Ollie Gordon II fallout: Mike Gundy reveals decision on Cowboys star
Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy on his decision regarding football star Ollie Gordon after he was arrested this offseason.
James Parks | 11 Hours Ago
Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy announces a decision on whether to punish football star Ollie Gordon after his arrest. / Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports
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Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy confirmed that football star Ollie Gordon II will not face any suspensions that prevent him from playing following his arrest for suspicion of driving under the influence.
"He's going to play," Gundy said from Big 12 Media Days, via ESPN.
"I'm going to do what we think is best for Oklahoma State football, and I think it's best for Ollie to play. If there's any punishment, it's making him carry the ball 50 times in the first game."
Gundy added: "Ollie was very fortunate that he was able to get out of that situation without anyone getting hurt."
Gordon was arrested on June 30 on suspicion of driving under the influence and there was some speculation around whether he would miss games as a result.
Oklahoma State placed third in the Big 12 preseason media rankings with 14 first-place votes, behind Kansas State and current favorite Utah, and is a serious contender to earn a berth in the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff this season.
Gordon ran for 1,732 yards and 21 touchdowns last season, ranking No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, among all players in college football.
He averaged 6.1 yards per carry and posted 123.7 rushing yards per game. The Cowboys went 10-4 overall and 7-2 in Big 12 games, losing to Texas in the conference championship.
"He's on a shorter leash right now, unfortunately," Gundy said of Gordon.
"Because I understand young people, we all make mistakes. If we don't learn from those, then it's not really good. We've had several conversations. We'll have more over the next month. I think that he understands how serious that situation was. Hopefully he can learn from it and move forward."
(ESPN)
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