Spring Football Preview #11: Quarterbacks

Spring football for Oklahoma State begins on Monday, March 9 and will finish on Saturday, April 18. Prior to the start of the spring, Pokes Report will preview each position group. This preview is on the running backs.
Spring Football Preview #11: Quarterbacks
Spring Football Preview #11: Quarterbacks /

STILLWATER -- In discussing the prospects for Oklahoma State football this upcoming 2020 season with others that cover the program and with those inside the program, there are so many variables and things that need to go right in order to achieve the potential this team has with returners like Chuba Hubbard at running back, Tylan Wallace at receiver, the offensive line, and 10 returning starters on defense. The one factor that gets mentioned the most is the maturation of Spencer Sanders at quarterback. 

This spring will be vital as Sanders, coming off a season where he started and seemingly progressed so much before the thumb injury against Kansas that wiped out the last couple of games for him, Sanders still has plenty of room to jump forward. 

Rattay coaching last season with the Washington Redskins.
Rattay coaching last season with the Washington Redskins / Sports Illustrated

Head coach Mike Gundy may have hit another hiring "home run" when he hired former Louisiana Tech record setting quarterback and NFL veteran Tim Rattay to come in and coach Sanders and the other signal callers. Rattay played some seven years in the NFL and coached back at his alma mater before serving as the Washington Redskins quarterback coach last season. 

With wide receivers coach Kasey Dunn now calling plays as the offensive coordinator, that means Rattay is totally focused on the instruction and progression of Sanders, freshman pro-style quarterback Shane Illingworth and the rest of the quarterbacks. 

"I think any kind of experience that you have can help and I tell my guys that a lot of the coaching points that I have I've got from coaches that coached me throughout my career," Rattay said earlier this year after getting back in the West End Zone after spending much of his first month on the job on the road recruiting. "Those were really good coaches and quarterback guys and hopefully through our experiences they can relate to me and understand what they are going through are things I went through as a player, whether they are getting booed or cheered, I've been through it all. Hopefully, they can learn from that."

Spencer Sanders throwing a pass at Texas Tech last season.
Spencer Sanders throwing a pass at Texas Tech last season / USA Today Sports Images

Sanders experienced some of those ups and downs Rattay spoke of last season. The Texas Tech game was the major eye opener for Sanders, who may have played his best game in the season opener at Oregon State. It was a clean game. 

Sanders completed 63 percent of his passes for a freshman passing yardage record of 2,065-yards. He had 16 touchdown passes to 11 interceptions and that ration has to improve.

Rattay will draw upon a lot of experience that he has had to help Spencer improve reading defenses, making better decisions, and avoiding traps and mistakes.

"Every year you coach, you are around different coaches and different players," Rattay said. "You learn things from those coaches and the experiences of having to coach different players. You learn from those every year. Guys are different, personalities are different, things they need to work on are different, so I think every year I've gotten better and I'm excited to start with these guys pretty soon."

Shane Illingworth fires a pass during his junior season in high school.  / Norco High School (California)

It starts now and along with Sanders, Rattay will have a "mini me" to coach in Illingworth, who reminds me in style of the kind of quarterback Rattay was in college at Louisiana Tech. He is 6-5, 228-pounds and has a strong arm. 

The Cowboys roster also has another California quarterback in Brendan Costello, and walk-ons Peyton Thompson from Tulsa Union and Shaun Taylor from Fort Worth All Saints Episcopal.

Practice beings on Monday at 2:30 p.m. in the Sherman Smith Training Center and will be completed on April 18 inside Boone Pickens Stadium.


Published