After an up-and-down season with game cancelations, coronavirus concern and sparse crowds, the Oklahoma State football team is conducting spring drills with a hope that the next season will be normal.

“It’s exciting for all of us to get back to football. We’ve had a lot of walkthroughs, much different offseason obviously with coaches not being on the road recruiting and young men not being able to come to our campus,” said OSU coach Mike Gundy. “Excited about the players being out there, excited about the future and Oklahoma State football and so, it’s a good time of the year for us, it gives us a chance to do what we like to do more than anything, which is to coach football and spend a lot of time with the players.”

Spring training is an important time for players to develop and they lost that opportunity in 2020.

“Well, they all are for quarterbacks,” Gundy said about spring training sessions. “They develop differently. Some of them has strengths in one area, some of them have strengths in the others. I told you guys a year ago that Spencer Sanders needed to calm down and let the game come to him, relax. He did that on the sidelines. We didn’t have one issue with him on the sideline this year.

“Last year we had an issue about every game because he was over-competitive and let his emotions get caught up in the game and then all the sudden you don’t think as well. So, in his situation, he conquered that a year ago and that helped him play better as the year went on.

“This year, his development in the throwing game, now that he’s learned to control his emotions will be important through spring and August, because we all know that he can pull it down or keep it and run and take off and score and can make big plays.

“ As he now learns to understand what to do with the football and take what the defense gives him, it’s just going to give him a chance to become a better player at this level.”

A new member of the quarterback room is freshman Gunnar Gundy, the son of the head coach.

“I actually forget he’s there,” Mike Gundy said. “I have so many things going on in practice that I’m trying to watch and then when I scan to certain things I’ll see him, when I talk to the team, which all through the offseason and then I’ll look over there and see him and then I’ll remember he’s there.

“So, it’s a little unusual, but I kind of prepared myself for that, but the good thing is I have so many other things going — that I get zeroed in on certain things and then I’ll forget and then I’ll see him and I’ll have to do a little double take.”

And speaking of quarterbacks, former OSU quarterback J.W. Walsh has been hired as a quality control coach.

“Well it’s good,” Gundys said. “J.W. is a loyal Cowboy and a tough player that’s wanting to get in this business and as I said a few years ago.

“Most of the people that we hire that are tied into football are going to be former players. There’s so many former players out there now that are wanting to coach or be in administration or be in strength and conditioning, be in operations.

“So, he’s an example of what it will be like in the future — is bringing young men back into the program that have already been in it. We just can’t get to all of them. There’s so many that want to come back that we don’t have as many jobs, but it’s good to have him back.”

OSU’s spring game is April 24.