How will Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State football manage receiver depth with mounting injuries?
Scott WrightThe Oklahoman
STILLWATER — Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy doesn’t like talking about injuries for the same reason as most college coaches.
He wants to protect his players and limit the information available to his opponent — in this case, Cincinnati, which comes to Boone Pickens Stadium for homecoming at 7 p.m. Saturday, televised by ESPN2.
So it didn’t seem out of the ordinary on Monday when Gundy breezed past a question during his weekly press conference regarding the injury Talyn Shettron suffered at West Virginia last Saturday.
The redshirt freshman receiver absorbed a full-speed hit from a West Virginia defender along the sideline in pursuit of a pass from quarterback Alan Bowman. Shettron didn’t return to the game, and Gundy was vague in addressing Shettron’s availability this week.
So that leaves some uncertainty at the receiver position, where OSU has already lost one of its key playmakers. Junior De’Zhaun Stribling suffered a season-ending hand injury prior to the fifth game of the season.
Shettron was viewed as a potential replacement for Stribling, though he had seen limited action prior to Saturday when he was on the field for 21 snaps. He was targeted six times, catching three passes for 36 yards. But now, his status is uncertain, and the Cowboys’ depth at outside receiver is shaky.
Here’s a look at how some Cowboys are impacted by the changing depth chart at outside receiver:
Leon Johnson
Redshirt sophomore Jaden Bray
The Norman native is a dynamic athlete who is showing himself capable of being a focal figure in the outside passing game. His 349 yards lead the team, and because of his athletic skills, he has shown he can be dangerous running with the ball after short throws, or chasing down long ones.Senior Brennan Presley
With the added use of the tight end, Presley has dominated the snap count at inside receiver, and he leads the team with 36 catches and four touchdowns. He isn’t being used as a downfield threat all that often, but is productive when he gets the ball. But he benefits from a meaningful threat on the outside to give him extra space to work in the middle of the field.Redshirt junior Rashod Owens
When Stribling went down, Owens got the call to step into the starting lineup and he’s been reliable, turning in the two best games of his career over the last three weeks. In that span, he has 227 yards on 20 catches. He has played an average of 61.3 snaps per game in the last three, and he’ll continue to be given a similar workload.
