Mike Gundy showed with his last offensive coordinator he wasn't afraid to go off the beaten path to find his offensive coordinator. Mike Yurcich successfully piloted the Oklahoma State offense for six seasons before leaving this month to become the passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Ohio State, so to find Yurcich's replacement, Gundy brought his machete back out and started hacking away at the bushes and tall grass to find another hidden gem of an offensive mind.
Turns out, this one wasn't quite so hidden.
Oklahoma State on Sunday announced Princeton's Sean Gleeson will take over as offensive coordinator. His resume speaks for itself to the point where I'm just going to lift directly from the Pokes' press release, because you can't say it any better than this:
In addition to posting a perfect record in 2018, Princeton led the FCS in scoring offense by averaging 47.0 points per game and ranked in the top 10 nationally in total offense (second with 536.8 yards per game), rushing offense (sixth with 295.5 yards per game), third-down conversion percentage (second with a mark of 53.4 percent) and pass efficiency (seventh with a mark of 161.26). The Tigers' 470 points scored in 2018 set an Ivy League record.
Coached directly by Gleeson, Tiger quarterback John Lovett excelled as a dual-threat performer in 2018. Lovett led the Ivy League by averaging 303.0 yards of total offense per game – passing for 203.7 yards per game and rushing for 99.3 yards per contest. He ranked second in the league in both of those categories. Lovett threw 18 touchdown passes against just three interceptions and completed 66.1 percent of his passes.
Lovett won 2018 Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year honors over his teammate, Jesper Horsted. It marked the first time in Ivy League history that two teammates were finalists for Offensive Player of the Year award.
In his first year as offensive coordinator, quarterback Chad Kanoff earned Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year honors, but did it in a different way than Lovett. Kanoff was a pro-style passer who set the Ivy League single-season record with 3,474 passing yards.
High school coach Dan Casey also put together this highlight film showing Gleeson's creativity.
"What attracted me to Oklahoma State was Coach Gundy and his leadership," Gleeson said. "You look around the landscape of college football and see how long he has been there. He's built a consistent winner and has a great staff to work with. Now I'm excited to get pointed in the direction of the players and get to work."
Gleeson had been on Princeton's staff since 2013, first as running backs coach before being elevated to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2017. The Tigers averaged 36.9 points per game during his six years on staff, the best output in program history, dating all the way back to 1869. Princeton averaged 43.7 and 47.0 points during his two years calling plays.
"There's a ton of overlap between the system that I have been in and Oklahoma State's," Gleeson said. "As a coordinator, I believe in an offensive system that allows our players to be fast and physical. But, most of all, I think what will be noticed on Saturdays is how hungry we play the game."
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.