Oklahoma

Oklahoma State football stock report: Bryan Nardo, Pokes defense on rise after Utah game

Published

2 years ago

September 24, 2024

Press Room

Oklahoma State football stock report: Bryan Nardo, Pokes defense on rise after Utah game

STILLWATER — Oklahoma State football hit both ends of the spectrum with its play in Saturday’s 22-19 loss to Utah.

The best defensive performance of the season, and an offensive collapse that is hard to wrap one’s head around.

And the offensive ineptitude created some difficult situations for the defense, like the second quarter, when Utah back-to-back possessions of 11 plays or more, and OSU countered with a three-and-out in between.

“You can’t keep going out there the whole game,” OSU coach Mike Gundy said of his defense. “(Utah) got 81 plays, and they don’t even play fast. So the tempo they play, if we would have played a little better on offense, it probably only would have been like 65 plays, but they had to keep going out there.”

Add fatigue from the incredibly hot day — the temperature peaked at 100, but surpassed 160 degrees on the turf — and some of OSU’s tackling issues make a little more sense.

Gundy was bothered by Utah’s 4.8 yards per rush, but 110 of the Utes’ 249 yards came on two carries, a 48-yarder by quarterback Isaac Wilson and a 62-yarder by running back Micah Bernard. Those were Utah’s only rushes of more than 14 yards.

So even in defeat, the defense has some positives to take from Saturday’s game. Now, the Pokes need to turn that into further growth this week when they travel to face No. 23 Kansas State at 11 a.m. Saturday in Manhattan.

Here’s a look at this week’s stock report:

More: Oklahoma State football grades vs Utah: Cowboys’ defense has up-and-down day against Utes

Oklahoma State stock report

Stock rising

Bryan Nardo, defensive coordinator: The defense had a couple of busts and some tackling difficulties, but put the team in position to beat a top-10 opponent. Nardo’s scheme kept pressure coming at the Utes’ freshman quarterback, and it created three turnovers.

Jeff Roberson, linebacker: The Harrah native played a career-high 59 plays and turned it into four tackles, including a half-tackle for loss and a quarterback hurry. He has carved out a significant role alongside Nick Martin in the OSU linebacker group.

Talyn Shettron, receiver: This is the redshirt sophomore’s second straight week on the stock report. After his breakout performance against Tulsa, he had a less productive but more important day against Utah. He was on the field for 13 plays but was targeted five times, catching three for 49 yards. While De’Zhaun Stribling and Rashod Owens are solidified as the top two outside receivers, it’s clear the Cowboys want to keep Shettron involved.

Stock falling

Alan Bowman, quarterback: The seventh-year senior had his worst statistical performance as a Cowboy, completing 16 of 33 passes for 206 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Even his three-pick day at Central Florida last year was more productive. With defenses focused on taking away Ollie Gordon II and the run game, Bowman’s ability to move the ball will be the key to the Cowboy offense.

Garret Rangel, quarterback: Getting his shot when Bowman got benched to start the third quarter, this was the most meaningful game Rangel had appeared in. The redshirt sophomore responded by going 3 for 11 for 31 yards and misfiring to some open receivers before Bowman returned in the fourth. Rangel has been listed as the backup quarterback on the depth chart all season, but with an “or” connecting him and redshirt freshman Zane Flores. If Gundy goes to the bench for a quarterback again, he might pick Flores next time.

More: Oklahoma State football sticking with Alan Bowman as starting QB after benching vs Utah

Oklahoma State redshirt tracker

Two of OSU’s potential redshirt candidates have reached the brink.

True freshman Josh Ford and junior transfer Gavin Freeman have each played in the first four games, meaning one more appearance during the regular season will nullify their ability to redshirt.

Of course, Ford wasn’t expected to redshirt after emerging as a rotational player and occasional starter.

Freeman, on the other hand, was considered a redshirt candidate, but with fellow transfer Da’Wain Lofton yet to appear in a game, Freeman has served as the primary backup to Brennan Presley as the slot receiver.

