Transfer Portal Breaking News: Ohio Picks Up Win With Former Big 12 Quarterback

The Son-Coach Dynamic Can be Tough but Worked Well

Coach Mike Gundy, who has been at Oklahoma State for 18 years, always wanted to have his son play for him. Being a coach and parent can be a tough position to be in as showing favoritism can be about the worst thing possible to do. In fact, many coaches who coach their own children go so far out of their way to not show any favortism that they end up underutilizing their child.

We’ve seen this at the highest level of sports with Doc Rivers and his son Austin Rivers. Even though Austin is a great player, the amount of scrutiny that Doc Rivers would receive when Austin struggled ultimately contributed to him getting fired (among many other factors).  In the case of Gunnar, he certainly will never be viewed as being put ahead of anyone just because he is the coach’s son.

Prior to entering the transfer portal, Gunnar was getting very limited reps as a backup. Most of his statistics came in blowout wins against teams like South Alabama and Arkansas Pine Bluff. However, Coach Gundy did make sure to give his son an opportunity in what ultimately ended up being his final game.

In the Texas Bowl against Texas A&M, Gunnar was given an opportunity that, in some ways, brought closure to Gundy playing quarterback for the Cowboys. In the second quarter with Oklahoma State leading 10-7, Gundy decided to give his son a chance behind center with a wildcat-looking formation. Gunnar took the snap, broke right, and ran down the sideline for 10 yards and a touchdown. For many fans, and followers of the team, it felt like a nice closure between the father and son as they would both do what was in their best interest.

Gunnar Following His Own Path

Some wondered if perhaps Gunnar, like so many coach’s sons, would want to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a coach rather than enter the transfer portal. Many players in their final year will work more as graduate assistants, learning the secrets to coaching and how to be successful rather than utilizing the transfer portal to play somewhere else. Gunnar certainly could still follow that route down the road, but for the immediate future, he wants another chance to prove himself as a quarterback.

Coach Gundy certainly will be sad about his son leaving the team, but he has no reason to worry about the position as a whole. As mentioned, Alan Bowman received an additional year of eligibility, meaning that as long as he is able to stay healthy, the team is set up to have one of the best quarterbacks in the Big 12. Throw that on top of having the nation’s leading rusher Ollie Gordon III, coming back, and Coach Gundy very well may have one of, if not the best QB/RB duo in the entire nation.

Ohio Gets Transfer Portal Win

For Ohio, the Bobcats have been in desperate need of a good transfer portal quarterback. While Gundy is unproven, his experience at the P5 level, both in games and practice, may prove to be more than enough to get Ohio back to winning and hopefully a bowl game. Last year, the Bobcats finished a 10-3 record, but many felt that it was the passing game that held them back from a special season. Kurtis Rourke, who used the transfer portal himself to land at Indiana, only threw for 2,207 yards while completing 59% of his passes.

If Gundy can throw for 2,800 yards at a 65% completion rate, watch out for Ohio to make some noise in the MAC next year. Ohio opens up their season against Akron. It is expected that Gundey will be the starter.

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