Two players who would have been potential starters for Oklahoma State are no longer with the team. Head coach Mike Gundy confirmed Monday that Lyndell Johnson and Jake Jenkins have decided not to return to the Cowboys in 2014.
“We have a number of players who won’t be with us in the spring from an injury standpoint, some of them because medically we don’t feel like they are ready and the others because I don’t want to push it in the spring,” Gundy said, according to Tulsa World.
Johnson was listed second on Oklahoma State’s depth chart for the Cotton Bowl against Missouri at the end of last season. With Shamiel Gray graduating, the Cowboys had a starting job that likely would have been Johnson’s to lose if he chose to stay with the team for his final year of eligibility. Jenkins was the starting center for Oklahoma State in the Cotton Bowl and also would have ben the projected starter for this fall. Gundy says both players are off to pursue non-football goals.
It gets a little bit more concerning for Oklahoma State on the offensive line this spring. Gundy also confirmed Travis Cross, a back-up center, has graduated and will skip on his remaining eligibility. That means Paul Lewis, a redshirt freshman last fall, will be the likely starter in the middle fo the offensive line this fall. Lewis and Cross were both back-ups to Jenkins last season.