Spring Position Preview: Safety Could be Oklahoma State’s Brightest Spot

Spring football may be over, but that doesn’t mean we can’t talk about the future. With games still slated to start in August in the wake of COVID-19, we need to discuss the stalwart position of an Oklahoma State defense that could prove to be excellent bordering on elite in the upcoming Big 12 season.

Let’s take a look at OSU’s safety position as it stands right now.

Returning Starters

It feels like OSU has more starters coming back than just Tre Sterling and his baby blue pacifier (mouthpiece) and Kolby Harvell-Peel. However, Jarrick Bernard moved to cornerback, which to me is a great sign. When you’re moving starters to fill in different positions it’s usually because you’re completely loaded up behind the guys you have.

Sterling had an underrated 2019 but only because he was overshadowed by KHP’s first-team All-Big 12 selection (the only OSU defensive player to make the team, by the way). Combined, the pair had 141 tackles, 11 TFL, 2.5 sacks, six INTs, 21 PBU and two fumble recoveries. They were as good or better than the Amen Ogbongbemiga-Malcolm Rodriguez duo ahead of them on the field at linebacker.

Who Else?

With Bernard’s move to corner, you get Tanner McCalister, Jason Taylor II, Kanion Williams and Sean Michael Flanagan behind these two with Taylor the most likely to slot in as a starter. Both he and McCalister played in all 13 games while Williams and Flanagan played in 9 and 10 games, respectively.

Taylor had eight tackles in the Texas Bowl against Texas A&M as well as a TFL. He stood out on a field with plenty of speed and against an offense, while not the most competent, that could run when it wanted to.

Number That Matters: 12

After a 2018 season that saw OSU intercept just five (!) passes over 14 games, the Pokes returned to their usual ways with 12 in 2019 (six of which fell into the hands of KHP). Here’s a look at interceptions by year since 2009.

2019: 12
2018: 5
2017: 17
2016: 14
2015: 17
2014: 12
2013: 21
2012: 11
2011: 24
2010: 19
2009: 18

So 12 was still the third-lowest in the last decade-plus. If they’re able to bump that by five or six into the normal OSU range of 17 or 18 in the often-pass-happy Big 12, a really good defense gets even more destructive in what could be a championship-winning season.

Outlook: 2013 Lite?

The best secondary in school history (?) may have come in 2013 when OSU rolled out Justin Gilbert, Kevin Peterson, Shamiel Gary and Daytawion Lowe at the four defensive back positions. I don’t know if this defense challenges that one — they had two pros at corner — but I think it could be a facsimile of it.

The experience OSU has at all of its defensive positions will be vital to its success in 2020, and that’s certainly true at safety where Sterling and KHP (also a pro) will lock down a mega-talented and now quite seasoned group. Turnovers can be fickle, and luck always plays a role, but if OSU gets another All-American-like season from 31 and a few bounces go its way in the TO dept., this formidable group could provide the final (best) line of defense in a side littered with great ones all over the field.