Mike Gundy explains how Spencer Sanders has continued to develop at Oklahoma State

At Big 12 media day, Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy spoke in depth on his starting quarterback Spencer Sanders, and how his skillset and experience elevate the Cowboy offense.

“Well, Spencer has been fantastic for us. He has now become a magician in our offense. He knows it. He can run it fast. He understands. The middle toward the end of last year he started to make really quality decisions in a short amount of time, which is very important in quarterback play in our opinion,” Gundy said.

As far as on field ability goes Sanders has proven himself, coming off a season where he was voted first team all All-Big 12 by the coaches and led the conference in total offense and total offense per game. His name is all over the OSU record books as well, but Gundy spoke about his intangibles as a player and the value they bring to the team.

“He’s humble. He doesn’t worry about something that he might not have. There’s times that we put him on the field and we were beat up in the offensive line. Never said a word about it. There’s times we put him out there and he was playing with true freshmen at wide receivers. Never said a word about it,” Gundy said. “His competitive nature, his toughness allows him to be a really good player, and we want him to relax and enjoy the season, have fun and go out and play good football.”

Gundy also spoke on Sanders leadership style.

“Well, some of the things I mentioned earlier is what he does to lead our team, in that when things aren’t always perfect, he competes,” Gundy said. “He fights. We ask him to run, he runs. We ask him to play fast on offense, he plays fast on offense.”

Sanders led the Cowboys to the conference championship game last season and he is the only quarterback in the Big 12 that is a returning starter that didn’t have to compete in a quarterback competition this offseason. OSU is hoping that his experience and leadership can lead them back to the title game, but this this time with a different result.

“He has the ability to get players to rally around him because of the way that he plays. At times he can be vocal, and then at times he’s not vocal. But he’s a humble young man. He’s extremely competitive, and he’s tough. That gives him a chance to have success on every Saturday.”