Are OSU’s Cowboy Backs Secretly the X-Factor to the 2015 Season?

The attitude I’ve taken towards seeing a tight end or fullback on the field on the offensive side of the ball for Oklahoma State has been an evolution.

It has gone from “why are we only playing 10 guys, where is the 11th?! Oh wait…is that a…” to “I think I can get used to this, Legoman” to “Cowboy Backs is a sweet name  are these dudes going to win is a Big 12 title.”

And if last season was a baptism, and  this year will be a discipleship.

“We’ll continue to take one a year for that Cowboy back,” Mike Gundy told the Oklahoman. “The 6-foot-3, 6-foot-4, 260-pound, 265-pound guy. … It’s a really good opportunity for them if they desire to play in the NFL if they can play on the line and in the backfield.”

They allow OSU to bridge the gap between being a true air raid team and being the power-I squad I think Gundy secretly wishes he ran.

Recruits have taken notice.

The first time I took notice was last year against Texas Tech when Blake Jarwin caught this TD pass. Blake Jarwin? Who is that?

https://vine.co/v/OZmMZMbEmvU

I now know.

“Blake Jarwin,” said Gundy on Media Day. “You guys obviously knew about him, but he has shown up and made some plays.”

Jarwin is joined by Jeremy Seaton, Zac Veatch and others big bodies who will be x-factors on offense, if not for OSU’s season as a whole.

“(Cowboy Backs will) do multifaceted things. That’s the vision that Coach Gundy had,” coach Jason McEndoo told the Oklahoman. “He wanted a multifaceted guy that could line up in an in-line position or wing position then split up, play wide receiver and line up in the backfield as a fullback.”

Sounds a lot like what Ian Boyd said in this piece from last fall on the rise of the fullback.

There are a large number of ways in which a “mega-back” or other blocking specialist playing fullback or H-back can serve an offense and set-up the smaller athletes to wreck shop.

“I tell you what, if you’re a tight end or a fullback out there, then you want to play in this offense,” added McEndoo recently. “We’re on the field 90 percent of time. The guys have got a lot of things they’re doing and a lot of versatility, and they’re relishing that role.

“I think they’re doing a great job with that. They’ve embraced the role themselves, and they’ve embraced the versatility, which is great. Five out of the seven are Oklahoma kids, so that’s very important to them. It’s a real hard-working group. It’s easy to coach guys who want to be coached. They show up every day to go to work, and they’re very coachable. We’re having a great time.”

Blake Jarwin, Jeremy Seaton and Co. won’t get any headlines and won’t post the stats James Washington and Rennie Childs will. But they’ll be important to the versatility of the offense which is something that becomes incredibly important as the season wears on.