OSU wants another shot at Big 12 title game. Here's how the Cowboys can do it
Jenni CarlsonOklahoman
ARLINGTON, Texas – Brock Martin was back on the sideline at JerryWorld on Wednesday.
It was the one opposite what Oklahoma State used during the Big 12 Championship Game last December, but Martin clearly remembered his view from that day. After the final seconds ticked away, he grabbed a chair from the bench area, pulled it nearly onto the field, then watched as Baylor players and coaches celebrated their league title.
“I just don’t think I wanted it to be over,” Martin said Wednesday during Big 12 Football Media Days. “It was just kind of one of those moments – I just couldn’t believe that it happened.”
The Cowboys had come less than two inches short of winning the Big 12 and maybe, just maybe, going to the College Football Playoff.
That left Martin and his teammates lingering on the field.
“Just kind of wanted the moment to last a little longer,” he said. “Maybe just wanted another chance at it type of deal.”
Thing is, Martin and the Cowboys still want another chance.
During the first of two media days, OSU’s representatives made it clear they have every intention of returning to the Big 12 Championship Game. Such goals aren’t far fetched, not with a fourth-year starter at quarterback and a stable of young, dynamic offensive playmakers. But if OSU is back at JerryWorld next December, it will be because of the defense.
The Cowboys will only rise to that level if the defense takes them there.
Now, don’t misunderstand ― this isn’t a knock on the offense. I’m not suggesting the defense has to carry the offense.
Rather, the Cowboys’ fortunes lie with defense because of how many questions there are on that side of the ball.
Gone is defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, the mad scientist who cooked up an OSU defense for the ages but now coaches the defense at the other OSU.
Gone are Malcolm Rodriguez and Devin Harper, a pair of linebacker extraordinaires who are now cashing NFL paychecks, as well as Kolby Harvell-Peel and Tre Sterling, secondary standouts who are trying to make their way in pro ball.
Gone, too, are Jarrick Bernard-Converse and Tanner McCalister, who would’ve filled half the spots in the defensive backfield had they not transferred to LSU and Ohio State.
All of those departures leave gaping holes.
But if that worries the Cowboys, they aren’t letting on.
“Oh, I feel comfortable with the guys we have,” defensive end Tyler Lacy said. “If they haven’t got that much experience, they’ve been sitting down watching Malcolm and Devin and seeing how they come to work.
“I feel like those guys are bringing that same energy in to work every single day.”
Time will tell, of course, if Jabbar Muhammad and Korie Black will excel in bigger roles in the secondary. And if Xavier Benson and Mason Cobb will make game-changing plays at linebacker. And if Derek Mason will build on excellence that Knowles established..
But at the very least, Cowboy coach Mike Gundy has taken one step he hopes will boost the defense’s chances. He decided to approach the change of defensive coordinator the same way he’s approached offensive coordinator changes over the past decade.
Bring in a coordinator who learns OSU’s system instead of teaching the Cowboys his.
It has been the way Gundy has handled the offense since 2013 when he hired his third coordinator in four years. He decided it was easier for the players ― and the program ― if the new coach didn’t the adapting instead of the other way around.
But when Knowles came in four years ago, he was allowed to bring in his defense. Frankly, the Cowboys needed a new scheme, but after the success of the last two-plus seasons, Gundy decided he wanted to keep the basics of the defense even after Knowles left.
Same scheme. Same terminology.
Gundy knew that decision wasn’t without potential consequences.
“I was concerned because that takes the pool of candidates down quite a bit,” he said. “Let’s just call it like it is – in this profession, guys have too big an ego. They don’t want to come in and do what you do. They want to come in and do what they do.”
But Gundy identified a few candidates who were willing to adapt to OSU, including Mason.
“Derek has been a head coach and a coordinator,” Gundy said. “He doesn’t have an ego. He’s good with it.”
Players say the transition from Knowles to Mason has been smooth.
“Coverages might be different in some certain situations,” Martin said. “But there’s no really major changes.”
The thing the Cowboys have to hope changes the least is their defensive success. It’s hard to believe they will be as good as they were a year ago. How do you replace Rodriguez, only the fourth player in OSU history with 400 or more tackles in his career? Or Bernard-Converse, who started 47 games during his Cowboy career?
Maybe you fill those gaps over time, but right away?
That will be tough.
Still, if this OSU defense can find a level close to where it was a year ago, the Cowboys will have a chance to return to Arlington, to play again in the Big 12 Championship Game, to try and author a different ending.
That’s what Brock Martin has in mind. That was evident Wednesday afternoon as he sat talking to reporters. Along with his bright orange OSU polo, he sported jeans and cowboy boots. All the Cowboy players at media days did, which was Martin’s idea.
But he took it a step further ― he also wore a cowboy hat.
Never took it off, either. No breaking character.
Clearly, he’s ready to ride.
If the Cowboy defense is ready, too, don’t be surprised if OSU is back at JerryWorld again in December.
