OSU’s offense perfect fit for Walsh
by Brandon Chatmon
bchatmon@opubco.com
Oklahoma State appears to have secured on if its top priorities of the 2011 recruiting class with the commitment of Denton (Texas) Guyer quarterback J.W. Walsh. Playing for his father John Walsh, the head coach at Guyer, J.W. Walsh put up stellar numbers in 2009. He passed for 2,600 yards and 30 touchdowns with just six interceptions. The dual-threat quarterback also rushed for 1,563 yards and 25 touchdowns.
Earlier this week, I got the chance to talk to John Walsh about his son and his decision to be a Cowboy.
Tell me a little bit about J.W.
J.W. is my son and our quarterback. We went several places during the recruiting process. He wanted to be close enough for his grandparents and family to go watch his college football days. He had it narrowed down pretty quickly to Oklahoma State, Texas, OU and TCU. Those four are top programs around Denton. Once he started getting offers and Coach (Mike) Gundy offered on a Monday, he said everything felt right about it, we’d been to campus about three times. I tried to get him to be a little patient and not just jump on the high he felt from it. So he let it go for about a day and he was ready to make the decision. He’s excited about it and there’s no wavering, he’s had to tell a lot of people “No.” since then and didn’t think twice about it.
Sounds like he’s excited to be a Cowboy.
Yes. When the coaching change happened you thought there may have been a little change in the thought process of who they recruit but Coach (Dana) Holgorsen came in and wanted him too. And that just solidified for him that is the right place.
Did Coach Holgorsen make it clear J.W. was a high priority for them?
Coach Holgorsen came by and visited with us. When he went back to Stillwater, the offer came pretty quick.
How does he fit in that style of offense?
I think it’s perfect for him. He’s been offered by a lot of different offenses, he’s been offered by guys who get under center and drop back, guys who want to run the football at the quarterback position. We watched some film with Coach Holgorsen on Junior Day. (He likes) that style and having to make a lot of decisions from the quarterback position. He’s a heady kid. He can run the offense from a hot center and he has a accurate throwing arm. And if things break down he can make a bad play a good play with his athletic ability.
Does he like the opportunity to have that freedom at the line of scrimmage?
Absolutely. The one thing that was important to him in this recruiting process was being in a quarterback friendly offense, that trusts the quarterback to make decisions on the field. When you have that ability you can always be in a good play. In our offense, he’s always changing to get us in a good play. It’s a good luxury to have.
When did you realize he had the ability to be a Division I quarterback?
You don’t know until you see them play high school football but last year as a sophomore we made a deep run in the playoffs and it became evident that he was able to help us win ball games through the air and on the ground. He was able to have his hands firmly on the steering wheel throughout games. Then going to summer camps and seeing him side to side with, at OU’s camp, Blake Bell and I thought he threw right with him. Then we go to Texas and he threw next to Connor Wood, Case McCoy and those guys. I think sophomore year throwing next to those guys side by side, I think he realized, ‘I belong here.’ And it confirmed it for me.
How is his competitive nature?
He’s only loss three games in two years. He’s 21-3 as a starter. Two of those losses are in the semifinals. If we lose, he doesn’t mind putting the blame on himself because he doesn’t mind putting the team on his back.
Has he always been real competitive?
Yeah. We can’t even play Candyland with him, if he doesn’t have the right cards he’s going to get ticked off. He’s very competitive.
Does he play other sports?
He played basketball until this year when he decided he just wanted to be a quarterback. He still runs track on three relays, 4×100, 4×200 and 4×400.
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Comments
Just happy to see Gundy is not making the call’s next year. He too much on his plate and the play calling lacked a lot of luster. If not for Robinson being the Q-back he was they’d not won as many as they had.
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THESE ARE GOOD ARTICLES, BUT THERE ARE ALWAYS LOTS OF TYPOS ON THEM…THAT’S NOT A GOOD SIGN TO PROSPECTS AND THEIR PARENTS. THEY SHOLD BE EDITED AND CLEANED UP BEFORE GOING TO PRINT.