Lofton remains a redshirt candidate, along with injured running back A.J. Green and injured linebacker Collin Oliver, though Oliver could also pursue the NFL Draft next spring.

Here’s a look at the redshirt tracker:

Played in four games: Josh Ford, Fr.; Gavin Freeman, Jr.
Played in three games: None
Played in two games: None
Played in one game: None

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Oklahoma

Pistons likely to sit several starters, including Jalen Duren, against Oklahoma City

Published

5 hours ago

March 29, 2026

Press Room

Omari Sankofa II: Pistons injury report vs Thunder DOUBTFUL: Jalen Duren (right knee injury management), Tobias Harris (left hip IM), Duncan Robinson (right hip IM) QUESTIONABLE: Ausar Thompson (right ankle IM) OUT: Cade Cunningham, Isaiah Stewart

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Oklahoma

Oklahoma City retail boom creates sharp divide between centers

Published

17 hours ago

March 29, 2026

Press Room

Oklahoma City retail boom creates sharp divide between centers

A growing divide exists between new, successful shopping centers and older, stagnating properties from the 1970s.
Newer centers with national tenants are commanding record-high rents, while older centers struggle with vacancies.
Experts suggest that older retail centers must be torn down or significantly reimagined to remain competitive.

Contrary to popular belief, the internet did not kill retail and Oklahoma City is seeing an influx of new construction.

But a new retail survey shows a growing divide emerging between the success of newer shopping destinations and fading fortunes of those built in the age of disco balls and leisure suits.

Jim Parrack, who leads the retail division at Price Edwards, said the Oklahoma City metro at first glance is doing well compared to the national market in which rental rates are going up and new development is slowing amidst higher construction costs and rising economic uncertainty.

Large new retail properties in Oklahoma City include OAK, the mixed-use upscale development at Northwest Expressway and Pennsylvania Avenue, Grove Marketplace at NW 178 and Portland Avenue, and Rose Creek Plaza at NW 164 and May Avenue.

And a next-generation prototype Walmart Supercenter, meanwhile, is being built as part of Deercrest Marketplace at the corner of John Kilpatrick Turnpike and Rockwell Avenue. More announced retailers are moving forward in northwest Oklahoma City, including a Scheels store and a Crest Foods.

Legacy at Covell in Edmond is set to include some of the biggest names in retail and dining, including Whole Foods and a Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse. And multiple new developments continue in Norman, including construction of a large development anchored by a Target store.

“Retail in general is doing better than people tend to think,” Parrack told The Oklahoman. “There is a lot of negative news nationally. But even nationally, retail is doing better than people often give credit for mainly because people are still spending money.”

Nationally, he said, not a lot of retail construction is being seen, which has helped occupancy rates and landlords are able to raise rents and are “doing pretty well.”

“There has developed, over the past couple of years, what I would call good centers and then there are centers that have fallen off pace. The good centers are those that are newer and have mostly national tenants.”

Older locations seeing rent stagnating

Parrack identified Oklahoma City’s two power retail corridors where much of the growth is happening as those at Northwest Expressway and Pennsylvania Avenue, and along the Memorial Road corridor between Portland and Western avenues, which Parrack said has the highest concentration of retail in the city.

“The other locations are those that are older, maybe aren’t configured right and have more mom-and-pop tenants,” Parrack said. “The surprising part to me is the gap between the two has widened significantly. We’re seeing certain centers, like Classen Curve, get $50 to $60 a foot in rent. There are some small strip shopping centers in that same range. And we haven’t seen those kinds of rents here ever.”

Older centers, meanwhile, are seeing rents stagnating between $12 and $14 a foot.

“The discrepancy is very noticeable,” Parrack said. “A lot of the older centers in the ‘70s are in that older tier. Sometimes the markets have grown away from them. But sometimes the centers just get old; the ceilings are low and maybe their spaces are too deep. Something is wrong with them.”

The tenant mix also weighs in, Parrack said, with centers with mostly local retailers unable to compete with the newer, national-tenant anchored properties.

