Oklahoma State Freshman Receiver Dayvon Standard to Debut at Houston, Plus Other Injury Updates

STILLWATER ​— The Cowboys have the nation’s No. 6 passing offense, two top-30 receivers and a trio of other receivers closing in on or just past 200 receiving yards this season.

And yet, here comes reinforcements at the team’s most-loaded position. After talking up freshman receiver Dayvon Standard throughout fall camp, Morris said he expects him to make his debut on the road at No. 20 Houston (5-1, 2-1 Big 12) this weekend.

“Standard is a guy that we were really high on early on in camp, had a little bit of an injury, so has worked his way back,” Morris said. “So, you’ll see him in the game this week. He has a bigger, longer, 6-2.5 frame that has really good ball skills. Add a little depth there behind (Justin) Bowick, somebody that can spell him from time to time because he’s playing almost every play for us.”

That part is true, Bowick is fourth among offensive players in snaps played with 326, putting him behind only center Tyler Mercer, quarterback Drew Mestemaker and left tackle Shaun Torgeson.

Standard is a true freshman who caught 23 passes for 463 yards and 10 touchdowns in only six games for Desert Edge (on the western edge of Phoenix) as a senior.

“He’s a raw guy right now, and he’s such a good player,” receiver Wyatt Young said. “He’s going to be a great player in the future. But he’s just raw, raw athlete. He can go up and make the plays like Justin. That’s who I’d compare him to on our offense right now. I mean, I think he can fill his role next year, like no other. I’m really excited to watch that kid ball.”

It wasn’t just Morris who was impressed early on when Standard arrived. He reminded Young a lot of Bowick, who is playing what should be his fifth and final collegiate season now.

“Especially like over the summer, right when he got here,” Young said. “When he was fresh and fresh legs and no injuries and everything. I mean, he was (making) the one-handed catches. The, I mean, he’s 6-3 and can run 4.4 at least. I mean, he’s such an athletic guy to go for the jump balls, and he’s so lengthy. His arms are long as ever. He’s just a hard guy to defend. Honestly, he’s really twitchy too.”

Of course before anyone goes out and buys a No. 19 jersey (Standard’s number), this season has shown that Morris sometimes over-hypes these guys ahead of their season debuts.

He talked up tackle Braydon Nelson, who followed him from North Texas, a lot ahead of his return from an offseason injury last week. Nelson did see the field, but only for one series, playing five total snaps.

It sounds like Morris wants that to change, but perhaps he’s not sure how.

“I think he’ll (Nelson) continue to build his role around here,” Morris said on Tuesday. “I think any time you’re coming off a knee, and I think him just gaining confidence – I would have liked to play him maybe just a little bit more. … It’s so hard, right? When we’re playing really good up front, those guys, you know, you’re not taking somebody out because they’re doing bad. Like it’s just a hard situation. Braydon is a great player. He’s a smart player, and so I think as he gets more comfortable, these practices are going to be key for him to get more comfortable pushing off on that knee.”

Morris also expressed some concern for starting safety Mose Phillips after initially saying he will be okay in his postgame presser after the UCF win. Phillips was limited to 20 snaps against UCF on Saturday due to a shoulder injury.

“Mose, we’ll see this week how he develops, you know with the shoulder,” Morris said on Tuesday. “And so I don’t know on Mose yet.”