By Jenni Carlson
Staff Writer
STILLWATER —
Bobby Reid found a solitary spot on the sideline, placed his hands on his hips and stared across the
Boone Pickens Stadium turf.
The
Oklahoma State quarterback barely moved as he watched his backup do what he failed to do in the final minutes of the Orange-White Spring Game — move the offense.
Zac Robinson threw a touchdown pass that secured a 35-27 victory for the White.
On Saturday, backup outperformed starter.
Reid: 11-of-24, 127 yards, no touchdowns, one interception.
Robinson: 13-of-20, 149 yards, two touchdowns, one interception.
Quarterback competition on?
Hardly.
Reid is the Cowboys' man. He will take the first snap next fall and, barring disaster, hundreds more after that.
"We feel good about our offense,” Cowboys coach
Mike Gundy said. "I'm not going to extend myself too much, but I'm fairly confident we're going to score some points.”
No doubt
Adarius Bowman and Artrell Woods,
Dantrell Savage and
Keith Toston will have a hand in that, but the main reason the Cowboys are so excited about their offense is
Reid. Last season was his first full one as a collegian, a season where improvement came in leaps and bounds.
Now, Reid gets to build off a successful season for the first time in his OSU career. This spring provided the first steps in that process.
"He's progressed just like we wanted him to this spring,” OSU offensive coordinator
Larry Fedora said. "The changes in him aren't going to come drastically like they did last year. Now, they're going to come in small increments.”
Like golfers who quickly shave strokes off their average when they first begin, then struggle to make even the smallest improvements.
"You gotta look a little bit harder to see a change,”
Fedora said.
Fun to think where he might be by this time next spring. Then again, where might he be now had he not busted his shoulder three springs ago?
You remember the scenario. Late in the final spring scrimmage, Reid took a shot from
Rodrick Johnson. He got up slowly and never returned to action.
The hit aggravated an old injury in his right shoulder, but everyone suspected time would heal it.
Then Reid started throwing again and knew something was wrong. Doctors confirmed his suspicions; he had torn cartilage in his shoulder.
Surgery in June wiped out the summer and much of the fall.
"I don't think about it,” Reid said of that redshirt season. "I'm glad that I took that year to sit out and get myself in college shape. I learned a lot during those six months that I didn't play.”
Still, nothing can replace game experience. Had Reid been healthy, he would've played that season.
He'd be better off.
The Cowboys would not.
"Now I have this year and another year,” Reid said, "so I'm excited.”
Not nearly as excited as the Cowboy Nation. The prospect of having Reid around two more years is thrilling stuff for the orange-clad masses. If he keeps his health and his head, Reid will continue to improve.
So will the Cowboys.
"I've taken two or three steps just getting better and running the team and having guys trust in me,” Reid said of his spring. "Last year ... I had to learn so much as far as where to go with the ball and what to do in certain situations. Now, that's second nature.
"I'm just trying to take the offense a step further.”
A stumble or two Saturday doesn't change the fact that Reid is the man to move the Cowboys forward.
