Three Things Tylan Wallace Said ahead of OSU’s Season Opener

Tylan Wallace is just a few days out from his return to college football.

After missing the final five games of Oklahoma State’s 2019 season, Wallace is one of the headliners on what is supposed to be a better than normal Cowboy team. He met with reporters Tuesday ahead of OSU’s season-opening game against Tulsa. Here are three things he touched on.

1. Knocking off the rust (and the brace)

All systems are a go for OSU’s leading receiver the past two seasons.

As a sophomore and junior, Wallace has caught a combined 139 passes for 2,394 yards and 20 touchdowns, but things have been a little different this offseason with Wallace coming off an ACL tear that cut his 2019 short. Wallace has had to recondition himself for live action.

“Having me out there getting used to running routes and everything, especially without the brace, it’s definitely a knocking off the rust period for me,” Wallace said. “But I feel like I’m kinda back where I was, back where I used to be. So, I’m ready and ready to go play.”

Wallace started OSU’s fall camp in a green jersey, similar to the ones OSU’s quarterbacks wear, so defenders know to avoid contact with him. That and the brace on his knee have come off, and the “old” Tylan is back.”

“I think I probably had the green jersey on maybe for a few weeks, couple weeks,” Wallace said. “I had it for a while. They realized we were getting close to game day and that it’s gonna have to come off eventually, that’s what Coach [Kasey] Dunn was telling me. I agreed with him. I was like, ‘Yeah, it’s gonna have to come off. I gotta be able to go in there, get used to contact.’ So it came off. I took the brace off, got into some contact stuff, started running routes without it, and I feel perfectly fine. I feel kind of like the old me now. I feel like I’m going out there and just playing football like I used to.”

2. More praise for Brennan Presley

As a former Biletnikoff finalist, Wallace’s opinions on players in his position group carry a lot of weight.

Reigning Oklahoma Gatorade Player of the Year Brennan Presley has received high praise from everyone who has spoke about him this fall camp. Presley was just one of two true freshmen (along with Shane Illingworth) on OSU’s two-deep. Wallace joined in on the Presley hype train Tuesday evening.

“Brennan’s a real special guy,” Wallace said. “Honestly, he reminds me a lot of me when I was a freshman but even better. He catches onto the plays a lot faster than I did when I was a freshman. He’s out there making plays every day in practice. He looks like a guy that’s kinda been here for a little bit already. He’s gonna be a real special guy.”

The position group is deep, but it was deep when Wallace was a freshman. On a team with James Washington, Marcell Ateman, Chris Lacy and Tyron Johnson, Wallace caught seven balls for 118 yards. He was also No. 80 that year. Presley enters his freshman year as No. 80.

3. Sanders more mature in sophomore season

Spencer Sanders showed a lot of promise in his redshirt freshman season, but he also showed at times that he was, in fact, a freshman.

It’s been well hypothesized that a lot of how this season goes for OSU will depend on how big a step Sanders can take in his second season with the reins. Wallace seems high on second-year Sanders.

“You can just tell he’s matured so much from last year,” Wallace said. “He’s kinda getting in there, stepping up, being even more of a vocal leader than he was last year. He’s getting guys going. He’s doing the right things he needs to be when it comes to QB play, making the right reads, staying in the pocket. I just feel like he’s really matured a whole lot from last year.”