OSU football notebook: Armed and ready
BY JIMMIE TRAMEL World Sports Writer
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
11/28/12 at 2:43 AM
Oklahoma State has started three players at quarterback this season. But the Cowboy with the best completion percentage is a running back.
Joseph Randle is 1-of-1 after throwing a 36-yard pass to Clint Chelf in Bedlam. Randle would be 2-for-2 if a touchdown pass he threw earlier in the season hadn't been negated by penalty.
"The proof is in the pudding," Randle said. "I can throw the ball if they need me to throw the ball."
Randle reminded reporters during a Monday press function that he played quarterback from the second through eighth grade - and he stepped in to play quarterback during his sophomore year of high school after the starting quarterback was hurt.
Randle said he is a "quarterback at heart." Once OSU started losing quarterbacks to injury this season, did Randle volunteer to play the position?
"No, I'm a running back now," the Big 12's leading rusher said. "I have moved on. I do miss playing quarterback, though."
Milestone times three: For the first time in OSU history, three quarterbacks have thrown for at least 1,000 yards in a season. Junior Clint Chelf joined J.W. Walsh and Wes Lunt in the 1,000-yard club when he threw for 253 yards in a loss at Oklahoma.
Chelf has thrown for 1,058 yards, Walsh has thrown for 1,469 and Lunt has thrown for 1,096. They have combined to help OSU pass for the third-most yards in program history. The Cowboys can throw for 4,000 yards in a season for only the second time in program history by averaging 170 passing yards over the final two games.
Four in a row?: Chelf is expected to start OSU's regular-season finale at Baylor. He would become the first Cowboy quarterback this season to start four consecutive games.
The replacement: Defensive coordinators around the Big 12 should have been happy when Baylor quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III shuffled off to the NFL. The smiles didn't last long. Griffin's replacement, Nick Florence, leads the nation in total offense.
Surprised? You shouldn't be. "If you just look at coach (Art) Briles' offense throughout history, he has always had great quarterbacks," OSU defensive coordinator Bill Young said. "When he was at Houston and we played them and they had (Kevin) Kolb."
Florence, who gained experience earlier in his career when Griffin was felled by an injury, is third on Baylor's career passing yards list with 5,817 and is responsible for 50 touchdowns, second-most in school history.
Briles described Florence as a once-in-a-lifetime kind of person.
"It is a privilege to be able to be around people like that," the coach said. "You wonder why people are able to do extraordinary things and then you study them and you realize they do it because they are dedicated, disciplined, they have faith, and they are trustworthy. He is the definition of a leader."
