Oklahoma State Runs Three Deep in 2016 for the First Time in a While

Oklahoma State scrimmaged for the first time in fall camp over the weekend. Afterwards, Mike Gundy commented on something we sort of thought would be true coming into August but weren’t positive of.

“We worked our young kids, which would be the true freshmen,” said Gundy. “They got 32 [of 116] plays, which is awesome. We’re back into a system to where we have enough threes in the program to get quality work. We haven’t been able to do that the last two years. I’m excited about that.”

This is what happens when you roll as deep on both sides of the ball as OSU does. The surprising part I suppose is how many freshmen could legitimately contribute to a team that should probably contend for the Big 12 title. Kyle B. wrote about a few of those here. Gundy went a little more in-depth on where he sees OSU going three deep or more.

“I think that we’re about where I thought we would be running the ball,” said Gundy. “I like that we’ve got as many defensive tackles that we feel like can play in a game. We knew we had the bodies, but you’re just never sure if they can actually factor in. Without watching the tape, it looks like we’re going to have six guys at the two spots that can factor in, which is going to be good for us. I obviously didn’t know that we were going to have two freshmen that may factor in as receivers, but you never know that.

I like our freshmen running back group. I like Justice (Hill), I like LD (Brown)…”

As several folks have pointed out, this has been a good August so far (fingers crossed). Minimal injuries, more mental preparation than in the past (compared to physical) and the creation of a strong depth chart. What else could you ask for?

“Coaches have big egos, and players are the same way,” said Gundy. “They want to win the scrimmage, but that isn’t what our goal is. My goal is for them to get better, to remember that we need to…protect each other but play hard. I don’t really care about what happens out here, other than be sound, get lined up, function, the clock isn’t a factor, take care of the football. All of that is important to me, and I think the players understand what their role is at this point in the season.”

On to the start of school on Monday with the season just 19 days away.