Notebook: Glass’ Tattoos, Pearson in the Return Game, ‘Looking at Yourself in the Mirror’

STILLWATER — The Cowboys are headed to Cowtown this weekend looking to buck their poor form.

Oklahoma State plays TCU at 6 p.m. Saturday in Fort Worth. OSU players met with the media following Monday’s practice. Here are three things that stood out.

Glass’ Tats

OSU tackle Isaia Glass stands out among the Cowboys’ offensive linemen who play regularly because he’s the only one of the group who wasn’t on the team last season. But he also stands out because of his tattoos.

Not only does Glass have a visible sleeve down his left arm, but he wears his jersey cropped, displaying some more ink on his stomach. He said his most painful tats were either the one on his stomach or one on his knee. He said his dad has done some of his tattoos, including the one on his stomach. Glass said it took a few days, but if it started to hurt too bad, he could tap out and they’d go back to work later.

“It’s part of the tattoo,” said Glass of the pain. “You kind of earn your stripes through that. Obviously it hurt really bad, but I mean, it’s fun. And like I said, my dad did it. It wasn’t like I had to go somewhere and like I’m worrying about how he feels. My dad, we’re on the same page. It was fun like in my living room or on my dining room table. It wasn’t a big deal.”

Pearson on His Big Day

The shortest player on OSU’s roster nearly made the biggest play of this past Saturday’s game.

Kyler Pearson, listed at 5-foot-6, 150 pounds, returned the second half kickoff to the house against Arizona State. It was a play that could have tied the game … had the Cowboys not been called for holding. Raymond Gay was the one who was flagged. Pearson said he doesn’t hold it against Gay, saying there’s holding on every play and that he is one of the best players on the return unit. The moment came after about a 2.5-hour weather delay. Pearson said the return team was together for about an hour of that delay and basically manifested the big return.

Despite that one getting called back, Pearson still led the Cowboys in all-purpose yards Saturday, finishing with 67 kick return yards and 37 punt return yards.

A Tulsa native, Pearson started his college career at Kansas before spending the 2022 season at UT-Martin. He had a chance to return to his home state ahead of the 2023 season with the Cowboys.

“It’s awesome seeing those fans that stayed through that,” Pearson said. “We’ve had a tough season, obviously, and no one wants to sit out there in that type of weather. I came out at halftime and there’s a bunch of people still back. Like, this is awesome. You can tell that people care here. That’s all I’ve wanted is just to play for a place that cares. It’s awesome.”

‘You Just Gotta Look at Yourself in the Mirror’

After all the preseason expectations, the Cowboys are 0-6 in Big 12 play.

Despite that, no one has opted out of playing, which feels like it’d be common in the modern landscape. And according to Mike Gundy and the players, practices have still been productive. Here is defensive lineman Iman Oates on if it is difficult to keep pushing forward through tough practices despite the on-field results not being there.

“It definitely can be at times, but you just gotta look at yourself in the mirror,” Oates said. “You gotta keep working. Eventually those results will come. As long as you’re putting in your daily deposits and trying to get better and working on the things that you may struggle in at times. That’s all you can do.”