Why is WR Bryson Green 'very steady' for Oklahoma State football? 'He works all the time'
Scott WrightOklahoman
STILLWATER — As the first game of Bryson Green’s career as an Oklahoma State football player neared in early September of 2021, he was slotted in as a second-string receiver, hoping for an opportunity.
But when Langston Anderson suffered a broken foot during pregame warmups for that game against Missouri State, Green became a sudden starter.
In the days before this year’s season opener against Central Michigan, Green was again set to be a backup.
Then Jaden Bray injured his thumb, and Green once more found himself in the starting lineup.
Green is now 16 games into his young career, with 10 total starts, and not once has he looked like a receiver who doesn’t belong, compiling 308 receiving yards and five touchdowns on 23 catches.
As the seventh-ranked Cowboys prepare to put their 4-0 record (1-0 Big 12) on the line against Texas Tech (3-2, 1-1) in a 2:30 p.m. contest Saturday at Boone Pickens Stadium, Green will be in the clutch role he has carved for himself.
“He’s been very steady for us,” OSU head coach Mike Gundy said. “We’ve been able to benefit from some of the physical features he brings to the table. He’s big and strong. We can do some things with him on the perimeter with blocking. He uses his body in route running.
“He should get a little better every week, just based on experience.”
This season, the 6-foot-1, 205-pound Green has 169 yards and three touchdowns on 11 catches in an offense that ranks in the top 20 nationally in total yards at 478.2 per game.
Bray is nearing a return, which could cut into Green’s snaps. Braydon Johnson and Brennan Presley remain the top two targets for quarterback Spencer Sanders, combining for 37 catches through four games — or 45.1% of Sanders’ 82 completions.
But Green is far from a peripheral option.
He gets regular looks in the red zone and on third downs. He rarely leaves the field, having played 231 snaps, behind only Johnson (245) among receivers. Green is not afraid to block, and he’s never satisfied.
Green arrived at Oklahoma State in January 2021 ready to compete. Except for a pesky shoulder injury.
Coming out of Allen, Texas, Green and his twin brother, Blaine, enrolled early at OSU, but Bryson had injured his shoulder in their senior season. The surgery forced him to sit out his first spring practice in Stillwater.
So, while Blaine and the other true freshman receivers began their trial by fire on the field with the Cowboys that March, Bryson Green watched. Intently.
“Watching from the sidelines, watching my teammates do what they were doing on the field, and just watching the parts all fall together during spring, it made it a lot easier to visualize when I was able to come back and play,” Green said.
“Being in the receiver room with Coach (offensive coordinator Kasey) Dunn and working in the film room with Spencer and the other receivers… it helped put me in position that as long as I know the offense, I can do something and try to support the team.”
Any setbacks from the missed on-field opportunities are a distant memory.
Already this season, Green has surpassed his yardage and touchdown totals from last year in fewer catches and, obviously, far fewer games.
Green credits a portion of his success and, more importantly, his comfort in the offense to Sanders and the workouts the quarterback organized during the summer.
“He’s a great leader and someone I love to play with,” Green said. “He made sure we were working together in the offseason, quarterbacks and receivers, whenever we had free time in the summer, just making sure we were getting the ball in each other’s hands.”
And Green has proven over and again in his 21 months on campus that he’s not afraid of extra work.
“His work ethic — he works all the time,” Presley said. “Whether it’s in film, weights, recovery. His work ethic and his attention to details, I think that’s the biggest thing that separates him from a lot of people. He’s so focused on the little things that he has to do.”
Green feels a little more like himself when he looks in the mirror on game days, too, thanks to a special gift from someone in the OSU equipment room
Green had worn jersey No. 19 last season, because No. 9 — his high school number — was already taken by former Cowboy receiver Matt Polk. Polk left the team last winter, and Green contemplated the switch, but didn’t pull the trigger.
“I was gonna change numbers next year,” Green said. “I’ll wear whatever number they give me, I’m not even trippin’.
“But it just showed up in my locker. I’m No. 9 this year, and I’m running with it.”
