Cowboys Defensive Review: There is Strength in Numbers
STILLWATER -- I think it is safe to say that Oklahoma State has never returned as many experienced defensive players in bulk than they will bring back for the 2020 football season. The numbers are pretty amazing as the Cowboys will return 10-of-11 starters from the depth chart for the Academy Sports and Outdoors Texas Bowl. Beyond that, they will have 23-of-the-28 players that were listed on the two deep for that game.
They return players that took up 130-of-the-143 starts on defense for the 2019 season. Now, that might not be good news if the defense was awful in 2019. The truth is that it was improved and with experience and improvement it will be even better.
Defensive coordinator Jim Knowles seemed to have gained a better understanding of what he was up against in the Big 12. He increased his usage of three-man front and some of the rush three and drop eight concepts that have spread around the league.
However, Knowles continued to devise weekly game specific concepts designed to make each offense uncomfortable and give the Oklahoma State defense a degree of unpredictability. That is something Knowles has always done, but he cut back on that some, added more of the rush three and drop eight. All together, it allowed his defenders to play with more confidence and react more and think less. Always a key to playing good defense.
In 2019, Oklahoma State moved from 9th in 2018 to 5th in scoring defense allowing just 26.8-points per game. The total defense rose from 9th to 7th, rush defense from 10th to 5th, while pass defense stayed the same at 8th, but did improve in yards allowed by 13-yards a game.
I give Knowles and his defensive staff a lot of credit in making some position changes and also quickly identifying and trusting newcomers and younger players in helping. The defense had more rotation in it that it has in a long time, especially up front.
Defensive line coaches Joe Bob Clements and Greg Richmond identified freshmen defensive tackle/end Jayden Jernigan as a contributor. They quickly acclimated red-shirt defensive tackle Samuela Tuihalamaka into a major role and got transfer defensive tackle/end Israel Antwine ready to contribute as soon as he was cleared to play.
The combination of Clements and Richmond along with Knowles recognized the athletic ability of freshman Trace Ford and indoctrinated him into the hybrid defensive end/linebacker position that Jordan Brailford had success with in the 2018 season.
The biggest and, by far, most successful position move came in fall camp when injuries to linebackers including the continued struggles of Calvin Bundage led to a depth issue at the position. Knowles moved safety Malcolm Rodriguez to linebacker and it was an instant success. Now, Rodriguez, one of the smartest defenders on the team, could bring his intuition and ability to read opposing offenses to one level closer to the line of scrimmage and still communicate valuable information back to his former buddies at safety. The defense became smarter and more successful.
When is the last time Oklahoma State had two of the top five tackle leaders in the Big 12? I can't remember it happening, but it did this season with Malcolm Rodriguez leading the team in tackles with 103, 60 of those unassisted. Fellow linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga was fifth with 100 tackles and 63 of those were unassisted. That is impressive.
While we're on individual accomplishments, Kolby Harvell-Peel was first in the Big 12 in passed defended with a total of 18, including a school record six against Iowa State. He was third in the Big 12 in interceptions with five, tied for fourth in fumbles forced and fourth on his own in fumbles recovered. All told, Harvell-Peel, who missed the bowl game after tearing his ACL, had nine turnovers.
Defense is not an individual exercise, but it is a team effort. This table shows how much of last season's defensive production returns for 2020. The numbers are amazing!
Defensive Statistic | 2019 Season Total | Number Returning for 2020 Season | Percentage Returning for 2020 Season |
|---|---|---|---|
Total Tackles | 872 | 794 | 91 percent |
Unassisted Tackles | 550 | 480 | 87 percent |
Tackles for Loss | 77.0 | 74.5 | 97 percent |
QB Sacks | 28 | 26.5 | 95 percent |
Interceptions | 12 | 10 | 83 percent |
Fumbles | 7 | 6 | 86 percent |
Fumbles Forced | 8 | 8 | 100 percent |
Passes Defended | 54 | 49 | 91 percent |
Just from those numbers alone, there is a lot to be excited about for next season on defense. Veterans like Rodriguez, Ogbongbemiga, Kevin Henry, Devin Harper at linebacker; so many bodies up front with the addition of, if he gets a waiver, Arkansas transfer defensive lineman Collin Clay.
In the secondary, Rodarius Williams is back at corner and Tanner McCalister moves over to go along with the promising Thomas Harper. The safety position is loaded with the hope that Kolby Harvell-Peel fully recovers and is ready to resume his ball hawking ways next season.
There are never any guarantees, but it certainly looks good for the Cowboys to be much more improved on defense for the 2020 season.
