OSU Football Fall Practice Report: Justice Hill Back at 100 Percent

Oklahoma State kicked off its first practice of fall training camp on Sunday evening in a no-pad practice at the Sherman E. Smith training center approximately seven hours after players reported for camp. According to OSU, there were no players who weren’t accounted for — (sans for the late scratch of Fua Leilua) — and the workout lasted a full two hours.

Here’s a few notables from practice number one.

Justice Hill is back at full strength

We know Hill, a freshman All-American in 2016, was slated to be RB1 this season. But his health and offseason shoulder surgery put that into some question. Hill addressed his health on Sunday, saying he’s ready to roll for the season.

“I got set back a little bit with the surgery, but I came back late in April and went hard all summer. So now, I’m back, definitely 100 percent, but I’ve been surpassing my numbers from last year.”

Hill didn’t name names when discussing the backup running back race, but praised the group’s effort in working together.

“We’re all clicking together,” he said. “Everybody is helping each other out, just like last year when I was a freshman and LD was a freshman. We’re all clicking and working out every day.”

Here's a look at some of #OKState's first football practice of the season. pic.twitter.com/oy9nCAedD3

— Nate Feken (@TheGreat_Nate) July 31, 2017

Gundy eager to get the backup QB competition out of the way

Many times OSU has had their guy at backup (or at least a semblance of an idea) going into fall camp. But that’s not the case this time around, with Jelani Woods, Keondre Wudtee, Taylor Cornelius and John Kolar all vying for the spot. Gundy says he wants to get the competition over and done with to prepare for the 2017 season.

“You would like to do it within two weeks, but I don’t have think a timetable really fits in this criteria because it has to be the right guy,” Gundy said. “They’re all going to get a lot of reps like you saw today. Each of them will get a lot of work and somebody is going to have to go out and make some plays because once we get into the final 10 practices before the game there is not enough reps to share at that position.”

OSU will take part in 22 practices before the start of the season, so naming a backup could be done by mid-August — if not earlier.

Tyron Johnson speaks

After a full season of sitting on the sidelines and watching from a distance, LSU transfer Tyron Johnson spoke to the media Sunday after months of receiving buzz for his talents.

“It’s very exciting,” Johnson said. “All last year I had to sit out and watch these guys play, and now I get to be a part of it.”

Johnson admits that sitting out stunk, but he was able to take advantage of his time out by learning the offense.

“I learned the offense is fast-paced. I learned I would have to get better positioning to be a part of this offense, so in the spring and summer I had to attack it and take it seriously so I can keep up with these guys in the regular season.”

The boys are back. #okstate #GoPokes pic.twitter.com/OjDqmbjEvd

— Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) July 31, 2017