Oklahoma State football rewind: Top players, blocking woes, redshirt tracker

TEMPE, Ariz. — A tale of two halves turned Oklahoma State’s way on Saturday night at Mountain America Stadium.

Shaky blocking on offense and missed tackles on defense led to the Cowboys trailing at halftime, but both issues were resolved as the Pokes rallied for a 27-15 win over Arizona State.

Now, the Cowboys will turn their attention to South Alabama, a veteran-laden mid-major program off to a 1-1 start this season. OSU hosts the Jaguars at 6 p.m. Saturday at Boone Pickens Stadium, broadcast on ESPN+.

But first, let’s take a look back at what we learned from the Cowboys’ trip to the desert:

More: Why Mike Gundy believes Oklahoma State's 'luck's gonna run out' with slow rushing starts

Top 5 players of the week

Linebacker Collin Oliver: Showing what his position could look like in the new defense, Oliver made plays all over the field, whether rushing the passer or playing a traditional linebacker role. He finished with seven tackles, including two for loss, and a forced fumble.

Running back Ollie Gordon: Once the offensive line got in gear in the second half, Gordon broke free. He had 53 yards and a touchdown on nine carries, including 47 yards on one drive when the Cowboys took the lead.

Linebacker Nick Martin: Filling the middle of the field, Martin had a team-high 10 tackles, including five solo with a sack and a quarterback hurry. With his primary backup, Justin Wright, out with an injury that will last a few more weeks, Martin hardly came off the field and impacted the game the way a middle linebacker should.

Defensive end Anthony Goodlow: The veteran transfer from Tulsa came up with a couple of key tackles, including one on a fourth-down attempt that stalled an Arizona State drive near midfield. Playing 38 snaps (most among defensive linemen) Goodlow had three tackles with one for loss.

Defensive end Nathan Latu: An under-the-radar revelation among defenders, Latu has gotten off to a fast start. He slid inside to a defensive tackle spot in pass rush situations and has been a handful for linemen trying to block him. He had three tackles with half a sack and a QB hurry.

More: Oklahoma State football fixes run game after half, but still has 'a ways to go'

Grading the blockers

OSU coach Mike Gundy alluded to halftime adjustments that improved OSU’s run game in the second half, producing 113 yards on just 19 carries, an average of 5.9 per attempt. But overall, the grades of the offensive linemen were mediocre, according to Pro Football Focus.

For the game, redshirt senior Taylor Miterko had the highest run blocking grade at 63.2 on a 100-point scale. Miterko started the game at right guard and played just 22 snaps, being replaced by regular starter Preston Wilson.

Center Joe Michalski was next-highest with a 61.3 grade. He also had the team’s highest pass blocking grade at 83.6.

The rest of the offensive linemen graded out below 60 in run blocking.

Four of the five starters — Michalski, Cole Birmingham, Jason Brooks Jr. and Dalton Cooper — played all 65 of OSU’s offensive snaps.

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Hidden stat

Mike Gundy said Monday that his quarterbacks graded out at better than 88% as a whole in the Arizona State game. And that’s after grading out above 90% against Central Arkansas.

And it makes sense. As a collective, the group has been efficient and effective.

For the year, the trio of Alan Bowman, Garret Rangel and Gunnar Gundy, are completing 65.0% of their passes (52-for-80) for 495 yards with three touchdowns and one fluky interception that was more the result of a blocking bust.

More: How Oklahoma State football answered 'disrespect' from Arizona State on fourth-down tries

Familiar foe

South Alabama comes to Stillwater with a running back who was once an OSU recruit.

La’Damian Webb had an OSU offer when he was coming out of Jones College in Mississippi in the class of 2020, but he signed with Florida State instead.

Webb is now in his second season at South Alabama, nearing the end of a unique college journey.

The 5-foot-7, 210-pound back came out of high school in Opelika, Alabama, in the 2018 class and had committed to Mississippi State, but did not academically qualify. He then committed to Hutchinson (Kansas) Community College, but instead sat out the 2018 season.

Webb played 2019 at Jones College, then headed to Florida State for a year, rushing for more than 300 yards and three touchdowns. But after the season, he transferred to Troy. But instead, he landed back at Jones College for the fall of 2021.

Now in his final year of eligibility, Webb has rushed for 121 yards on 16 carries with two touchdowns, averaging 7.6 yards per carry.

More: Oklahoma State football report card: Bryan Nardo's defense aces late test at Arizona State

Redshirt tracker

The Cowboys’ plans for redshirting players are a bit clearer after the second game of the season.

Seven redshirt-eligible newcomers have played in both games at this point, halfway to the NCAA limit of four games to retain redshirt status.

For now, the redshirt tracker will only include first-year players and not redshirt-eligible veterans who are expected to play all season, like Brennan Presley, Korie Black and others.

So far, eight players have appeared in only one of the first two games, but none are eligible to redshirt.

Here’s a look at the redshirt tracker after two games:

Played in two games, still eligible to redshirt: Longsnapper Shea Freibaum (Fr.), cornerback Kenneth Harris (Sr.), receiver Leon Johnson III (Sr.,), punter Hudson Kaak (Fr.), nose tackle Justin Kirkland (So.), receiver De’Zhaun Stribling (Jr.), Lardarius Webb Jr. (Jr.).

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.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State football rewind: Top players, redshirt tracker & more