Oklahoma State Football: Week 3 Spring Practice Stock Report

The third week of the Oklahoma State Cowboys’ spring practice session is about to end, and there has been some interesting news that has come out of camp recently.

Players are moving positions, some appear to be on a downward spiral and others have renewed their intensity in an effort to get better. The news itself is not plentiful, but there has been enough for us to start to see the shape this team will take for 2013.

Following is a list of players. Some are headed up and some down. The important thing is that we are finally getting some football tidbits to tide us over until fall arrives.

Blake Jackson

Stock Up

According to Gina Mizell of The Oklahoman, Blake Jackson is determined to be better in 2013 than he was in 2012. That is certainly understandable to Cowboys fans, who were continually frustrated by Jackson’s drops.

At 6’3” and 235 pounds, Jackson is a ridiculous mismatch for almost any defense, and, despite his problems last season, he did rank second on the team in receiving yards with 598 yards. He dropped two scores in a late-season loss against Baylor, but the fact that he is taking responsibility and is working on his game shoots his stock way up.

Ryan Simmons

Stock Up

Another player whose stock seems to be rising is linebacker Ryan Simmons. According to Gina Mizell of The Oklahoman, Simmons will move over to replace Alex Elkins at weakside linebacker instead of backing of Caleb Lavey in the middle like he did last season.

This is a big step up for Simmons, who appears poised to take hold of the starting position for years to come. He still has three years of eligibility left. If he can hang on throughout the spring and summer, that starting spot might be his for a long time.

DeMarcus Sherod

Stock Down

Obviously, since Ryan Simmons is moving over to take over the starting positions vacated by Alex Elkins, DeMarcus Sherod’s stock has taken a bit of a hit.

Sherod is still a very good, athletic player who has decent upside. However, the fact that he will not be moving up to a starting position hurts. The fact that he is getting beat out by a guy with the same amount of eligibility left hurts even more.

Mike Gundy’s NCAA Tournament Bracket

Stock Down

It appears that even coaches cannot predict the future. According to a spring practice report posted on Oklahoma State’s athletic website a few days ago, Mike Gundy confirmed that his bracket is not doing any better than anyone else’s.

With lower-seeded teams like LaSalle and Florida Gulf Coast pulling major upsets to advance, it’s no surprise that Gundy had a tough time bracket-wise. It has, however, been “very enjoyable,” as Gundy succinctly put it.