Patrick McKaufman Expected to Have a ‘Big Role’ This Season for OSU

One of the big storylines coming out of fall camp last year for Oklahoma State was the emergence of — and then unfortunate injury to — Cowboy wide receiver Patrick McKaufman.

After making the switch from quarterback in high school to receiver in his first year of college ball at NEO, McKaufman transferred to Oklahoma State and took a redshirt in 2017. Then going into 2018, it was presumed he would help fill the unmeasurable void left when James Washington turned pro.

It never happened as one of the feel-good stories of fall camp turned into one of the frustrating narratives in a season filled with them. His leg rehab has progressed nicely, though, and wide receivers coach Kasey Dunn said on Monday that McKaufman recently went knee brace-free after a year of being hampered by the thing.

“Pat’s doing really well,” said Dunn. “He took off the knee brace. He’s been running this summer without a knee brace on. That’s made a big difference for him. He’s not a blazer. His dominant trait is that he’s 6’6″ and great ball skills. As long as he gets down the field in somewhat of a timely manner, he’s going to have a chance.”

A full year has passed, but nothing has changed regarding what Oklahoma State expects of No. 85. An always-loaded receiving group has 19’4″ worth of receivers to plug into the X receiver position between the 6’6″ McKaufman, 6’5″ C.J. Moore and 6’5″ South Alabama transfer, Jordan McCray.

Dunn said they’ll all play, and insinuated that any of them could emerge as a top-three receiver for another explosive Oklahoma State offense.

“[McKaufman is] going to have a big role for what we do as long as he stays healthy,” said Dunn. “He’s a good player, but there are other good players there, too, in C.J. Moore and Jordan McCray. The nice thing is we have competition at that spot. I’m excited to see what comes out of that X position. I have no idea what’s going to happen right now … ”

The most wonderful time of the year!

The interesting part about McKaufman is that he’s a 21-year-old fourth-year unknown. Because he switched positions, because he redshirted, because he got hurt … we’ve actually never seen him with — as Gundy might say — the lights turned on at this level. Regardless, somebody at that spot is going to have to step up and perform as Dunn wants a safety valve for whoever the QB ends up being. A tall, easy target Spencer Sanders or Dru Brown can rely on when everything falls apart.

That somebody could be McKaufman, just as it could have been last season. Right now he has something he hasn’t had in 12 months, something everyone heading into fall camp has: Hope. For a successful season and a better future than what he recently experienced.

“He’s going to be a better player come August, no doubt,” said Dunn. “He’s going to look like what we saw last August.”