Oklahoma State Football: Could Spencer Sanders follow a similar path to Mason Rudolph?

With two games before facing Boise State, Oklahoma State football has some time to figure out whether or not Spencer Sanders is the answer at quarterback.

Oklahoma State football has a lot of potential for the 2018 campaign, but the program also has a lot of question marks. A young and talented roster with a new key part of the coaching staff can create a lot of uncertainty. The Pokes lose out on one of the best quarterbacks in the Big 12 and one of the best statistical pass throwers in the nation in Mason Rudolph (who currently resides on the roster of the Pittsburgh Steelers).

The quarterback competition for Oklahoma State under head football coach Mike Gundy will revolve around four options. Those four options are senior Taylor Cornelius, junior John Kolar, sophomore Keondre Wudtee, and true freshman Spencer Sanders.

As a former four-star dual-threat quarterback prospect out of the Dallas, TX, area, Sanders might be the most talented of the four options. However, he’s also the most inexperienced and raw option. Cornelius got some valuable experience last season and even Wudtee took some game snaps. Kolar has been around the program for three years now so he’s become acquitted to the process.

We don’t have to look too far back to when Gundy went with a true freshman under center and it worked out well. Gundy had to burn Rudolph’s redshirt in 2014 after injuries ended the seasons of both J.W. Walsh and Daxx Garman. Rudolph won two of his final three games of the season in 2014, including a key victory in Bedlam over the Oklahoma Sooners.

For the next three seasons, Rudolph led the Pokes to double-digit win totals on each occasion. Although, that 2014 season that Gundy had trouble finding the answer under center saw the team win just seven games. Gundy needs to find the right answer from the get go. A very tough non-conference contest lies ahead against the Boise State Broncos in September.

At Big 12 Media Days, Gundy gave a glimpse into the current state of the quarterback competition saying that Cornelius is Oklahoma State’s “guy” entering fall camp. That leaves Sanders’ outlook for immediate playing time in the dark as of now.

However, if Cornelius can’t convert as the starting quarterback this fall, Sanders will be waiting for his opportunity. This quarterback situation has quite a few similarities to that of the 2014 season. Garman and Walsh were the experienced options, but maybe not the most talented.

Sanders is the highly touted four-star quarterback prospect that might not get the opportunity to start right away. Rudolph was in the same shoes back in 2014 and led Oklahoma State to one of its most consistent periods of success in program history. Sanders could be looking at a very similar to that of Rudolph with Oklahoma State football back in 2014.