Spring Position Previews: Offensive Line Looking at Reload, Not Rebuild

We’ve already gone through all the flashy, talent-rich positions that make Oklahoma State’s offense look so exciting for this upcoming fall. But the play of this final group — and its ability to quickly replace two longtime starters — will go a long way toward deciding whether or not the 2020 Cowboys live up to their potential.

I’m talking about, of course, the oft-ignored big men in the trenches.

Starters

OSU said goodbye to right guard Marcus Keyes and center Johnny Wilson, who boasted 50 and 34 starts each, respectively. That’s no small loss. But the Cowboys aren’t without returning experience.

Back from 2019 will be a handful of linemen with starts under their belts.

Teven Jenkins (R. Sr.) — 28 starts
Dylan Galloway (R. Sr.) — 14 starts
Bryce Bray (R. So.) — 10 starts
Ry Schneider (R. Sr.)  — 6 starts
Hunter Anthony (R. So.) — 4 starts

The Cowboys also added West Virginia graduate transfer Josh Sills who started for two years at guard for the Mountaineers. He sat out in 2019 with a shoulder injury but he’s got the ability to step right in a contribute.

Who else?

The Cowboys have a bounty of up-and-coming talent on deck thanks in large part to the recruiting efforts of departed OL coach Josh Henson.

Several of them got their feet wet in 2019 including redshirt sophomores Hunter Woodward (seven games), Jacob Farrell (two games) and redshirt sophomore center Tyrese Williams (one game). The question is how quickly guys like that can progress from spot duty to being able to contribute.

There is talent there, ready to be molded but the key is Charlie Dickey. After 10 years of churning out consistently good offensive lines at Kansas State, he’s got a chance to show an improvement in Year 2 in Stillwater.

Number that Matters: Less than 26

The line gave up 26 sacks last season which ranks seventh in the league. It’s not an insane number when you look at some of the recent years in Stillwater, but you’d like to see some improvement if the Cowboys are going to live up to their ceiling. Think years like 2013, 2011 and 2010. OSU passers were sacked 14, 12, 10 times each in those years, respectively.

If you take away the Texas Tech game when the Red Raiders sacked Spencer Sanders seven times (we can’t regardless of how much I wish we could), that number looks a whole lot better.

We saw how much more limited the Cowboys offense was without the run dynamic Spencer Sanders and his dual-threat ability down the stretch. Protecting No. 3 is priority No. 1. But 1b. is paving the way for Chuba Hubbard’s second go at a Heisman season.

Fall Outlook

This is a retool, not a rebuild. And the Cowboys appear to, finally, have the depth in talent and leadership to do so without taking a big step back.