Defense finishes a strong spring

Roger Moore - NewsPress

April 13, 2008 01:28 am

— It won’t go down as the most exciting Spring Game in Oklahoma State football history, unless you like defense.
Seb Clements’ safety was the difference in a 9-7 contest as the Orange squad outlasted the White in front of an estimated 20,000 at Boone Pickens Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Coming off a high-scoring season in which the O-State defense struggled, one of the top priorities this spring was to improve on the defensive side of the ball. Saturday’s performance sent Cowboy coaches into the off-season with a good feeling.
“I was really excited to see some of those young guys get pressure on the quarterback,” said O-State coach Mike Gundy, who takes a 18-19 record into his fourth season at the helm. “We had some protection breakdowns, but sometimes that happens when you split things up.
“I thought we tackled well for the most part. I think we are better (defensively). We don’t have enough depth at the skill positions that when you split them up we aren’t going to play as well.”
Missing from either offense was one of 2008’s biggest targets — tight end Brandon Pettigrew, who hauled in 35 passes for 540 yards and four touchdowns last fall.
After the opening kickoff was fumbled, the White squad quickly cashed in with a pair of 12-yard runs by Beau Johnson and a 16-yard scoring toss from Alex Cate to Johnson.
Zac Robinson then led the Orange on a drive that included a 20-yard run by Kendall Hunter, but Grayson Buster missed a 23-yard field goal to keep the White in front, 7-0.
For the next two-plus quarters it was the defense that had the upper hand.
Jamie Blatnick, who totaled three sacks, ended the next drive with a 12-yard loss.
A Markelle Martin hit on third-and-9 forced another punt.
Redshirt-freshman safety James Thomas intercepted Cate a series later and the Orange took over at the White 21-yard line. Hunter’s 2-yard run set up a first-and-goal from the 10, but Jeremiah Price’s hit on fourth down kept the Orange out of the end zone.
In the second quarter, Brandon Weeded engineered a drive that reached the 9. Weeden hit Dez Bryant with a bullet pass between defenders on fourth-and-4 for first-and-goal, but Quinton Moore broke up a pass on fourth-and-goal to end that threat and send the game to halftime.
The second half — with a running clock — saw more of the same. Robinson hit rookie tight end Wilson Youmann with a 31-yard TD pass to tie the game early in the fourth period.
A series later, after a fumble recovery at the 39-yard line, Robinson drove the Orange inside the 10-yard line. However, his fourth-down toss was dropped in the end zone by Youmann and the White was forced to take over at its own 1.
The first play saw Clements and his fellow defenders tackle Johnson in the end zone.
Both offenses combined to rush for 144 yards — the White gaining only 13. Robinson completed 12-of-21 for 142 yards with Cate connecting on 12-of-25 for 82 yards.
Justin Gent led the White with 9.5 tackles with Clements’ five leading the Orange. The defenses combined for five sacks.
“I thought we tackled decent,” said defensive coordinator Tim Beckman. “We didn’t start off well in that first series, but other than that I thought the kids played hard.
“It starts with the guys up front and I thought they played well on both sides. After the three scrimmages we’ve had I think (the defensive line) has been the most productive. That’s probably the spot we have the most depth.”
End Derek Burton, a sophomore from Muskogee, had one of the five sacks.
“I feel really good about our defense after the spring,” Burton said. “For the amount of new guys coming in, everybody has really worked together as a group to get better. The ones that have been here, we’ve all worked on getting stronger.”
Junior Andre Sexton, part of two below-average defenses the last two seasons, liked what he saw on Saturday and over the spring session.
“Even though we split the people up and we had different people working together, I felt like we came together as one unit and pretty much put a stop on the offense,” Sexton said. “There is a lot of momentum we can build from this and I think the fans saw something they’ve been waiting to see.
“Everybody is buying into and starting to learn Coach Beckman’s system.”
The Cowboys open the 2008 campaign on Aug. 30 against Washington State in Seattle.