Why Two Oklahoma State Football Stars May Already Be All-Big 12 Players
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The college football season is six weeks old. Two Oklahoma State Cowboys football players have already won three Big 12 conference weekly awards.
The Big 12 announced its awards for last weekend's action and Cowboys linebacker Ethan Wesloski and placekicker Sam Keltner won defensive player of the week and special teams player of the week, respectively, for the third time this season.
Wesloski shared the award after the Cowboys defeated Oregon in Week 2 and shared it again after Oklahoma State defeated West Virginia in Week 4. This week, he shared the award with Arizona State linebacker Owen Long.
Keltner also claimed his award in Weeks 2, 4 and 6.
It's enough to lead one to believe that the pair are already All-Big 12 players and teams won't be announced until after the regular season ends.
Ethan Wesloski's and Sam Keltner's Impressive Seasons
Wesloski had a career-high 17 total tackles against UCF and did it for the second game in a row. Wesloski is the only player in FBS with multiple games of 17 or more tackles this season and has led the Cowboys in tackles in four of their five games. He also leads the Big 12 in tackles (10.6 per game) and is the only Big 12 player who averages 10 or more tackles in a game. Long is right behind him at 9.4 per game.
It's not a surprise that Wesloski is thriving in defensive coordinator Skyler Cassity's 4-2-5 scheme. He played in it last year at North Texas and finished that season leading the team with 113 tackles, including 59 solo stops. He was named second team All-American Conference. The way his season is going he could be first-team all-Big 12 in his final collegiate season.
Keltner has been just as impressive. He made two field goals on Saturday against UCF, including a 40-yarder. He made all his extra points, too. Keltner has set a Cowboys record by making his first 12 field goals to start his OSU career. His streak is also the longest for an OSU kicker since Tanner Brown made 16 straight spanning the 2021 and 2022 seasons.
He's made more field goals than anyone in the Big 12. He's the only Big 12 kicker who is yet to miss a field goal. Compared to last season at SMU he's on pace for a career year. With the Mustangs he went 14-for-20 on field goals.
Plenty can happen between now and the end of the season. But Wesloski and Keltner are both performing at all-Big 12 levels through six games and winning three conference awards in six weeks is the proof. If you're looking for reasons why the Cowboys are undefeated in Big 12 play going into their top 25 showdown with Houston, they're two of them.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/oklahomastate as Why Two Oklahoma State Football Stars May Already Be All-Big 12 Players.
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