There is not a player in the country that isn’t a quarterback who can strike fear in a defensive coordinator quite like Tylan Wallace can.
The Oklahoma State star receiver can do whatever he wants, whenever he wants it. Just look at these catches.
It’s no secret that he has Oklahoma’s attention.
“I think with one of those guys like that, you would categorize him as an all-around receiver,” said defensive back Tre Norwood. “He’s strong in every aspect of the game—route running, blocking, speed, strong hands. He’s one of those type guys that it’s hard to pinpoint a weak spot in his game. That’s what makes the great receivers great.”
[lawrence-related id=20622]
There really isn’t anyone quite like Wallace someone would have on its roster to use in preparation for him. Lincoln Riley says redshirt freshman Trejan Bridges is eerily similar to him.
But Riley acknowledged the threat that’s going against him.
“Can you carbon copy a guy? His strengths, weaknesses, all that … Tylan doesn’t have very many weaknesses,” he said. “Our guys get to go up against good receivers, but Tylan is tremendous. He does some things very, very well that are difficult to defend. I’m glad our guys get to go up against good receivers, but it’s going to matter what they do on Saturday night. We’ve got a lot of respect for him. Tremendous player. Certainly we have a lot of respect for the challenge of trying to contain him.”
Defensive coordinator Alex Grinch mentioned something, too, that can’t be more true.
“They’re going to put you in one-on-one battles, whether you want to be or not,” he said. “When you mention all those different positions, the quarterback run game and the tailback you have to tackle on the same play, and he has the ability not just hand it off but throw it down the field—that creates those one-on-one matchups, whether it’s the interior defensive line.
“If I have a gap, I need to make a play through that gap. If he runs a route, I have to cover the man. If I don’t have a man, I better make sure my eyes are fixated on the backfield to make sure I have the appropriate leverage to attack the would-be ball carriers. Ultimately, who is carrying the ball? It’s all hands-on deck once the ball shows itself. Eventually, turns into a ball carrier. In the pass game, the receiver, running back, quarterback, all those things. It makes it awfully difficult. When you can cross off one of those three factors—receiver, running back, quarterback—certainly, your confidence level goes up. It’s not as simple as that particular call to do those things. That doesn’t exist. That will be a major challenge for us.”
Oklahoma State forces you to become one-dimensional defensively whenever Wallace is on the field and playing. As Grinch says, “They’re going to put you in one-on-one battles, whether you want to be or not.”
Here is how the Cowboys do it: they just line No. 2 up as far away from everyone as possible and force you to play him in man-to-man.
Bottom of the picture:
Bottom of the picture:
Top of the picture:
Bottom of the picture:
Bottom of the picture:
How does Oklahoma deal with that? It’s going to be a huge advantage for Oklahoma State against starting corners Tre Brown and Woodi Washington. The Cowboys are going to get a one-on-one matchup with the most competitive receiver in football on Oklahoma’s corners.
This is why Wallace is so dangerous and this is how Oklahoma State unleashes his talents.
It’s going to be a major, major test that could ultimately decide Bedlam.
[vertical-gallery id=20158]