“The rents haven’t moved, so the landlords have a hard time paying for tenant improvements and the local tenants don’t have as much quality credit. It’s a cumulation of events that are holding those centers down.”

One example of a struggling retail center is French Market Mall, which the report shows was over 50% vacant at the end of 2025 even though it is on a high-traffic intersection of NW 63 and May Avenue.

The property started out in the 1970s as an enclosed mall adjoining a Woolco, Furr’s Cafeteria, Trust House Jewelers, an IGA grocery, a Hallmark shop and a drugstore.

The mall portion was later shut down and replaced with a Burlington store.

“At some point, a number of these older centers just need to be repurposed, whether that means torn down for a new center, or re-imagined, an example being Mayfair,” Parrack said. “Half of that center has been torn down and part was remodeled.”

Mayfair Village, built in 1948, was one of the city’s earliest suburban shopping centers. The retail hub was built along both sides of May Avenue between NW 47 and NW 48. Some pieces of the shopping center were torn down and replaced with new buildings, notably Mayfair Market, which made way for a CVS, and a nearby shopping strip that was torn down to make way for an Aldi grocery store.

An extensive rebuilding of the shopping center followed its 2020 purchase by Caleb Hill, Nick Preftakes and Mark Ruffin. They renovated some of the buildings and then cleared other sections that were then redeveloped as fast food restaurants and a gas station.

“More centers are going to have to be redone like that,” Parrack said.

Jason Little and Charles Lewis with SHOP Companies recently brokered a $17 million sale of four buildings that make up the heart of the reimagined Mayfair to a real estate investment arm of Humphreys Companies. He said the shopping center has just one vacancy — a Starbucks that closed as part of a national shutdown of some of its locations — and that lease continues.

When that lease transitions to a new tenant, Little said he expects the former Starbucks will lease for close to $50 a foot. He credits that price expectation to the efforts undertaken by Hill and Preftakes.

“You’re talking about an asset that when they acquired it had single digit rents,” Little said. “By bringing new construction and historic architecture together, they’ve been able to create something marketable.”

In other areas of town, Parrack said west Oklahoma City, more recently, has had the lowest vacancy rate, which he sees as a reflection of new housing in the area especially near Yukon and Mustang. He said Moore and Norman continue to thrive with little old retail and ongoing construction of new retail.

Parrack said the metro’s three malls are performing at different levels.

“Penn Square continues to do the best sales of any of the local malls. Simon owns it and Simons knows what they’re doing. But even at Penn Square there are some temporary tenants that Simon controls. And I think they realize that in competition with OAK they are needing to invest some money in the mall.”

Quail Springs Mall, meanwhile, is a step down in sales, Parrack said.

Sooner Fashion Mall in Norman is the smallest of the three, and like other smaller malls, is struggling.

“It shows with them in that they have more vacancy than the other two,” Parrack said. “It doesn’t help that they have a Sears that has been closed for all these years.”

Parrack does not expect the city to see another dying mall like Crossroads or Heritage Park anytime soon.

“The thing with malls is even when they die, they take forever to die,” Parrack said. “It’s kind of a gradual thing. Their business slacks off. They lose a couple of tenants. But all bigger retail centers have these tenants with co-tenancy clauses that if certain tenants leave or the occupancy goes below a certain level, then tenants can pay half rent or a percentage rent.”

Newer mixed-use developments like OAK, Chisholm Creek and The Half are being well received by the market, though Parrack notes The Half, leaning more toward entertainment than retail with a mix of offices and apartments, is less cohesive than the other two destinations.

“It’s hard to walk from one deal to another at The Half,” Parrack said. “It’s more of a destination with each of the tenants there. But it is in a great location. The people that are there do well. OAK is something we’ve never had before, and it’s the closest thing we have to Utica Square in Tulsa.”

The demise of brick-and-mortar retail prompted by Amazon is greatly exaggerated, Parrack said.

“The last holiday sales period saw 75% of sales being at brick-and-mortar stores,” Parrack said. “That percentage for holiday sales has held steady for a while and I think most of these retailers have figured out the optimal way for them to continue.”

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