OSU spring football preview: Todd Grantham tasked with revamping struggling defense
- Mar 20, 2025 Updated 8 hrs ago
Tyler Waldrep
OSU Sports WriterSTILLWATER — From a scoring standpoint, last year couldn’t have been worse.
The offense averaged 27.17 points per game. The last Cowboy offense to finish worse came in 2005, when Gundy’s first offense averaged 20.18 points per game.
So, it’s no surprise that the quarterback competition this offseason will receive a lot of attention from fans and media.
However, Oklahoma State’s 2024 defense gave up 35.58 points per game, the worst mark in program history. That number might have been even worse if not for a Cowboy secondary that intercepted passes at a higher rate than any OSU defense since 2017.
That was one of the only bright spots for Oklahoma State’s defense. After pulling data since 2018, the 2024 defense also ranked last in third-down percentage, giving up a first down 46% of the time while also giving up a program-record 6.8 yards per play.
Longtime power conference defensive coordinator Todd Grantham has arrived to salvage the Cowboy defense.
From 2010-21, he coordinated defenses at Georgia, Louisville, Mississippi State and Florida. Since Florida dismissed him late in the 2021 season, Grantham worked as a defensive analyst for Nick Saban in 2022 and as the New Orleans Saints defensive line coach in 2023 and 2024.
In his last nine years as a defensive coordinator, Grantham’s units averagely placed 40th or better in points per game, yards per play, yards per carry, sacks, tackles for loss and third down conversions.
Points per game was his worst category in the bunch, averaging out to finish 40th, giving up 23.6 points per game. Oklahoma State gave up more points than that in every Big 12 game last season except the conference opener against Utah, when two interceptions helped the Cowboys hold the Utes to 22 points.
Grantham’s last nine defenses also ranked 36th-38th on average in the other highlighted categories except for sacks, which averaged out to a 21st overall finish with 2.89 sacks per game.
To make things simple, here’s the No. 40 defense in each stat from 2024 side-by-side with OSU’s real 2024 numbers:
- Points per game: 22.9; 35.58
- Yards per play: 5.24; 6.8
- Yards per carry: 3.8; 5.4
- Sacks per game: 2.46; 2.08
- Tackles for loss per game: 6.2
- Third down conversion: 36.2%; 45.93
Grantham’s 2020 season at Florida was his rock bottom across the board except for sacks, where the Gators finished 23rd in the nation with 2.92 per game.
That group allowed 30.8 points per game, 6.06 yards per play, 4.56 yards per carry and recorded 6.2 tackles for loss per game while allowing opponents to convert 41.1% of the time on third down.
While not aspirational numbers, even that as a potential floor would put Oklahoma State’s defense in line to finish ahead of several Big 12 programs in the fall and should take an immense amount of pressure off whichever quarterback ends up tasked with rebuilding the Cowboys’ offensive reputation.
The quarterbacks: It’s an inexperienced group, as the four Cowboys competing this spring have combined for seven career starts, 10 passing touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
TCU transfer Hauss Hejny is the betting favorite based on his longshot Heisman odds, which might be deserved based on his longtime relationship with new offensive coordinator Doug Meacham. However, he has yet to attempt a pass while rushing for 65 yards last season.
Redshirt sophomore Zane Flores has yet to make his college debut.
Garret Rangel accounts for five starts and completed 52% of his passes. He sparked the Cowboys at BYU before suffering his season-ending injury.
Maealiuaki Smith completed 59% of his passes and put together the best complete game in his first start against Texas Tech before coming back down to earth against Colorado.
Critically important: Oklahoma State needs to rebuild the entire offensive line this spring after losing its top six linemen from 2024.
That would be a red flag for any program, but it deserves a second red flag after Oklahoma State struggled to create room for former Cowboy running back Ollie Gordon in the fall.
The Cowboys averaged 3.7 yards per carry, which ranked 100th nationally, and were held under 100 yards on the ground in half their games.
The yards per carry number drops to 3.3 if the 269-yard outlier at BYU when Rangel sparked things isn’t included. That likely more accurate number puts OSU ahead of only 14 teams in the nation.
Spring priority: Collin Oliver finished sixth on the team in total pressures (hits, hurries and sacks, according to Pro Football Focus) despite only playing six quarters. That both speaks to how good he was and how much OSU missed him when he went down.
DeSean Brown (28 pressures) and UTEP transfer Kyran Duhon (12 pressures in final five games) seem like OSU’s early favorites to lead the team in what needs to be a much better pass rush in 2025.
Roster breakdown: Oklahoma State brings back one starter on offense (tight end Josh Ford) and three on defense (DBs Dylan Smith and Cam Smith and lineman Iman Oates).
Thirty newcomers, including four freshmen, enrolled this semester, with another 14 freshmen arriving this summer. That means the Cowboys will likely need to cut at least 14 players before the season to meet the expected roster limit of 105.
Staff changes: Oklahoma State changed nearly every coach on the roster, including both coordinators.
Former Cowboy player and assistant coach Doug Meacham takes over the offense after coaching TCU inside receivers.
Meanwhile, Todd Grantham assumes the defensive coordinator role after spending 14 of the last 15 years either leading an SEC defense, the Louisville defense or serving as an NFL assistant coach.
2024 results
Overall: 3-9. Big 12: 0-9.OSU 44, South Dakota State 20 (Stillwater)
OSU 39, Arkansas 31 2OT (Stillwater)
OSU 45, Tulsa 10 (Tulsa)
Utah 22, OSU 19 (Stillwater)
Kansas State 42, OSU 20 (Manhattan)
West Virginia 38, OSU 14 (Stillwater)
BYU 38, OSU 35 (Provo)
Baylor 38, OSU 28 (Waco)
Arizona State 42, OSU 21 (Stillwater)
TCU 38, OSU 13 (Fort Worth)
Texas Tech 56, OSU 48 (Stillwater)
Colorado 52, OSU 0 (Boulder)
2025 schedule
Spring event: Spring finale (open practice), April 19Aug. 28: UT Martin at OSU (Thursday)
Sept. 6: OSU at Oregon
Sept. 19: Tulsa at OSU (Friday)
Sept. 27: Baylor at OSU
Oct. 4: OSU at Arizona
Oct. 11: Houston at OSU
Oct. 18: Cincinnati at OSU (Homecoming)
Oct. 25: OSU at Texas Tech
Nov. 1: OSU at Kansas
Nov. 15: Kansas State at OSU
Nov. 22: Oklahoma State at UCF
Nov. 29: Iowa State at Oklahoma State
