Gundy: We're further ahead
One week into spring drills and Mike Gundy is feeling confident about where his team is at present.
“I think we’re further ahead than we have been in the spring," Gundy said. "Considerably further than last year… So, we’re able to move along much faster. It’s interesting to watch the high school players and how they evolve over the spring. Their heads are spinning right now, but we’re getting good effort from them. They’re in good condition, which it’s not easy to come out of high school and then pick up a tempo at this pace. They’re coming along. They definitely get an advantage being here and understanding they can make more of a movement in June and July.”
A huge part of that comes down to experience, and the 2024 Cowboys have that in spades.
“It’s a great feeling because a lot of teams wouldn’t have a lot of guys return, especially the whole offense," said receiver Rashod Owens. "It’s a true blessing that everybody had the heart and desire to come back and play with each other one more time. We are definitely eager and hungry for that Big 12 championship.”
No one on the Cowboys has more experience in P5 football than quarterback Alan Bowman, who will be playing his seventh season of college football this fall. Still, Bowman said he's in a very different place than a year ago.
“This is the best I've ever felt," Bowman said. "Obviously, I think it's just kind of the maturity of (being older), but I do think, comparatively, you see guys that are 29-30 in their peak, so I'm still young in the grand scheme of things. I think this is the best I’ve felt and the strongest and the biggest… (Last spring), my mind was racing, going 800 miles an hour, trying to figure out what foot to step with, what progression to go through. Now, being able to say, ‘okay, I know what to do.’ Now I can really focus on staying firm in the pocket. If it breaks down, go get five, instead of trying to figure out what to do with my hands.”
Bowman will have his entire offensive line back for '24, though some of them are largely or entirely sitting out this spring. Gundy said that's an opportunity to develop younger guys anb buld depth.
“We’ve got a couple guys that aren’t going to get as much contact this spring with repairs over the offseason, so there’ll be plenty of reps for those guys to go around," Gundy said. "The one advantage that we have now is there’s a lot of reps in spring football. Our ones and twos and threes get reps.”