Five candidates to replace Kasey Dunn as Oklahoma State wide receivers coach

There are a lot of rumors about Oklahoma State’s coaching staff and where some of them will be next season, but at least one longtime member of Gundy’s team will be elsewhere in 2020.

OSU wide receivers coach Kasey Dunn — the man that coached Blackmon to his second Biletnikoff, James Washington to his one, Marcell Ateman, and Tylan Wallace — is headed to the desert to become the offensive coordinator for UNLV.

Since that leaves a very important role on Gundy’s staff open, we decided to run down a list of candidates we would love to see the Mullet consider.

John Simon - Memphis

While this list is in no particular order, these first three are the ones I would reach out to first. Let’s start with Simon at Memphis.

Simon is in his first season with the Tigers, as wide receivers coach, passing game coordinator, and recruiting coordinator.

After three years in the NFL, Simon spent 2008-2013 coaching high school football in Dallas, before spending a year as the athletic director for Franklin D. Roosevelt High School. His college stops include Southern Miss, Louisiana-Lafayette, and Arizona State.

Two of Memphis’ top-rated signees for 2020 are receivers, including the No. 4 ranked JUCO pass-catcher.

David Gru - SMU

Next up is David Gru at SMU. (hey that rhymes!)

Gru is relatively young — just 29 — and in his second season coaching wide receivers at SMU, where he has helped turn receiver James Proche into a first-team All-AAC pass catcher. He finished the season ranked fifth nationally in receptions per game (7.8), seventh in receiving touchdowns (12) and ninth in receiving yards (1,199).

Gru also landed SMU a couple of nice receivers for 2020 in three-star Thad Johnson and the No. 3 JUCO receiver Danny Gray.

Gru’s previous coaching stops included Cal and TCU.

Rashaun Woods - Enid

I love this one so much it hurts.

The former Oklahoma State wide receiver has spent the last 10 years coaching high school football in Oklahoma, and has been dang good at it. He took over a struggling John Marshall team and turned them into a regular play-off participant and powerhouse in the state.

Now he’s at Enid trying to do the same thing.

To me, now is the time to bring Woods home. He know Oklahoma State, has strong ties in the state from coaching, and I get the feeling he might be a pretty dang good recruiter. I think his coaching and developing ability speak for themselves.

For those who are too young to remember, Woods played receiver at Oklahoma State from 2000-2003, including a monster junior season with 107 catches for 1,695 yards and 17 touchdowns in route to be named an unanimous All-American.

Tyron Carrier - Houston

If Gundy wants someone with a history of coaching impressive wide receivers in the Big 12, he can turn to Holgerson’s guy; Tyron Carrier.

Currently the Assistant Head Coach and Receivers Coach at Houston, Carrier was the receivers coach at West Virginia from 2016-2018. He trained guys like David Sills V and Gary Jennings Jr.

His recruiting record is “okay” but he has shown a penchant for developing some solid pass catchers and obviously knows the Houston area well.

Would he be interested in moving back to the Big 12? Probably not, especially since he is a Houston alum. But it’s still worth a consideration.

Lorenzo Joe - Oklahoma State

This one is, something of a wild card. I considered some other guys like Tommy Mainard at North Texas and Kirby Moore at Fresno State, but considering how hard it can be to predict what Gundy will do sometimes, I thought I’d throw in a left-field candidate.

This one is already in Stillwater working as an offensive quality control coach.

The former Texas wide receiver didn’t have the biggest on-field impact while a Longhorn, catching just 34 passes for 448 yards and two touchdowns in four years. That said, the coaching staff at Texas had him start all 12 games as a senior because of his leadership and reliability.

Good coaches all start somewhere. Joe obviously knows the position and is from Texas and the Big 12. Again, this is a longshot, but you never know where you’ll find the next Kasey Dunn.