OSU bye week chatter: Quarterbacks and cornerbacks
Published: 10/3/2012 9:17 AM
Last Modified: 10/3/2012 9:17 AM
Catching up with Mike Gundy during an open week....
Oklahoma State has an open date before a Big 12 road opener Oct. 13 at Kansas. Among topics which surfaced during a question an answer session this week with Gundy:
--The quarterbacks. Starter Wes Lunt was injured on the sixth play of a nonconference finale against Louisiana. J.W. Walsh came off the bench in that game to lead OSU to a school-record 742 yards of total offense and he directed the Cowboys to 576 yards in his first collegiate start against Texas.
Gundy said Lunt was in pads and threw footballs during a Tuesday practice. The coach said he expects Lunt to participate in drills Wednesday.
“I thought they were going to put him in drills (Tuesday) and they just decided to let him throw... but I think he is doing very well.”
OSU’s next opponent has lost 13 consecutive games against FBS opponents and 13 consecutive Big 12 games. No offense to the Jayhawks, but will the Cowboys’ be tempted to sit Lunt in Lawrence regardless of how well he has recovered? Or will his usage be related strictly to health?
Gundy chose option No. 2. From what the coach said, it sounds like Lunt will play against KU, if he is green-lighted.
When someone pointed out that, because of the way Walsh has played, the Cowboys don’t necessarily have to rush Lunt back into action, Gundy said, “Are we happy with the way J.W. is playing? Yes. Has he still got a ways to go? Yes. But I certainly feel better about J.W. now than I did a month ago.”
--The cornerbacks. Brodrick Brown and Justin Gilbert were touted in preseason as one of the best corner tandems in college football. But they have drawn penalty flags and gotten beat by receivers.
“I think they got exposed last Saturday night,” Gundy said. “We were getting effort from them, but one thing that happens sometimes with veteran players is they get into almost a physical (situation) where they are just kind of floating out there. They have done it so many times. Really, the best way to (say) it is they need to be hungry. They need to be hungry to defend those balls. And they have been told that.”
--Points of emphasis during the bye week. During a Tuesday practice, Gundy said the Cowboys worked on correcting things that “we weren’t happy with” in the Texas game. For instance? Defending deep balls, defending screen passes and execution in some aspects of the passing game.
Said Gundy, “We’ll work on that for a couple of days and get into Kansas (preparation) more on Thursday.”
Written by
Jimmie Tramel
Sports Writer
