Oklahoma
Three Oklahoma State football position battles to watch in 2024 preseason practices
Mike Gundy expects Ollie Gordon to carry load for Oklahoma State football
Mike Gundy expects Ollie Gordon to carry load for Oklahoma State football
STILLWATER — With nearly every job already spoken for by a returning starter, preseason camp has been uneventful from a position battle perspective for Oklahoma State.
The Cowboys are just over a week into the preseason, and just over three weeks from the opening game against South Dakota State at 1 p.m. Aug. 31 at Boone Pickens Stadium.
While the Pokes return roughly 20 starters, that leaves only a few starting positions to be won, but here’s a look at three important ones at this point of camp:
More: How Oklahoma State football QB Zane Flores grew during redshirt year: ‘He’s ready’
Safety
This might be the most unique position battle in preseason camp for the Cowboys because it primarily involves experienced players. Five different guys started at least one game at safety last year and all five are back, plus UTEP transfer Kobe Hylton has inserted himself into the discussion since arriving in January.
One aspect that remains unclear is just how frequently Kendal Daniels will line up at safety, a detail coach Mike Gundy continues to dance around. Even when Daniels is at linebacker, the safety group has plenty of experience to go around for the three starting jobs.
Trey Rucker seems locked into his spot once again, but the other two openings could go a variety of ways. Cameron Epps and Dylan Smith got good experience splitting time after Lyrik Rawls was hurt last year. Rawls is back to health and in the mix as well. Hylton has looked good, and less experienced backups like Ty Williams and Parker Robertson are fighting for spots in the two-deep.
More: Sean Snyder brings ‘refreshing’ experience to Oklahoma State football special teams
Tight end
It’s hard to tell how much of a battle this one will be, but it’s the most significant job opening on the offensive side of the ball, where basically every other starter returns. Tyler Foster, the 6-foot-6, 255-pound super-senior transfer from Ohio, looks like the frontrunner after stepping in during the spring. He has experience, as well as the versatility to be an effective blocker and pass-catcher.
Quinton Stewart is a veteran who has filled the role of an extra blocker the last couple years. Stillwater product Josh Ford has wowed coaches with his physicality as a true freshman, which could earn him some snaps. And Tabry Shettron continues to develop in the background.
The position has good depth, which is important at a spot that became more frequently used in a variety of areas last year.
More: Oklahoma State football’s Lyrik Rawls aims to reclaim starting safety spot after ACL tear
Placekicker
This is an interesting one, because it includes a late addition to the party. Drake Tabor, a journeyman who was an all-state kicker at Hoover (Alabama) High School, joined the program a week ago and has thrust himself into the competition with Logan Ward and Kason Shrum.
Still, Ward looks like the favorite and is enjoying his recent work with newly added kicking coach Sean Snyder. Ward, a walk-on from Deer Creek High School in Edmond, has filled many roles for the Cowboys. He took over as punter in 2022 when Tom Hutton tore his ACL. He was the kickoff specialist last year, and filled in on extra points at times.
Ward has proven to have a strong leg and is working this preseason to dial in his accuracy.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma schools leader Ryan Walters moves to require students to prove citizenship
Families enrolling children in Oklahoma public schools will have to provide proof of their U.S. citizenship under new rules approved Tuesday by the state’s education board.
The proposed regulation, which must be approved by the governor and the Legislature, would require school districts to track the number of students who cannot verify their immigration status and report those figures to the Oklahoma State Department of Education.
“Our rule around illegal immigration accounting is simply that; it is to account for how many students of illegal immigrants are in our schools,” Ryan Walters, the state superintendent, said at the Tuesday meeting of the Oklahoma State Board of Education.
Outside the building in Oklahoma City, dozens of students protested Walters’ immigration policies and called to keep deportation agents off school campuses.
Walters — who gained a reputation in office for focusing on culture war issues and inviting right-wing influencers into state government — met resistance last year when he said he intended to ask school districts to help his office calculate the cost of illegal immigration on the public education system.
A dozen districts told NBC News in August that they would not check the immigration status of their students, with many citing a desire not to violate Supreme Court precedent, nor discourage foreign-born families from enrolling children in school.
Walters said Tuesday that Oklahoma spent $474 million to educate children of undocumented immigrants under the Biden administration. That figure came from an analysis by the Federation for American Immigration Reform — a right-wing nonprofit founded by the late activist John Tanton, who promoted eugenics and opposed nonwhite migration to the U.S. — and was based on an estimate the group did using census data from 2020.
“You have to have the data around where your kids are coming from,” Walters said at the state board meeting. “We will make sure that President Trump and his administration have this information.”
Melissa Lujan, an immigrant rights attorney in Oklahoma City, said she has received at least six calls from clients this week asking what documentation they need to show at their children’s schools — under the mistaken assumption that the rules are already in effect, and in light of Walters’ statement that he would allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement to collect children from public schools for deportation.
“They’re freaking out,” Lujan said.
In 1982, the Supreme Court ruled in Plyler v. Doe that the government cannot prevent children of undocumented immigrants from attending public school. The vote was 5-4, but the dissent did not advocate for excluding undocumented immigrant children from public schools.
A decade ago, federal courts struck down a similar Alabama law to collect the immigration status of school children.
Kit Johnson, a University of Oklahoma law professor who specializes in immigration law, predicts that the rules advanced by Walters will meet a similar fate when they are inevitably challenged in court.
“This one will be found unconstitutional,” Johnson said. “Even with Walters saying, ‘Oh, we’re just data collecting’ — if it’s going to chill the opportunity for children to have an equal access to education, it is not allowed.”
Tamya Cox-Touré, executive director of the ACLU of Oklahoma, said the group is considering litigation to block the rules if the governor and Legislature approve them, but that doesn’t provide a lot of comfort in the near term for immigrant families.
“Just the threat of this causes harm, and we believe that is the intention — to scare students from going to school,” she said.
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentry Drummond “believes it is lawful to request such documentation” of a child’s immigration status, because the rule stipulates “failure to produce the material does not preclude enrollment,” a spokesman for his office said Tuesday.
Gov. Kevin Stitt and Republican legislative leaders did not respond to requests for comment on the immigration rules.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State Dept. Of Education Jan. 28 meeting
The Oklahoma State Department of Education is holding a board meeting Tuesday morning.
Tuesday, January 28th 2025, 8:43 am
By:
David Prock
OKLAHOMA CITY –
The Oklahoma State Department of Education is holding a board meeting Tuesday morning.
State Superintendent Ryan Walters will lead the meeting by discussing deregulation applications, civic engagement programs, and more.
Griffin Media is streaming the meeting at NewsOn6.com and on YouTube. The full agenda for the meeting can be read below:
Oklahoma
Oklahoma legislation set to listen to some new education-based bills
OKLAHOMA CITY (KSWO) – The Oklahoma Legislature is set to hear a number of bills that could impact schools across the state.
One bill would adjust teacher pay in Oklahoma setting the starting salary at $50,000 and shifting other pay tiers to reflect that change.
Another bill would task school districts to adopt and enforce policies restricting cell phone use in the class with minimal exceptions.
The third education bill would prevent universities in Oklahoma from using state funds to support diversity-focused efforts and programs.
Copyright 2025 KSWO. All rights reserved.
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