OKLAHOMA STATE FOOTBALL: On Gundy, QB's, and Mystery Pressers

2005...Al Pena, Donovan Woods, Bobby Reid, Zac Robinson, Jamie Beeghley, Mike Friess
2006...Al Pena, Bobby Reid, Zac Robinson, Alex Cate, Mike Friess
2007...Bobby Reid, Zac Robinson, Alex Cate, Brandon Weeden (WO)
2008...Zac Robinson, Alex Cate, Brandon Weeden, Brayden Stringer
2009...Zac Robinson, Alex Cate, Brandon Weeden, Clint Chelf, Brayden Stringer
2010...Brandon Weeden, Clint Chelf, Johnny Deaton, Nathan Sorenson, Brayden Stringer
2011...Brandon Weeden, Clint Chelf, J.W. Walsh
2012...Wes Lunt, J.W. Walsh, Clint Chelf, Daxx Garman
2013...J.W. Walsh, Clint Chelf, Daxx Garman, Tyle Holcomb, Jake Hubenak, Richard Lagow, Quinn Shanbour

Here are all the quarterbacks listed on the OSU depth chart, per Scout.com, during Gundy's tenure as head coach. This list contains the top two QB's in school history.

But #1 was a walkon they admittedly tried to run off...and it took a Thursday night miracle and graduation to get him the starting job. Number two was ushered in with the "I'm a man" rant.

The rest of the list.............

After being spoiled by 4 consecutive years of solid, determined, decided leadership and talent at the QB position that made Gundy's choice easy, a variety of issues have returned OSU to the pre-Robinson/Weeden days of vaguery and indecision, with none of the players taking hold of the position and the coaching staff unable to commit to one leader. Gundy struggles with these situations, never really sure what direction he wants to go other than limit turnovers, which is the exact scenario under which he ascended to the position as a freshman. He wasn't expected to make plays, but was tasked with not making mistakes and distributing the ball to the playmakers. This has become contagious, with the "or" now spreading to the running backs.

Which, beginning with last season, is not so surprisingly connected to the other very odd development in Gundy's run as head coach...the "mystery" press conference, where almost nothing of substance is given up. Gundy won't discuss injuries or starters, won't go into detail about performances. He will discuss Halloween costumes, who rules the roost in his house, what he does with the boys on Sunday ("sometimes they like to shoot guns"), and whether or not he watches football. The "or" has come to the Monday press conference.

While this is a great development for the very eclectic Berry Trammel, I'm probably a bit more in the Robert Allen camp...give me some meat. Honestly, this has become comical with some of the statements Gundy's made.

We've been hard on Travis Ford for his X's and O's, but one thing about him is he gives good interviews. Candid and straightforward, Ford doesn't obfuscate and leaves mystery at the door. He shows emotion.

Gundy has become the anti-sports information director. I thought about saying misinformation, but that would imply actually giving the wrong information. He gives nothing, unless you want to talk about Kliff Kingsbury as a heartthrob, which is really unfortunate because he has a good sense of humor and timing. But it seems like Gundy is not so fond of criticism and questioning about his program, so he chooses to draw the curtain closed to limit those opportunities.

Look, as the CEO of Cowboy Football Inc, he can damn well do as he pleases as long as he's producing wins and conducting business in a way that represents OSU as a classy, premier destination for elite Division 1 football talent. He's got to function in a way that suits his style and philosophy.

Just don't expect me to take your Monday presser seriously, which, as Graham Coffelt said on our Week 9 Podcast, has turned into "Super Bowl Media Day," where we talk about almost everything EXCEPT actual football. Graham, Evan and I spent a fair amount of the podcast talking about how ridiculous the Monday presser was.

This is 2013. If you're going to win the Big 12, you need a QB that is capable at some point of carrying the team with either his legs or his arm, or both.

And you might as well talk about it because, in these days of social media, there really aren't any secrets anymore.

GO POKES!!!