Position Preview: OSU’s O-Line Looks Solid in Year 1 under Charlie Dickey

Oklahoma State’s offensive line enters it’s first year under new coach Charlie Dickey.

A lot of has been said of Dickey’s old-school approach to offensive line play, but there will also be a solid core of familiarity for the Cowboys up front to mesh with that. We’ll look at Dickey’s group next as part of our Position Preview series.

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The OL Room

Dickey has plenty of bodies to coach in his first season in Stillwater. That Cowboys have had back-to-back classes with solid groups of offensive linemen, and Dickey is well on his way to making it a third with his 2020 class.

Ry Schneider (R-Jr.): Ry Schneider was recently put on scholarship, but last season, he made his first career start as a walk-on in a big game. Schneider filled in at center for an injured Johnny Wilson in OSU’s 45-41 victory against No. 7 West Virginia. Schneider has played in 10 games to this point in his OSU career, and that number has a great chance of growing this season.

Jacob Farrell (R-Fr.): A part of a solid 2018 class of offensive linemen for OSU, Jacob Farrell redshirted last season, but the Sulphur native is an exciting prospect at 6-foot-6, 308 pounds. Farrell was the 55th-ranked tackle prospect in his class and chose OSU over offers from Texas Tech, TCU, Kansas, Utah State and Stephen F. Austin.

Truett Knox (R-Fr.): Out of Aledo High School in Fort Worth, Truett Knox is listed at 6-1, 300 pounds.

Walker Reed (R-Jr.): A walk-on from Norman North High School, Walker Reed is a special teams contributor who played in 10 games last season. At 6-6, 341 pounds, Reed is the heaviest player on OSU’s roster.

Layton Ernst (Fr.): A walk-on from Mansfield (Texas), Layton Ernst is listed at 6-1, 270 pounds.

Tyrese Williams (R-Fr.): Another member of OSU’s 2018 recruiting class, Tyrese Williams played in the Cowboys’ season opener against Missouri State last season before redshirting. Williams came to OSU as the 13th-ranked center of the 2018 class, choosing OSU over offers from Cal, Georgia Tech, Houston, UCF, Utah and others.

Jake Springfield (Fr.): Jake Springfield is a walk-on from Flower Mound (Texas). He is listed at 6-5, 316 pounds.

Matt McClurg (R-So.): A 6-5, 311-pound walk-on out of Littleton, Colorado, Matt McClurg played against Missouri State last season.

Joe Michalski (Fr.): Joe Michalski was Kansas’ 10th-ranked prospect in the 2018 class. He chose OSU over offers from Texas State, Wyoming, Dartmouth, Cornell, Yale and North Dakota.

Cole Birmingham (Fr.): Another member of OSU’s 2019 recruiting class, Cole Birmingham was the 46th-ranked tackle prospect in last year’s class. He was teammates with Deondrick Glass at Katy High School (Texas) and chose OSU over offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, Ole Miss, UCLA, Texas Tech, Mississippi State, Purdue and many more.

Taylor Miterko (Fr.): Another tackle prospect and another member of OSU’s 2019 class, Taylor Miterko was New Mexico’s top-ranked recruit. He chose Oklahoma State over offers from Oregon, Notre Dame, Washington, Nebraska, Virginia, TCU and many others.

Hunter Woodard (R-Fr.): Back to the 2018 class, Hunter Woodard redshirted last season. He came to OSU, turning down offers from Penn State, Notre Dame, Arkansas and others.

Johnny Wilson (R-Sr.): Johnny Wilson started in all but one game at center last season, after breaking into the starting lineup as a sophomore in 2017. Entering his fifth year with the Cowboys, Wilson is one of the team’s leaders.

Teven Jenkins (R-Jr.): Teven Jenkins probably has the most pro-potential of anybody on OSU’s offensive line. Jenkins started every game last season for OSU, jumping between right and left tackle. He’ll likely start on the right side this season. He was an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention last season.

Preston Wilson (Fr.): Preston Wilson was the 13th-ranked center in the 2019 class. Out of Argyle High School, Wilson picked OSU over offers from Arizona State, Texas Tech, Northwestern, Baylor, Kansas, Houston and others.

Marcus Keyes (R-Sr.): Marcus Keyes has started 37 games as a Cowboy (13 in 2016, 13 in 2017 and 11 in 2018). Another team leader, Keyes will be the team’s starting left guard for the fourth straight season.

Dylan Galloway (R-Jr.): Dylan Galloway is locked in the one position battle on OSU’s offensive line entering the season at left tackle. He started OSU’s final five games in the spot as a sophomore last season after getting in every game but one in 2017 as a redshirt freshman, primarily via special teams.

Hunter Anthony (R-Fr.): A three-star prospect out of Tuttle, Hunter Anthony redshirted in 2018, but his 6-7, 330-pound frame is exciting for OSU’s future. He chose OSU over offers from Kansas and Iowa State.

Bryce Bray (R-Fr.): The other part to the position battle at left tackle, Bryce Bray played in the Baylor game as a true freshman before redshirting. Out of Bixby, Bray was the highest-rated lineman in OSU’s 2018 class, turning down offers from Oklahoma, Iowa State, Nevada, Tulsa and Arkansas State.

Matt Kegel (R-Jr.): Matt Kegel played in 12 games in 2018, primarily getting special teams work. He is listed at 6-5, 307 pounds.

2019 Expectations

On paper, OSU’s offensive line looks solid heading into the season.

RT: Jenkins
RG: Schneider
C: Wilson
LG: Keyes
LT: Bray/Galloway

If I had to guess right now, I’d say Bray starts at left tackle over Galloway. That would make Bray the only inexperienced starter on the O-line, but one that beat out an experienced guy.

On the surface, everything about this offense seems locked and loaded for Dru Brown or Spencer Sanders to take the reigns.

Position Strengths

Anytime a team’s offensive line returns five players who have started a game, that’s a good thing.

Wilson, Keyes and Jenkins in particular are some of the most notable returners on the entire team. The group also has a lot of promising young players, established with solid recruiting on the line the past few years.

Position Weaknesses

As you can tell by the huge list of names above, OSU isn’t lacking depth up front. However, it’s depth is lacking experience.

Apart from the group’s starters, there aren’t a ton of guys who have played many meaningful snaps of college football.

So in a weird way, the group’s strengths are depth and experience, while it’s weakness is its depth’s experience. Make sense?