Three Questions for Oklahoma State’s Wide Receiver Room Entering the 2024 Season

Perhaps no position in the Mike Gundy era of Oklahoma State football has been more consistent than the Cowboys’ receiving corps.

The Cowboys have won three Biletnikoffs since 2010, and that doesn’t even include greats like Dez Bryant, Tylan Wallace, Josh Stewart and others that have donned the orange and black over Gundy’s tenure. We’ll continue our three questions series for the 2024 season with a look at the Cowboys’ pass catchers. Need to catch up? Here are three Qs for OSU’s quarterback room and running back room.

1. Can Stribling Pick Up Where He Left Off?

In the midst of the chaos that was OSU’s three-quarterback rotation, De’Zhaun Stribling was one of a few bright spots through the Cowboys’ early offensive struggles. But then a wrist injury meant he played just the Cowboys’ first four games.

A transfer from Washington State, Stribling led the Cowboys in receiving in three of the four games he played in, totaling 14 catches for 198 yards and a touchdown in the first four weeks of OSU’s season. The only game he didn’t have a major impact was the Cowboys’ 33-7 loss to South Alabama, where he didn’t have a catch.

But he looked the part of a featured receiver both in size (listed at 6-foot-2, 200 pounds) and ability before injuring his wrist. If he can replicate that for a longer period of time in 2024 to go with the always-dynamic Brennan Presley and Rashod Owens, who broke through in Stribling’s absence, this ought to be one fun group of starters.

2. Can Presley Get His 1,000-Yard Season?

Brennan Presley did something last season that hasn’t been done at Oklahoma State since 2012: catch 100 passes.

But Presley narrowly missed out on becoming the 11th different player in program history to have 1,000 receiving yards in a season — finishing with 991 yards. The last Cowboy to have 100 catches and 1,000 yards in a season was Josh Stewart in 2012.

Presley has been one of the best slot receivers in program history. In four seasons, he’s caught 225 passes for 2,548 yards and 16 touchdowns. He’s ran for another 104 yards and five touchdowns. He’s got 1,456 combined return yards and one of the biggest kick return touchdowns in program history (see below). Heck, he has 43 career passing yards. It would put a nice bow on his electric career to become the shortest player in program history to reach that 1,00-yard receiving mark.

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📺 ABC#LetsRide I @bprezzle pic.twitter.com/B4EtPtW77P

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) November 28, 2021

3. Who Breaks Through?

Kasey Dunn keeps his cupboard full, so though OSU’s receiving depth may be a bit of a question mark to this point, there’s plenty of reason to believe it is there.

But the Cowboys haven’t gone through a season even mostly healthy at receiver seemingly in a long while.

Back in 2021, injuries to Braydon Johnson and Langston Anderson forced that class of John Paul Richardson, Jaden Bray and the Green twins to grow up quickly. Last season, injuries to Stribling, Bray and Talyn Shettron forced Leon Johnson III to burn his redshirt (and college eligibility) and Owens to step into a featured role. Ideally, Presley, Stribling, Owens and Shettron would all stay healthy, and that group gets the majority of the catches. But if that doesn’t happen, a new face will have to step up.

The Cowboys did some work in the portal this offseason to build depth — first getting Da’Wain Lofton from Virginia Tech before adding OU transfer Gavin Freeman. Both of those guys were listed under 6-feet tall last season. Outside of the transfers, the Cowboys had a big haul of freshman receivers last year in Jalen Pope, Camron Heard and Tykie Andrews. 2021 Boise State hero Cale Cabbiness is still on the roster, as well. I also really like incoming freshman Tre Griffiths.

With how well Dunn recruits, at least one of those guys is bound to be plenty capable. But where that depth comes from in 2024 will be of interest.