STILLWATER — Oklahoma State enters the football preseason with very few open starting spots, and not many more vacancies on the second string.
So the potential for true freshmen to break through into the playing rotation is slim.
Yet August remains important for the development of those newcomers, and a few of them could find their way into backup roles or special teams action.
Here’s a look at five freshmen to watch during preseason camp who could fight their way toward playing time:
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Safety Landyn Cleveland
Over the last few years, safeties and linebackers have proven to have the best chance of contributing on special teams as true freshmen. So there are a few guys who could go in this spot, like safeties Willie Nelson and David Kabongo or linebacker Temerrick Johnson. Those three, plus Cleveland, arrived in January and got a headstart on adapting to the physicality that will be required to step in and contribute. Cleveland was the highest rated recruit of the group, but that doesn’t guarantee anything. The safety and linebacker groups have good depth, so breaking into the two-deep will be difficult, but special teams is a valuable option.
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Whether it’s Fields or fellow freshman Jaden Allen-Hendrix, the Cowboys are likely to need one of their true freshmen running backs to provide some type of contribution. With the injury status of transfer A.J. Green still murky, the Cowboys likely will enter the season with just two experienced backups for star running back Ollie Gordon II — Indiana transfer Trent Howland and redshirt freshman Sesi Vailahi. If Green is out for more than a few games, one of the rookies could be called upon to help at some point, the way Vailahi did last year.
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OSU graduated three players from its tight end/fullback group, so there’s room on the depth chart to step in and help in some fashion. Ford’s physicality generated some buzz in spring, and that’s typically the toughest adaptation for an incoming freshman to make. So the Stillwater product has an edge in that respect, and now just needs to show he can learn the position at a level to be put on the field. Transfer Tyler Foster and veteran Quinton Stewart are the frontrunners for playing time, but Ford could make his way into a backup role of some kind.
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Wide receiver Tré Griffiths
The 6-foot-3, 200-pound Griffiths is the only receiver signee in the class, and there are a lot of other young receivers with an experience edge. But the Cowboys need depth at the position, particularly on the outside, so Griffiths will get a chance to prove himself in camp as offensive coordinator Kasey Dunn determines which wideouts he trusts to be in the rotation.
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Defensive end Armstrong Nnodim
Here’s where it gets to be a bit of a long shot. That’s not a knock on Nnodim, just a reflection of the position he plays. The offensive and defensive lines are the toughest spots for freshmen to break through. Nnodim is on this list simply because of the impression he made in spring. The 6-foot-2, 270-pound defensive end drew a lot of eyeballs because of his strength and toughness in the trenches, and the Cowboys need impact players on the defensive line. He seems to be forcing them to take a serious look at him.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State football freshmen to watch in 2024 preseason camp
The Oklahoman
