Oklahoma State’s starting quarterback Taylor Cornelius and its starting defensive end Cole Walterscheid have taken similar paths to Stillwater.
No, I don’t mean Cornelius’ five-hour drive east on I-40 from Muenster, Texas as compared to Waltersheid’s roughly three-and-a-half hour trek north on I-35 from Bushland. It’s that both arrived on campus for a redshirt year in 2014, and both were far from ready to contribute.
Cornelius, a walk-on at a gaunt 6 foot 6 and 180 pounds, was fresh off of a successful prep career in small Texas Class 2A ball — which included slinging the rock for over 9,000 yards and nearly 90 touchdowns.