OSU starts spring practice while former Cowboys prepare for Pro Day

After a mostly-quiet winter, Mike Gundy & Co. finally opened up spring practice on Monday with a two-hour session.

Even though it was only helmets and shorts, Gundy described it as an exciting practice for his guys.

"The players moved around really well," he said. "There was a lot of excitement with our coaches. We were glad to be back out here."

The excitement obviously isn't a bad thing, and I don't really see it as surprising either. There were new faces with both the players and coaches, and those guys are just as excited about getting back out there as the fans will be when the spring game rolls around in a few weeks.

"Their attitude and body language are the two most important things we do every day," Gundy said. "I was impressed with that. Of course, some guys got lined up wrong and we need to throw and catch better and be in the right spot on defense. That's what spring ball is for, giving young guys quality reps."

It was newly-hired offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich's first day on the job as well, even though he's likely been making his rounds on recruiting visits for the last month. Though Gundy didn't comment on Yurcich directly, he did have positive things to say about all of the new faces on his staff as a whole.

"I thought (the new coaches) did real well," he said. "It's an adjustment for them just like it is for the players, but they're quality coaches. As they get a feel for our practices, which are different than most teams because we move really fast, they'll adjust."

Overall, it sounds like there was a solid practice for the Pokes on Monday. I doubt much got knocked off the checklist that includes tasks like "Name a starting quarterback", "Break in the new OC", and "Let Glenn Spencer adjust as the new D-coordinator", but the boys are back on the grass, and it's another step closer to that first game this fall.

On the other side of graduation, a handful of former Cowboys are preparing for their Pro Day tomorrow morning in Boone Pickens Stadium.

Joseph Randle, Quinn Sharp, Lane Taylor, Brodrick Brown, Alex Elkins a couple of other players will perform drills and workouts for NFL Scouts, and though there isn't much excitement surrounding players potentially getting drafted out of OSU this year, there are still a few fireworks expected to come.

Randle couldn't do much at the NFL Combine a few weeks ago because he was still coming back from a minor thumb surgery, but he'll be full-go tomorrow except for passing on the bench press workout. His ability to catch balls out of the backfield is what really set him apart at OSU, and he'll get a chance to show that tomorrow.

Brown and Taylor are guys who haven't been heard from much this offseason, but both are expected to be full-participants. Brown was an anchor on the Oklahoma State defense the last two years after seeing solid playing time as a sophomore, and has receivers on his resume like Jeff Fuller and Kenny Stills that he held at bay when he faced them.

Taylor is a guy that will likely get a chance at an NFL team's training camp, though he probably won't hear his name called at the NFL Draft unless it's late. Taylor was the offensive line's captain in 2012, and was named to the First-Team All Big 12 in both coaches and the AP awards. He also started 47 games, and was the lone returning starter to the offensive line in 2010 and 2012.

I'll be on-site tomorrow morning at BPS to cover all the events, so follow me on Twitter for the fastest updates at @brendon_wm. I'll also post a short recap afterwards.