Sanders Not the First Oklahoma State Quarterback Tim Rattay Has Coached
STILLWATER -- Tim Rattay was out there the week of spring football coaching up Cowboy quarterbacks Spencer Sanders, Shane Illingworth, Shaun Taylor, Peyton Thompson and Brendan Costello; but the truth be known Rattay was not coaching up an Oklahoma State quarterback on Stillwater soil for the first time. The record setting quarterback at Louisiana Tech with 12,746-yards, 115 touchdowns, and only 35 interceptions in his three-year college career that went on to play eight seasons in the NFL had coached Brandon Weeden.
"Tim actually coached me when I was getting ready for the Draft," Weeden told me last week.
"I helped train Brandon Weeden for his Pro Day," agreed Rattay talking after Oklahoma State's first spring practice when asked about being at OSU. "He was in Arizona and that is where I'm from and I was forced into retirement at that time. Nobody wanted to sign me, so I spent a couple of months in Arizona training him and then I came here and I helped him on his Pro Day."
"He was the quarterback coach that got me ready for the (NFL) Combine and my Pro Day," Weeden elaborated as he connected on his first 40 passes in the workout that scouts rated as spectacular. "He was with me at my Pro Day. He did the whole script for me and got me all set up."
You have to admit that Rattay did a good job. Weeden was a high draft prospect, but few mock drafts had him going in the first round. Many had him going somewhere in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft. You have to think Rattay's training and how he showcased Weeden's abilities worked because Draft day the Cleveland Browns picked him with their second of two first round selections.
"He was a great guy to hang out with, and talented. Boy, could he throw the football," Rattay recounted.
Rattay also remembered he liked what he saw of the facilities. The Sherman Smith Training Center was in the process of being built, but Boone Pickens Stadium was outstanding. That Pro Day was actually the last one held on the field at Boone Pickens.
"I remember I came here and they were working on this building (Sherman Smith) and doing some renovations in here (stadium)," Rattay said. "I'm thinking how good this is and they are doing more of it."
Now, it is Rattay's workplace, where he hopes to do his best work and Weeden is very confident in his old pre-draft trainer and the new offensive coordinator he will work with in Kasey Dunn. Dunn's first season was 2011, Weeden's senior season and the 12-1 Big 12 Championship season. It was also the second Biletnikoff Award and All-American season for Justin Blackmon.
"They have the right man for the job, Kasey Dunn is a home run hire," Weeden said of the veteran receivers coach that is now the play caller. "I saw him a few weeks ago and he knows what it takes to be successful at Oklahoma State. If everybody can see through his lens then I think the future is bright on offense."
Weeden is also very high on the combination of Dunn as OC with Rattay as the quarterbacks coach. I can't help but think it gives this Cowboy alum and one of the best Oklahoma State quarterbacks ever, as well as a budding broadcast candidate for college or pro football, a real connection to his alma mater, as if he hasn't always had one.
He's thrown for a gazillion yards at Louisiana Tech, so he's played the position and knows the position extremely well," Weeden added on Rattay. "He keeps things very simple. He doesn't over complicate things. He's really good at finding what the quarterback is good at and adapting. He's a great hire for them."
Weeden does believe that the Dunn and Rattay team will be working closely together. That they will need to be in lock step and that is the way head coach Mike Gundy will want them.
"I think Kasey Dunn is going to be in that (quarterback) meeting room as well," Weeden explained of how he thinks it will work with the first ever non quarterback coach calling plays under Gundy. "If I'm an offensive coordinator then I know when I call plays I want to see that through the eyes of the quarterback. I think he will be in that room a lot and I think it will be those three a lot, Kasey Dunn, Tim Rattay and Spencer (Sanders)."
Sanders viewpoint gained from the first week of spring practice is in agreement with what Weeden speculated on during a radio interview on Triple Play Sports Radio on Sports Talk with Robert Allen and Friends. Sanders is fired up about Rattay, but also very excited about Dunn calling the plays.
"Coach Dunn is like a father to me. He reminds me of my grandpa," Sanders said after the first spring practice. "We just have that connection together. I know he is going to get my tail when I mess up, and I look forward to it because I want to be a better player. Our connection is probably the tightest I have had since I have been here. I have been through three OC's. I really look forward to this year."
Spencer already has confidence in what Rattay is teaching. He is forcing Sanders to get better as a thrower and a pocket quarterback, knowing his wheels can always be a saver when needed.
"Like I said, I didn't leave the pocket today," Sanders said with confidence in that same interview. "I knew where I wanted to go with the ball. I picked up a bunch of stuff. He has really helped me breakdown, stay in the pocket, and deliver passes and let the receivers do the running for me."
"He's been coach-able so far and that is all I say, be coach-able and then you can get better," Rattay said of his expectations of Sanders. "I want him to stand in the pocket and make those throws and then the times that he needs to make plays with his feet will come to him."
Weeden sees a good situation with a three-man leadership on the offense. Kasey Dunn having total control, Rattay assisting especially through his role as quarterbacks coach and Sanders leadership and abilities on the field carrying out the orders with the offense.
"Sometimes you can have too many cooks in the kitchen, but I think these three will keep it simple," Weeden summed it up.
