Gunnar Gundy 'earned some stripes' in Oklahoma State football QB race vs. Central Arkansas

STILLWATER — Even with little clarity in the quarterback battle, Oklahoma State quarterback Gunnar Gundy impressed to close out the Cowboys’ 27-13 win over Central Arkansas on Saturday.

So much so that even his dad took notice.

“I would say that he earned some stripes,” OSU coach Mike Gundy said Monday.

“What advantage that gives him with the other ones — the other guys played good also. And I’m being honest with you, yes, I think he earned stripes with the people involved.”

But don’t necessarily expect more reps for the middle Gundy son.

When the Cowboys travel to Arizona State for a late Saturday kickoff, three quarterbacks will still play, Mike Gundy said. And how much will be determined this week in practice.

Oklahoma State football report card: Cowboys give uneven performance vs. Central Arkansas

“I’m not sure how we’ll distribute those reps in the game,” Gundy said. “We need to watch this week’s practice. Guys need to practice well, they need to be attentive, they need to be watching video, they need to have a good feel for Arizona State, they need to put time and effort in.

“One thing we get out of this is competition always raises the level of practice. We all know that.”

Sophomore Garret Rangel earned the start against UCA before giving way to veteran transfer Alan Bowman. But it was Gunnar Gundy who sealed the game with two touchdown drives in the final third of the game.

Gundy was pleased with all three.

They combined to go 30-for-48 passing and 304 yards with a touchdown and interception.

“They played good,” he said. “I don’t know the stats. I’m not sure what it was combined, but if that was one person you would say that’s a pretty good day. It just looks a little odd being three people but they all three played pretty well.”

Here is a look at what else Gundy said during his weekly news conference:

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How Mike Gundy decided to play three quarterbacks

Playing multiple quarterbacks is not a new concept at any level. But playing a trio is different.

So, how did Gundy develop his plan?

Blame the state of college football with name, image and likeness and the transfer portal.

“When we started in August, we looked for the players that we felt like could practice well enough to help us in the game,” Gundy said.

Gundy then pointed to Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh playing multiple quarterbacks in the past. He pointed to Alabama coach Nick Saban not releasing a depth chart for the season opener as a way to not impact the morale of players.

Gundy also said as a father of a player, he considered how other parents would feel.

“So, with all of these things going on, I told the staff that if we have guys any position — the quarterback gets a lot of attention — that had practice well enough and if they’re a mature player that has come to our program based on they want to get on the field and play, we give them the opportunity,” Gundy said.

“Or it could do two things: One, it could really hurt our chances later as we have to use the portal — and we’re all going to be using the portal, whether we like it or not. And two, if we shelf a kid before we ever let him get on the field and play, how do we really know and is that fair to the young man?”

Gundy said OSU is fortunate enough to have three quarterbacks practicing well enough to play.

He also said dividing the game into thirds did not come to him until last Thursday.

“I didn’t know what to do,” Gundy said. “This is new to me. So, I put it off. I didn’t want to do it because it’s not something I was comfortable with.”

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Are the Cowboys closer to finding their identity?

Gundy says no.

On Saturday, Gundy said the Cowboys need to identify who they are and move in that direction. That will still take time.

“I think we know the direction that we need to go to become who we are and I hope we’re right,” Gundy said. “What I did like is this: We blocked better in the second half and our running backs ran aggressive when they knew we were going to run the ball and we had to have them step up and make plays. We didn’t get that last year, so that’s a plus.

“Did we run the ball good enough? No, we didn’t. I don’t want to build it up like we did.

“But defensively there were some things we felt like they could happen in this game. They did. I told you that I was worried about tackling. So, we have to really work hard this week on ways to improve tackling. It’s not going to fix itself in one week.”

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Arizona State’s Jaden Rashada presents challenge for Cowboys

Gundy said Arizona State is more active on defense than a year ago when the teams met in Stillwater.

And he was certainly impressed by true freshman quarterback Jaden Rashada.

“He’s got a cannon,” Gundy said. “He threw a ball in a game the other day and hit a kid on a post route and it was like 65 yards. So, he’s going to be a young, active, strong player and can move around.”

There is a different way to prepare for Rashada, a four-star recruit.

You watch high school film.

“Now, high school’s one thing, Arizona State’s another, I get it,” Gundy said. “He has video and a history of plays that are what I call dynamic for his position.”

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Gundy still adjusting to new-look Big 12

Gundy admitted he was chewing out the offensive coaching staff Monday morning when he made his own mistake.

“I said, ‘I’m just telling you when we play TCU, it’s going to be the same way if we did this,’” Gundy said. “And they said, ‘Coach, we don’t play TCU.’”

Gundy said he paused.

“S---. If we play TCU … “ Gundy responded.

Gundy added: “I was on a roll.”

But that’s the trouble with the new Big 12 schedule for a veteran coach. Now it’s even stranger knowing that Arizona State joins the conference next season.

“I haven’t quite adjusted to it, to be honest with you,” Gundy said. “It just hasn’t got there with me. But I will say that we had a couple teams that are coming into our league that had some pretty impressive wins. Good for the Big 12.”

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Cowboys lose Justin Wright for weeks, not season

Tulsa transfer Justin Wright announced Sunday night that an injury he suffered in the opener is not as serious as originally believed and he will return after missing possibly the next three games.

Gundy was unaware of the tweet and was not committed to that timeline.

“I don’t know what the accuracy is of that,” Gundy said. “I told you before I got a C in Biology in college barely, so from the medical standpoint, I’m not sure.

“Originally, I was told late Saturday night that he had a pretty severe injury and then I was told early this morning that it’s not as severe. Timeline — I’m not sure.”

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Preston Wilson will travel to Arizona State

OSU starting right guard Preston Wilson did not play Saturday due to “non-football-related matters” but is expected to join the Cowboys in the desert.

“He will travel with the team,” Gundy said while not committing to much else with Wilson.

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Why OSU opted to receive opening kickoff vs. UCA

Throughout the years, Gundy has usually deferred when the Cowboys won the pregame coin toss. But Saturday, Gundy opted to receive the opening kickoff.

The radio broadcast pointed to the new clock rules as a factor.

Gundy had another reason on Monday.

“We wanted to try to establish some things offensively in this game and we had talked to our team about that throughout August,” Gundy said.

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Gundy high on UCA coaching staff

Gundy was asked how UCA adjusted to each quarterback throughout the night. And he was quick to praise Nathan Brown’s staff.

“Those guys did a good job coaching,” “I’m not so sure they didn’t coach better than we did in the game. I’m just being honest with you.

“Head coach to assistants and me as a head coach and our assistants, their concepts, plans, what they wanted to do to us were pretty good. And I gave them credit for that.”

OSU vs. Arizona State

KICKOFF: 9:30 p.m. Saturday at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Ariz. (FS1)

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State football's Mike Gundy says Gunnar Gundy earned stripes