OSU Is Building Depth, Collecting Big Talent at Cornerback

Oklahoma State has 11 cornerbacks on its roster with but CB coach Tim Duffie hopes to get back to that place where they had depth.

“I think the year we had Mike Hunter we were really, really deep,” said Duffie of the 2015 season when he had experienced starters like Kevin Peterson, Ashton Lampkin and Ramon Richards.

“The year before that we had [Tyler] Patmon and Lampkin and Peterson and we have a lot of guys. I think we’re getting back to that. We’ve got some guys that have got to prove themselves. That’s the goal, to get it back to where it was, to where we can really roll some guys in to keep them fresh. Last year we weren’t fortunate enough to do that.”

In 2017 the Cowboys returned zero starts to the cornerback position and rolled out sophomore A.J. Green and redshirt freshman Rodarius Williams. Both started all 13 games and were relied on heavily. And, as one could imagine, the two took the lumps along the way.

But a baptism by fire is what you expect when breaking in new cover men in the Big 12. This young duo cut their teeth on three of the top 15 passing offenses in the country and five of the top 30.

“You gotta really take into consideration our offense, man, it makes it hard. So sometimes you’re good and sometimes you’re bad,” said Duffie. “And in the Big 12, with the tempo and each and every week it’s a challenge to play that position.

“I think that says a lot about the two kids, just being resilient and battling back. Obviously, there were some ups and downs last season, but they did some good things too, some really good things.

“I don’t think you win 10 games with them just playing bad every single play or snap so that’s what we try to harp on with the group and I think they have come to themselves and said we want to really be a strength of the team.”

Entering fall camp this week, both Green and Williams are now the seasoned vets. Only two other CBs have seen any reps at all in orange, Bryce Balous and Bryce Brown. The priority for Duffie is now building depth behind his two starters and he’s done so with plenty of length and athleticism.

Of the seven newcomers at corner, five stand at least 6-1 and all are rangy and athletic. One of them is redshirt sophomore Tyrell Alexander, the receiver-turned-corner who was the No. 27 athlete in the 2016 class and held offers from the likes of Oregon, Tennessee, Arkansas and over half of the Big 12.

He was buried beneath a mountain of receiver depth and talent as a freshman last year but now could be to be an early contributor at corner.

And his incoming class of JayVeon Cardwell, Tanner McCalister and Gabe Lemons provides a mix of talent that we may see both this year and in the future. All three of the above-mentioned length, which Duffie emphasized. He says he’s excited to get into camp and “play with these new toys.”