Eric Morris plans to take 76-77 Oklahoma State players to Tulsa and use plenty of them. From rotating 8-10 defensive linemen and 6-7 receivers to getting young players experience on special teams, Saturday will give Morris his first real look at the Cowboys’ rebuilt depth.
Oklahoma State will bring plenty of Cowboys to Tulsa for the first game of the Eric Morris era.
Morris said he expects Oklahoma State to travel with approximately 76-77 players for Saturday’s season opener, taking advantage of the lack of a travel-roster restriction before Big 12 play begins.
“Luckily these first couple games, you don’t have a limit,” Morris said. “Once we get to league play is when we limit who can travel. So we’ll take 76-77 players with us and everyone will be on the depth chart.”
For a program that underwent a massive roster overhaul during Morris’ first offseason, the opener provides an important opportunity to evaluate more than just the starters.
Special teams could provide some of the younger Cowboys their first opportunity to experience college football at game speed.
“Hopefully that is where we can get these young guys’ feet wet a little bit,” Morris said. “It’s something we did back in the day with Quinton Hammonds, Caleb Hawkins to see how they react. The game speeds up and the mind speeds up. See if the preparation matches and go out and play fast.”
That evaluation will extend throughout the roster, although Morris acknowledged every position requires a different approach. The offensive line traditionally doesn't feature the same level of substitution as other position groups, but Morris still expects Oklahoma State to use six or seven offensive linemen against Tulsa.
The rotation should become significantly larger on the defensive line. Oklahoma State's first depth chart featured several “OR” designations across the defensive front, and Morris wants to use the opener to begin identifying which players can become dependable pieces of the rotation.
“Depending on how the game goes, keep the defensive line fresh,” Morris said. “They come at a premium, so you’ll see a rotation there and it’s well-documented. Find out who our 8-10 guys are up front.”
Receiver will feature a similar approach. Morris' up-tempo offense asks its receivers to run constantly, making depth particularly important as games reach the fourth quarter. Morris expects the Cowboys to rotate six or seven receivers against Tulsa.
“They run a ton, so need a healthy rotation of six-seven receivers to keep those guys ready for the fourth quarter,” Morris said.
Morris also plans to manage the workload of star running back Caleb Hawkins, who followed him from North Texas after emerging as one of the nation's most productive backs last season. Morris mentioned this earlier in the offseason too.
“We’ll also monitor Caleb and his carries throughout this year,” Morris said. “That’s important to us.”
With so many newcomers on Oklahoma State's roster, practice can only provide Morris and his staff with so much information. Saturday provides the first real test.
The Cowboys will get an opportunity to see how their young players respond to game speed, how deep their rotations can go and which players are ready to earn larger roles before Big 12 play arrives.
“Hopefully we come out of there with some film evidence of how they perform,” Morris said.
For Morris, Oklahoma State's trip to Tulsa isn't only about unveiling his new starting lineup. It is also the first opportunity to find out just how deep his new roster really is.
