'A magician': Why Mike Gundy feels Spencer Sanders has mastered Oklahoma State offense
Scott WrightOklahoman
ARLINGTON, Texas — Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy offered up a new adjective to describe quarterback Spencer Sanders.
“He has now become a magician in our offense,” Gundy said from the stage on Wednesday at Big 12 Media Days at AT&T Stadium.
Magician.
Strong word, but not out of bounds for a guy who is entering his fourth year as the Cowboys’ starting QB.
It’s also a bit of ammo for Sanders’ vocal detractors, mostly from the social media realm — those who might believe Sanders disappears a little too often.
Like, for instance, the last time he was in this stadium, when he threw four interceptions in the 21-16 loss to Baylor in the Big 12 Championship Game.
Such is life with Sanders, whose inconsistencies early in his career made him a polarizing figure among Cowboy fans. Many support their quarterback. Others find it hard to live with the mistakes.
Sanders knows the haters are out there.
“There’s gonna be people that still hate me to this day because of that game,” Sanders said. “I carry the chip on my shoulder, I put a smile on my face. I wake up and call my mom every day, and I go to work.”
Sanders made strides in his level of consistency last year. He set career highs for passing yards (2,839), passing touchdowns (20) and rushing yards (668), plus a career low for missed games, sitting out only the opener because of COVID-19 protocols.
Prior to last season, he had never gone two consecutive games without a turnover, but did it three times. And he had just two turnovers during a six-game stretch from mid-October to late November when the Cowboys thrust themselves into the College Football Playoff race.
“Spencer has been fantastic for us,” Gundy said. “He knows (the offense). He can run it fast. He understands. The middle toward the end of last year he started to make really quality decisions in a short amount of time, which is very important in quarterback play in our opinion.”
Sanders had just three games with multiple interceptions, finishing with 20 touchdown passes and 12 total picks in 13 games. His completion percentage was 62.5% or better for each of the final eight games of the season, and a combined 67% (65-for-97) for 628 yards in the final two games.
But erratic moments like the Big 12 title game are the tent poles of his critics’ stance.
“The quarterback, they get the most scrutiny for whatever reason,” said junior receiver Brennan Presley, adding that one of the interceptions against Baylor was off a pass he couldn’t catch, tipping it into the air. “It’s a team game. Everybody messes up. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter. As a team, we lost.
“I don’t put it on one guy. It’s not nobody’s mistake. We win as a team, we lose as a team.”
Sanders’ overall talent and ability to take over a game make him a dangerous college quarterback. He showed it in the Fiesta Bowl win over Notre Dame, particularly in the second-half rally for the 37-35 victory.
Throwing a career-high 51 passes, he completed 34 for 371 yards and four touchdowns. He added another 125 yards on the ground, running the offense at an intense pace that kept Notre Dame off balance and out of breath.
Perhaps alluding to the “magician” qualities Gundy recognized, Sanders spoke about the desire and comfort he has in playing fast.
“I like playing with tempo,” Sanders said. “I like the defense on their heels. I like to keep them guessing. The more I can keep you guessing, you don’t know what to call, you don’t know what to say. The better I can keep you edgy, you gotta make quick play calls, because I can move the offense pretty fast.
“Playing with tempo definitely has an advantage. I hope we can play with a lot more tempo this season.”
Two qualities have shown in Sanders’ performance over the years: he seems to settle in better as a thrower when he’s running regularly, and he appears to operate the fast-paced elements of the offense more efficiently.
“I’ve been in this offense for four years, so I’m pretty comfortable with the playbook,” he said. “We can get in a formation and have a play ran in four seconds. It’s hard for a defensive coordinator to call plays on that. It creates holes. It creates things that we need.”
Another of Sanders’ qualities is his highly emotional playing style. Over his four years at OSU, he has improved each season at managing his emotions and channeling them toward the positive. Now, Gundy says, the coaches are just trying to make sure he’s having fun on the field.
“His competitive nature, his toughness allows him to be a really good player,” Gundy said. And we want him to relax and enjoy the season, have fun and go out and play good football.”
