Oklahoma State Football: Early Spring Practice Stock Watch

The first two weeks of spring practices are over for the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Obviously, it's going to be tough to make big claims of what is going to happen over the rest of the Pokes' offseason this early.

However, a few interesting tidbits of information have come out over the Cowboys' first few weeks of spring ball. The early enrollees are making their mark, and the quarterback battle is starting to really heat up. Add in a visit from Dallas Cowboys' backup quarterback Brandon Weeden, and it's an exciting beginning for Oklahoma State.

Read on to see the current stock watch for some of the key players for the Cowboys.

Tyreek Hill

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Stock Up

As many of you probably know, Tyreek Hill is fast. Like, fast enough to jump onto Oklahoma State's track team and start setting records like he's Usain Bolt or something. To steal a line from The Longest Yard's Inmate Unger: "He makes fast people look not fast."

It stands to reason that Cowboys fans are frothing at the mouth waiting to see how that speed will translate to the football field.

Early reports suggest that translation will go pretty well. Mike Gundy said that he really likes Hill's attitude, and that if he keeps it up, he will likely see time at the returner position (via okstate.com). As mentioned, it's still really early, but Hill is a name fans will likely get very familiar with during the 2014 season.

Marcell Ateman

BRODY SCHMIDT

Stock (slightly) Down

Now, to be fair, we need to take all of these slides with a grain of salt, considering how early it is in the spring practice process.

With that said, it was interesting to see Gundy come out and praise some of his young receivers (Jhajuan Seales, mostly), while giving Marcell Ateman a slightly back-handed compliment.

Basically, Gundy said that Ateman could be a stud given his huge body; however, he doesn't show up and play hard often enough to be a breakout star. 

Again, don't take this as Gundy saying Ateman can't play. Instead, I'd prefer to see this as Gundy lighting a fire under his young receiver. And with so many quality wideouts on the team, Ateman needs to step up quickly and show his coach that he's going to play his hardest every down.

Ryan Simmons

Michael Thomas

Stock Up

Anytime your coach names you as the main leader on the defensive side of the ball, your stock is going to go up.

The Oklahoma State Cowboys lost quite a few guys on defense this year, including two senior linebackers in Shaun Lewis and Caleb Lavey. If Ryan Simmons can step up and be a leader this spring, it will go a long way toward easing Pokes fans' concerns.

Additionally, it sounds like many of the other young linebackers are coming along quickly. I would especially keep an eye on Devante Averette and Demarcus Sherod.

The Quarterbacks

Brett Deering/Getty Images

Stock Even

As with all of the previous slides, it's probably too early to really answer any questions, even one as important as this spring's quarterback battle at Oklahoma State.

With Weeden visiting earlier this week, quarterbacks were the obvious talk of the town. Both Weeden and Gundy had positive things to say about all three quarterbacks, though Daxx Garman seemed to get the most love.

That doesn't mean that Garman will be taking over J.W. Walsh's starting position anytime soon. However, it does make him a legitimate player in the battle between Walsh and Mason Rudolph. 

Speaking of Rudolph, most of the early reports talk about the obvious: He needs to learn the offense and catch up to the speed of the game. 

If you really want to drill down into the three players, you would probably say that Garman's stock is currently rising. Rudolph's, on the other hand, is slightly down, while Walsh's stock remains even. 

Make sure to keep your eyes on this one, folks. It's sure to be a good one.