Oklahoma State Football: Cowboys begin Spring Practice today

The Oklahoma State football program returns to action once again for the start of Spring Practice, a little more than one month away from the Spring Game.

Head coach Mike Gundy and the Oklahoma State football program are back in action for the first time in 2017, today. The excitement surrounding the Cowboy football team for the 2017 campaign is already mounting to crazy proportions.

Each day this week, Pokes Post will be giving you a full Spring Preview for the OK State football program, before the Spring Game on April 15. We will start with the quarterbacks and work all the down to the special teams.

OK State is not the only football program starting their Spring Practice schedule today, though. The Florida State Seminoles, South Florida Bulls, Houston Cougars, etc. all start their Spring Football today also.

The Cowboys have five early enrollees to break in from the 2017 recruiting class. Fans get to see players like pro-style quarterback Jelani Woods and offensive lineman Arlington Hambright in the 2017 Spring Game. Yet, it seems like it was a rather light number this year with early enrollees in Stillwater.

Even with the start of Spring Practice, we still have a little bit less than seven months until the start of the 2017 season. The season opener comes against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, at Boone Pickens Stadium, on Sep. 2.

A few storylines to watch for in Cowboy Spring Practice includes the backup quarterback battle behind rising senior Mason Rudolph, the overwhelming talent with the receiving corps, and the process of filling quite a few holes on defense for Gundy and defensive coordinator Glenn Spencer.

Furthermore, the Cowboys break in quite a few first-year coaches this season. Offensive line coach Josh Henson and running backs coach John Wozniak are just two of the new coaches Gundy has to work with this year. OK State lost former running backs coach, and rising star in the college football coaching world, Marcos Arroyo to the Oregon Ducks.

With the loss of players like running back Chris Carson and Cowboy back Blake Jarwin, coupled with first-year coaches for those positions, things aren’t very stable heading into the Fall.

There’s a lot of pressure on guys like rising sophomore running back Justice Hill and Cowboy backs Dawson Bassett and Britton Abbott to step up in place of graduating players.

Next: Q&A with bullpen catcher Matthew Zembraski

Cowboy football fans should mark down April 15 on their calendars, and attend the 2017 Spring Game at BPS if Stillwater is the place you will be. Anything to hold back the impatience for college football season to come back around once again.