Oklahoma State football: Four key questions Cowboys must address in 2024 offseason

STILLWATER — The days since Oklahoma State’s 31-23 win over Texas A&M in the Texas Bowl have been quiet for the Cowboys.

Post-bowl transfer portal announcements are normal, but so far, no one else from the OSU roster has jumped.

Coach Mike Gundy said Wednesday night in Houston that he expected a large majority of the players with eligibility remaining to stay with the program, and that looks to be the case.

Receiver Brennan Presley confirmed his spot for next season with his Saturday afternoon announcement to use his super-senior year.

The Cowboys have just six scholarship players from this year’s team in the portal, with two incoming transfers already on board. So the roster management game isn’t quite as intense as it has been the last couple years.

Still, the Cowboys go into the offseason with work to be done. Some of it is short-term work and some of it has an eye to next fall. But here are four key questions the Cowboys must address this offseason:

More: 'Ollie is for the people': How Ollie Gordon II became the face of Oklahoma State

Which Oklahoma State football players are sticking around?

The portal officially closes Tuesday, so even though it seems unlikely any other OSU players will leave at this point, anything can happen. And the portal opens again after spring practice, which is likely to add to the departures.

But the more important issue at hand is determining which players want to stay for their super-senior season.

While some have already announced intentions to stay, like Presley and offensive linemen Cole Birmingham, Joe Michalski, Jake Springfield and Dalton Cooper, news is slowly creeping out on the decisions of others.

Defensive tackle Collin Clay announced Sunday he would return for his super-senior season.

Defensive ends Kody Walterscheid and Isreal Isuman-Hundley are not expected to exercise their super-senior years, according to a report from Robert Allen of PokesReport.com.

And other key players are left with decisions to make. A few key ones: cornerback Korie Black, defensive end Xavier Ross and safety Trey Rucker.

Of course, waiting for the NCAA waiver results on quarterback Alan Bowman and linebacker Justin Wright as they pursue a seventh year of eligibility will be part of this as well.

As things stand, the Cowboys have a couple of key areas they’ll need to target in the transfer portal over the coming days. Defensive end depth might be the most significant of them.

The tight end/fullback group is losing three regularly used players in Josiah Johnson, Braden Cassity and Ian Edenfield, so some experienced help would be valuable there.

And an experienced receiver wouldn’t hurt, based on what the Cowboys are losing there with Leon Johnson III’s graduation plus the departures of Jaden Bray and Blaine Green.

More: Oklahoma State football adds two transfers. Who's in, out via the portal? Here's the list

Who will provide depth behind OSU running back Ollie Gordon II?

Consider this an insurance policy.

Ollie Gordon II was the nation’s best running back, and he’s going to be a Heisman Trophy contender from the jump next season.

But having an experienced player to give him some rest is important. Gordon’s body took a lot of hits this season. After becoming the featured back at the start of conference play, he averaged 24.2 carries per game.

Late in the season, he would occasionally limp off the field, though he always returned. Still, he’s going to have his moments when he isn’t able to play, and the Cowboys currently have nothing but freshmen behind him.

Sesi Vailahi, who redshirted this season, got some valuable experience and played well in some meaningful moments. Yet he only got on the field for 19 total snaps.

Behind him, the Cowboys have two recent signees, Rodney Fields Jr. from Del City and Jaden Allen-Hendrix from Columbia, South Carolina.

Adding a transfer portal addition wouldn’t hurt — but it won’t be easy, either. It’s hard to recruit a transferring player — who is probably leaving his previous school looking for more playing time — when your pitch is offering a spot behind a guy who will hardly come off the field.

But the lure of being part of a team with College Football Playoff aspirations could be enough to lure someone.

More: How Oklahoma State LB Nick Martin grew gritty persona from big brothers, street football

Who will be the OSU Cowboys quarterback?

This objective, of course, is on hold until the NCAA announces Bowman’s status.

If he gets the seventh year, it increases the chances that one of the young quarterbacks — redshirt freshman Garret Rangel or true freshman Zane Flores — explores transfer options after spring practice.

The Cowboys also have Maealiuaki Smith, the incoming freshman from California who will be on campus in January.

If Bowman is denied, the quarterback derby revs up between Rangel and Flores, with Smith likely getting a bit of a look in spring though he’s way behind the other two.

Rangel, of course, would have the experience edge in that battle, having started four games in his two-year career. He showed significant growth between last December and the early weeks of this season when OSU was rotating its quarterbacks.

But for now, all of this is held up by the NCAA’s timetable.

More: Ollie Gordon, LD Brown explain what makes Oklahoma State's John Wozniak 'a player's coach'

What is the next level for the Oklahoma State defense?

The 3-3-5 defense isn’t an easy one to learn in the first year, and simultaneously, coordinator Bryan Nardo was getting his first taste of the chess matches one faces against Power Five offensive coaches.

A deeply introspective coach, Nardo will learn from his struggles this season. He also adapted his scheme to use more four-man fronts because of linebacker Collin Oliver’s pass-rush skills.

So there was a lot of growth involved for Nardo.

And now that the players have a better grasp on everything he’s doing, the defense’s progression through the spring should be at lightning speed compared to a year ago.

As of now, the defense has three starting slots to fill: two defensive ends and one outside linebacker.

But when you consider Nick Martin and four of the five secondary spots were first-year starters, Oliver was in his first year at linebacker, and the defensive line was completely redesigned, the growth in Nardo’s second year has the potential to be magnitudinal.

Scott Wright covers Oklahoma State athletics for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Scott? He can be reached at swright@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @ScottWrightOK. Sign up for the Oklahoma State Cowboys newsletter to access more OSU coverage. Support Scott’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com or by using the link at the top of this page.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State football 2024 offseason questions for Cowboys to address