Composite ranking, with one Power Five offer. Gundy said they had an eye on Freeman, but the Cowboys took just 17 high schoolers in that 2022 class. That group included slot receiver Braylin Presley, a four-star prospect in the class who filled a similar role as Freeman. But Freeman is in Stillwater now, and just like he did at Heritage Hall and in Norman, he is making an impact.

“We watched him and watched him and liked him and watched him,” Gundy said. “Gage, actually, my youngest, told me that year, ‘You guys are making a mistake not taking him.’ He crossed paths with him in summer 7-on-7 and all that stuff. But we had a reason for not. I think we were in a year that we didn’t take a bunch, but we certainly were aware that he was good enough to play at this level.”