Faced with concerns about depth and experience, the Cowboys’ defensive line will need strong leadership to help overcome its weaknesses.
Those leadership roles will fall largely to starting defensive ends Marque Fountain and Nathan Peterson, two seniors who understand the importance of setting a good example.
“I’ve tried to be a leader all my years here,” Fountain said. “But as a senior, you do have more things on your plate, and you need to do everything right with the young guys looking up to you.”
OSU coaches have been pushing Peterson to be more vocal in directing younger players.
“I’m usually not the real vocal type, but [the coaches] have wanted me to step up and be a better leader, and that’s something I’m working on,” Peterson said.
But even with the senior leadership on the ends, questions about the lack of experience at the defensive tackle positions and a general lack of depth still plague the defensive line.
“We don’t have any depth on defensive line,” coach Mike Gundy said. “We’d like to have three tackles and three ends to rotate like we had in the past, but basically we’re at one and a half at each spot, and that’s a concern for us. Guys will have to play well.”
Junior tackle Jeray Chatham is projected to start alongside junior college transfer Tonga Tea Jr. Neither has started a game for the Pokes, but Fountain said he believes they, and the reserve players, are ready.
“We have a lot of young players, but we have guys who can play,” Fountain said. “We have players that I believe could have played last year, but we had Larry Brown and Ryan McBean, two athletic guys who played a lot of downs.”
Peterson said he believes the doubts raised about the tackles are inspiring them to work even harder.
“A lot of people are worried about the inside, but those guys have been preparing themselves for the last three years for this,” Peterson said.
Fountain and Peterson said they were confident about the line’s ability to put pressure on the quarterback, and new defensive coordinator Tim Beckman is expected to blitz often to keep opposing offenses off-balance.
However, Peterson said he was less confident about the defense’s ability to stop the run.
“We know people are probably going to try to run at us,” he said. “I wouldn’t blame them for trying. From the outside looking in, I would say someone would probably want to run on us.”
Still, expectations are high for Oklahoma State this year, and Fountain said he believes the defensive line will be able to contribute to a good season for the Cowboys.
“We’ve got a lot of attitude,” Fountain said. “We go out there and practice, and sometimes it’s hard, but we know in the end it’s going to pay off for us. I think our defense is going to be a lot better than what it has been.”
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