Scouting Report - Stillwater

Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy! Stillwater stole one from Mustang on Friday when quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="157517" first="Gage" last="Gundy"] connected on a 60-yard touchdown pass on fourth down with just 49 seconds left. The Pioneers improved to 2-0 on the season with a 32-28 victory. For the complete game recap, check that out RIGHT HERE. The Pioneers have a few new faces on both sides of the ball but they also have multi-year starters as well. In this report, we take a look at the mix of new faces and familiar names you’ll need to know this season. [player_tooltip player_id="38676" first="Gabe" last="M Brown"] | 2022 Linebacker (Oklahoma State Commit) Stillwater senior linebacker [player_tooltip player_id="38676" first="Gabe" last="M Brown"] is the best linebacker in Oklahoma today and he only solidified that with his performance on Friday night. Brown is sporting a knee brace after having knee surgery this offseason and it hasn’t slowed him down at all. You hear stories about Brown and the type of just absolute warrior he is and you can’t help but be impressed. And he was all over the field on Friday. Brown and the Stillwater run defense really impressed me with the way they flew around the field. Along with fellow linebacker [player_tooltip player_id="101413" first="Chance" last="Clements"] and defensive end Brady Osborn, the Pioneers were outstanding in that department. The Pioneers only gave up a few chunk plays on the night as Mustang had 52 carries on the night. Brown has been committed to Oklahoma State for nearly a year now and he committed to the Cowboys about a week after they offered him. The growth that Brown has had from his breakout sophomore season is quite impressive and we have no reason to think it’s going to slow down anytime soon. He’s locked into that top spot as the best linebacker in the state’s senior class and at this point, he’s a borderline top ten prospect overall. [player_tooltip player_id="157517" first="Gage" last="Gundy"] | 2023 Quarterback It’s hard not to be impressed with the second ever start for junior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="157517" first="Gage" last="Gundy"]. While the Pioneers leaned on the running game hard in their win over Mustang, it was Gundy who finished with four touchdown passes, including the game-winner with 49 seconds to play. Stillwater had 40 running plays with only 18 passing plays. But Gundy was incredibly efficient in the passing game. He completed 14 of those 18 passes for nearly 200 yards. And on the game-winning play, Gundy had absolute ice water in his veins because not only was it fourth and five, but the Pioneers still had work to do and the clock was ticking away. Stillwater probably ran about 15 seconds off the clock before the snap but Gundy was calm, cool and collected before taking the snap, and going for much more than just the first down. Everything we heard about Gundy coming into this season was that he had the chance to be one of Stillwater’s best quarterbacks in recent memory. And that includes older brother Gunnar, who was a three-year starter and is now at Oklahoma State. Gundy has looked good to start the season but the big test not only for him but for this whole team comes next week when they travel to Bixby to take on the top ranked Spartans. [player_tooltip player_id="50786" first="JaKobe" last="Sanders"] | 2023 Offensive Lineman Just a junior this fall, it’s scary to think about what offensive lineman [player_tooltip player_id="50786" first="JaKobe" last="Sanders"] will look like here in a few years. We first found out about Sanders after his freshman year and were really impressed with his performance last year on an offensive line full of seniors. Now, as a two-year starter and the only returning starter on the O-line, this junior is looked to as a leader and he’s found what could be his natural position at the next level. Sanders was outstanding at the center position on Friday night. In fact, Stillwater’s offensive line was really good on the interior. It’s interesting what the Pioneers do. They have their three biggest linemen at the two guard positions and Sanders at center as opposed to putting two of them at tackle. However, it was very clear why they did that as Stillwater had a ton of success running the ball in between the tackles and following those massive interior linemen. When we look at Sanders and how much he’s developed over the last year, we don’t think it’s hyperbole to make a couple comparisons. If center ends up being his spot at the next level, we see him being similar to former Union lineman Ricky Stromberg or former Shawnee lineman Creed Humphrey. Humphrey was a second round draft pick by Kansas City back in April and Stromberg is a starter at Arkansas and projected to be a relatively high pick as well. We think Sanders could be in that same conversation by the time it’s over. [player_tooltip player_id="199947" first="Mason" last="Butler"] | 2022 Wide Receiver While the Stillwater rushing attack will still be the focal point of the offense, the passing game, as seen on Friday, will be incredibly necessary throughout the season. And on Friday night, Gundy had a few receivers he targeted throughout the night but none more than senior wide receiver [player_tooltip player_id="199947" first="Mason" last="Butler"]. The senior wideout finished with nine receptions for 74 yards and a touchdown on the evening. Four other Stillwater receivers had a combined five receptions on the night. Butler was your prototypical slot receiver that was consistently getting open against the Mustang defense. Although he was the leading receiver, he only had one play that went for double digits in yards and that was his 24-yard touchdown reception. As mentioned, Butler’s style is one of a slot receiver who’s going to run plenty of short and intermediate routes and do most of his damage after the catch. On Friday, he was an incredibly reliable target. However, like plenty of slot receivers at the high school level who are south of 6’0, the size questions will always have a negative impact on their recruiting. Granted, Butler was a pleasant surprise for us while we were scouting the game. We knew the majority of the playmakers that Stillwater ran out against Mustang but we did not know Butler. We do now and perhaps this is just the start of a breakout year. [player_tooltip player_id="199948" first="Noah" last="Roberts"] | 2023 Running Back Arguably the biggest question about Stillwater coming into the 2021 season was how would the running game look. With only one starter returning on the offensive line and the Pioneers having to replace the best running back in school history in [player_tooltip player_id="38521" first="Qwontrel" last="Walker"], the question was definitely legitimate. However, after two games, we seem to have our answer. First off, it will be replacement by committee as Holden Thompson also got carries and Gundy even tucked it and ran a few times. But the leading rusher in their last two games and far and away the leader in Friday’s win over Mustang was junior [player_tooltip player_id="199948" first="Noah" last="Roberts"]. The 2023 running back finished with 24 carries for 130 yards and a touchdown. Last week, he had nearly 30 carries for well over 100 yards. While he didn’t break any long runs, his longest was an 11-yarder, Roberts is a steady presence at the running back spot and picked up positive yards on every single carry he had on Friday night. And that’s exactly what the Pioneers need. The long home run plays will eventually come but they needed a reliable back that they could depend on to read the defense and get positive yards. How Roberts will look as a prospect, he’s in a similar boat as Butler where the size questions will be the biggest concern moving forward. However, with a strong junior season, and he’s off to a good start in that department, he’ll give himself an opportunity for a school to take a shot on him next year.