Sep 7, 2013; San Antonio, TX, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys quarterback Walsh, J.W. (4) throws a pass for a touchdown against the Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners during the first half at Alamodome. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
J.W. Walsh – Projected Starter
J.W. Walsh came into his career at Oklahoma State in the midst of a quarterback carousel. True freshman phenom (at the time) Wes Lunt had gotten the start over both the veteran Clint Chelf and the then-redshirt J.W. Walsh. He was the first true freshman to start the opener in Oklahoma State football history.
Walsh would get the start after the freshman was hurt in the 3rd game agianst Louisiana-Lafayette, almost lead his team to a win against Texas, but would end up hurt against Iowa State. The redshirt freshman would play virtually no minutes for the rest of the year. He would end up with 1564 yards and 13 Tds
Walsh would start behind another QB the next year in Chelf. After leading the team to victory in the opener (replacing Chelf), Walsh would go 4-1 but would lose the starting job with inconsistency against TCU. He would end the year with almost no snaps after that game and end up with 1333 yards and 9 Tds.
This season, J.W. Walsh is the man on campus. Walsh is the most agile quarterback out of the bunch, with the ability to scramble and get bunches of yards at a time. Walsh has decent field vision, but the one knock against him is his arm strength. The typical air raid offense calls for a strong arm, but offensive coordinator Mike Yurchich was good at tailoring the offense to Walsh’s strengths when he played.
The 2014 football season will be the ultimate proving ground for Walsh. Many of the offensive and defensive starters from the last two years have graduated or been drafted. The offense will need to score to be kept in games. Both wide receiver and running back corps are still somewhat inexperience. Can Walsh prove he has the talent to etch his name in OSU football history?
Momentum has been ripped from his hands by injury and lack of consistency, but this could be the year that Walsh makes his mark. Will he lead his team to a Big 12 title or be marred again with injury/inconsistency and drift off into the back of the minds of OSU fans? Only time will tell.
Arguably Walsh’s best drive of 2013, starts at 3:52 of the video