Taylor Cornelius Enters Season as Starter at QB; Brown, Sanders Viable Backups

As we put a bow on our summer position previews — and finally the offseason — we end with the most impactful player on the field.

Total QBs: 6
Incoming in 2018: Spencer Sanders, Dru Brown (Grad Transfer), Shaun Taylor
Projected starter: Taylor Cornelius
Projected backups: Dru Brown or Spencer Sanders

Player I’m most excited about: Spencer Sanders. It doesn’t take much to get excited about the prospects of a Sanders-run Oklahoma State offense, even if the buzz has been damped down by Gundy’s relegating him to QB3, or T-QB2 as he’s list on the depth chart.

No, that doesn’t keep me from getting hyped about the future led by Mr. Texas Football, with remaining weapons around him and an improving OL in front of him next year, or sooner. If you’re not quite there yet, here’s some fuel.

Player who has the opportunity to surprise: Dru Brown. Now that I’m done gushing about someone who’s a couple months removed from prom, we have Taylor Cornelius’ backup.

While the Oil Baron has the edge when it comes to experience at OSU and in Mike Yurcich’s system, Brown comes in riding 22-straight DI starts. The other five QBs in the meeting room have a combined zero.

Brown put up decent numbers for a bottom-rung Mountain West team. He took the reins of a 1-3 Rainbow Warriors squad in 2016 and finished 6-4, leading Hawaii to its first bowl game in six years. But in 2017, he went 3-9 as a starter.

What could he do at the helm of a high-powered OSU attack surrounded by young playmakers galore? That’s the million dollar question.

What concerns me about this group: How well can this conglomeration of talent and depth replace one of OSU’s all-time quarterbacks? Plenty in the fanbase soured on Mason Rudolph at one point or another over the last four years. You can nitpick about sailed passes or Bedlam snafus but the reason he drew such ire is because OSU fans expected to win and win big.

Can one of these guys instill that type of confidence or swagger in this program? In August the three-deep at depth chart might read in reverse as far as swag and sex appeal are concerned. But if Cornelius or Brown — or Keondre Wudtee — can captain a fouth quarter comeback, then all things are a go.

Strengths/weaknesses of this group: There seems to be plenty of talent and options behind center for OSU this year. I guess I would say there is strength in numbers. That’s okay to say right now, still hours inside the offseason. As far as weaknesses go, we’ll have to get back to you on that one. As Mike Gundy would say, we’ll know a lot more in a month.