Why Ollie Gordon II is excited about future of Oklahoma State football's offensive line

STILLWATER — Oklahoma State running back Ollie Gordon II hasn’t made an official announcement about the 2024 season, though many signs point to him remaining a Cowboy.

One of those signals came when Gordon, a unanimous All-American and the Doak Walker Award winner, spoke about his excitement to see so many of his blockers announcing decisions to stay in Stillwater for super-senior seasons.

“I appreciate all my linemen. I tell them that every day,” Gordon said. “Every time they tell me congrats, I go tell them, ‘Y’all the reason I got that.’”

In the days that followed OSU’s loss to Texas in the Big 12 Championship Game, four offensive linemen announced such plans, with center Joe Michalski, guard Cole Birmingham and tackles Dalton Cooper and Jake Springfield. Another guard, Jason Brooks Jr., says he’ll remain for his redshirt senior season.

All five started multiple games last season, and the four super-seniors-to-be each played at least 687 snaps. Michalski led the entire offense in snaps played at 954 with Cooper second at 871. Only guard Preston Wilson and versatile backup Taylor Miterko, who have super-senior years available, have not made an announcement about next season.

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“We’ve had a lot of continuity with that group,” head coach Mike Gundy said. “There’s a lot of snaps, a lot of experience. That can be a huge impact.”

And the Cowboys celebrated that crew’s contributions to a 9-4 season that concludes with a Texas Bowl appearance against Texas A&M at 8 p.m. Dec. 27 at NRG Stadium in Houston.

Gordon hasn’t been the only one celebrating the Cowboy linemen. Running backs coach John Wozniak recently posted a photo on social media of a large group of people, including offensive linemen, tight ends and support staff.

“The only way to celebrate a Doak Walker Award is with 100 (pounds) of barbecue,” Wozniak wrote on the post. “Huge shoutout to our offensive line and tight ends for their tough, physical and selfless play this season.”

Two key moves occurred in September that ignited the OSU run game. Cooper, who started the year as a backup but entered at right tackle when Springfield suffered an ankle injury, shifted to left tackle in the second half of the loss to South Alabama. Since that move, Cooper consistently has been OSU’s top-graded offensive lineman based on Pro Football Focus analytics.

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Then as the Cowboys turned their focus to Gordon as the featured back, Gundy and the offensive staff streamlined the run blocking schemes to better fit Gordon’s downhill running style.

And the result produced the nation’s leading rusher as Gordon churned out 1,614 yards and 20 touchdowns.

Gordon says his announcement for next year will come on his “own time,” and that’s hard to project. But when he spoke to the media last Thursday for the first time since winning the Doak, he didn’t let it go unsaid how much he values the big men in front of him.

“Having them saying they’re coming back, that’s a great thing,” Gordon said. “All great guys. They played great this season. So for them to say they’re coming back, that’s good.”

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: Why Ollie Gordon II is excited about future of OSU offensive line