Oklahoma State Players Praise New Staff’s Knowledge, Intensity

STILLWATER — Cowboy fans will need a roster handy when the team takes the field next fall to learn all their new players, but there are also going to be a ton of new guys dressed in polos with headsets on along the OSU sideline.

Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy just about cleaned house when it came to his coaching staff after last season’s 3-9 finish. He hired two new coordinators (OC Doug Meacham and DC Todd Grantham) and allowed those guys to fill out their position coaches.

Among the 15 guys listed on OSU’s coaching staff page, only three are in the same role this season as they were the last: Gundy himself, specialists coach Sean Snyder, and strength and conditioning coach Rob Glass. Safeties coach Greg Brown was on OSU’s staff last season as a defensive analyst, but outside of that, every one is new.

In talking with players during the first two weeks of spring ball, the word “intensity” has been said in reference to just about everyone. Gundy mentioned Tuesday how there is more colorful language being said around the practice fields this spring, particularly from the defensive coaches.

Returning defensive tackle Iman Oates said new defensive line coach Ryan Osborn, formerly the defensive coordinator at Charlotte, brings that intensity, and it helps bring the intensity out of his guys. But Oates also heaped praise on Osborn’s teaching ability.

“He’s all over the place, man,” Oates said. “He’s relatable, but he also can teach like no coach I’ve had before. The knowledge of the game, the way he gives the information, it makes it hard to not be able to learn it.”

Jules Montinar takes over coaching the Cowboys’ cornerbacks. He was at East Carolina the past two seasons as the Pirates defensive pass game coordinator and corners coach. He’s also been on staffs at Florida, Georgia and Alabama throughout his career.

Corner Cam Smith is entering his fifth year with the program. He’s started in all 26 of the Cowboys’ games the past two seasons. Smith spoke highly of Montinar’s ability to teach and noted that coaches from all over the staff are holding guys accountable.

“Coach Jules is big on technique, knowing what to do and how to do it and knowing why it’s important,” Cam Smith said. “So I feel like that’s definitely big from a corner standpoint. All the coaching staff holds everybody accountable. The D-line coach can yell at the corners if he see they not really doing what they supposed to be doing. So I just love that everybody’s held to the same standard.”

On the offensive side, there probably isn’t a position coach more under a microscope this offseason than quarterbacks coach Kevin Johns. With all the new players, every position coach will have to work through position battles this spring, but Johns’ four-quarterback battle among Garret Rangel, Zane Flores, Maealiuaki Smith and Hauss Hejny will have the most eyeballs on it.

“Coach Johns, he’s very big time with the mental side of the game — the IQ, the game slowing down,” Smith said. “I feel like I’m understanding the game a lot more with Coach Johns.

“Coach Meacham, he’s really fun because the offense is really quarterback friendly. We like to throw the ball down the field, and that’s what he likes to do, get the ball to his receivers.”

OSU brought in three new tight ends from the transfer portal to compete alongside returners Josh Ford and Quinton Stewart. That group’s new coach is DJ Tialavea, who had been at Utah State (his alma mater) since 2020. When speaking about Tialavea, Ford brought up that word again: intensity.

“Man, Coach DJ, I’d say just everything we do, the intensity is up,” Ford said. “I love that. Say it’s a Thursday morning run, we’re in here at 6 a.m. running 200s, that’s basically game day for us. He gets us all in the right mindset, like we’re gonna dominate this. He encourages us to be the first in everything. If there’s a line across the field and we end a drill over here on this corner, he’s expecting us to be the first there, be the first in line in every single line.”