STILLWATER — Mike Gundy hasn't disclosed what his son's duties are in Oklahoma State's football office these days, but Gunnar Gundy's duties include untangling game tape and telling his father. It's safe to say it's somewhere between bringing me coffee.
“I have him working in the office. He has to be there at 7:55 a.m.,” Mike said at the Cowboys' fourth spring practice on Tuesday at the Sherman Smith Training Center. I told you before. “He's with me, working, but in May he's going to leave the house and go play.
“He doesn't know where he's going yet, but he's planning on leaving in May.”
Gunnar Gundy entered the transfer portal in December and received multiple offers before committing to Ohio. However, after spending a few days on campus, he changed course and reentered the portal. By that time, most of the quarterback vacancies had been filled.
In his three years at OSU, Gunnar appeared in nine games and completed 54.8 percent of his passes for 449 yards and four touchdowns. He rushed for 120 yards, including a 10-yard touchdown run in his final game as a Cowboy, the Texas Bowl in December.
The transfer portal for Division I soccer players will open in mid-April, which should expedite the movement of upcoming players and create more opportunities for players like Gunnar.
more:Why Oklahoma State quarterback Maeariuaki Smith was “born” to throw the football
Kendall Daniels gets job as linebacker
Kendall Daniels is listed at 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds, but Mike Gundy said the redshirt junior safety is “almost 240 pounds now.” As a result, Daniels is spending practice time with linebackers, leaving the Cowboys with one starting vacancy.
Gundy suggested moving Daniels would not be a full-time replacement, but could be a useful experiment given his size and speed.
“We can now take him down and flip him and have him play in a position closer to the ball,” Gundy said. “But if we wanted to, we could move him back and have him cover the middle of the field. His long-term life is going to be closer to the ball, but with him weighing closer to 240 pounds. No one would have expected that.”
Daniels' 247Sports.com recruiting profile listed him at 190 pounds as a senior at Beggs High School. He was No. 213 on OSU's roster during his redshirt sophomore season last fall.
With the graduation of Xavier Benson, the Cowboys have a spot at outside linebacker that Daniels can thrive in. Jeff Roberson, Benson's backup last year, also has experience there.
more:Oklahoma State football's Kendall Daniels-Shields wins against his original team, Texas A&M
The experience value of the O-line stands out.
OSU's offense features seven offensive linemen who have made multiple starts in their careers, all of whom are fifth- or sixth-year seniors.
In other words, it's not just the depth of the line that matters, but also the experience. And behind them, several young players entered the field for limited action. Additionally, the Pokes added veteran lineman Isaiah Glass, a 6-foot-4, 305-pound redshirt junior from Arizona State University, to the transfer portal.
Glass has gotten a taste of the high tempo of OSU's offense and the high level of repetition the players perform in practice.
“Glass has already accomplished a lot,” Gandy said. “He's dragging after practice and we're not even in pads.”
Glass started 15 games for Arizona State, three of which came last year after a season-ending injury.
“We were able to watch his conference on video, so we knew what we were going to see, and we competed against him,” Gundy said. .
Although only a few players will be available for spring ball, the Cowboys still have depth that rivals any year in recent memory.
“We've got some guys that don't get a lot of repair work this offseason, so we're going to have a lot of reps for them,” Gundy said. “One of the advantages we have right now is that we have a lot of varsity players in spring football, so our No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 can get varsity players.
“At the end of practice, the offensive line is tired. They're getting a lot of work.”
more:Why Ollie Gordon II is excited about the future of Oklahoma State football's offensive line
Gundy excited about Steve Lutz
Gundy was asked for his thoughts on new men's basketball coach Steve Lutz, who was announced as the program's 21st head coach on Monday.
“I researched him and read about him so I could at least know a little bit about him,” Gandy said. “I'm going to call him tonight and go see him and welcome him to Oklahoma State. To me, (athletic director Chad Weiberg) has been very responsive to what we need and It looks like he got what he felt was the best fit for Oklahoma State.
“In my opinion, this is a different place to coach based on the geographic location, the history of the school, the type of people we have in this environment and our ability to be successful long-term.”
