OSU Football: Three Breakout Candidates for the 2018 Season

Every year, regardless of the particular sport or team, a handful of players go from occasional contributors to significant playmakers. Sometimes they were held back because of an injury or too much depth at their position. In football, sometimes younger players need a year to get their body right before transitioning from high school competition to Big 12 football.

Oklahoma State’s 2017 team featured a bunch of breakout players, from J.D. King to A.J. Green to Calvin Bundage, but who will break out for Mike Gundy in 2018? Here’s a look at three candidates to have their best career season this fall.

* To qualify as a breakout candidate, a player must not have led his team in any statistical category or started in 10 or more games last season

Thabo Mwaniki, Safety

This seems like an obvious choice, considering the Cowboys are losing safeties Tre Flowers and Ramon Richards, and Mwaniki was the most consistent contributor in the secondary among freshmen last season. Gundy spoke highly of Malcolm Rodriguez this spring, but Mwaniki, along with Kenneth Edison-McGruder, seems like a lock to start at safety this season. Mwaniki earned a couple of starts in 2017, but more starts = more time on the field = more opportunities to make plays. I’m excited to see what he’s able to do in his sophomore season.

Kevin Henry, Linebacker

Although Kevin Henry appeared in all 13 games in 2016, he didn’t quite get the chance to show his stuff, as he played sparingly and finished the season with just 18 tackles. He was slated to become a more consistent contributor and perhaps have his breakout season in 2017, but an injury derailed those hopes, which was unfortunate given his six-tackle performance against Tulsa to open the season. His role in Jim Knowles’ new 4-2-5 defense remains to be seen, but a healthy, hungry Henry could be an X-Factor as a member of OSU’s linebacking corp.

Chuba Hubbard, Running Back

This might be a bit of a reach, but hear me out. There are plenty of mouths to feed in the Cowboys’ backfield, and Hubbard is fourth on that list in terms of seniority. But he looked amazing in the spring game; I wouldn’t be surprised if he inches his way up the depth chart as the season moves along. Gundy said he wants Justice Hill receiving only 15 carries per game this season, and with uncertainty at quarterback, the Cowboys could instill a lot more rushing into their offense than they have in the past couple of seasons. Hubbard isn’t a one-trick pony. Yes, he’s known for his speed, but he isn’t small and physically looks capable of shouldering a heavy load even though he might not be asked to. His upside is about as high as any running back on the roster, so once he gets a shot, look out.