Spencer Sanders, Mississippi Football News: Draft Scout Player News

07/17/22 - QB Spencer Sanders, rSr/2024, Mississippi

Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy offered up a new adjective to describe quarterback Spencer Sanders. "He has now become a magician in our offense," Gundy said from the stage on Wednesday at Big 12 Media Days at AT&T Stadium. Magician. Strong word, but not out of bounds for a guy who is entering his fourth year as the Cowboys' starting QB. It's also a bit of ammo for Sanders' vocal detractors, mostly from the social media realm - those who might believe Sanders disappears a little too often. Like, for instance, the last time he was in this stadium, when he threw four interceptions in the 21-16 loss to Baylor in the Big 12 Championship Game. Such is life with Sanders, whose inconsistencies early in his career made him a polarizing figure among Cowboy fans. Many support their quarterback. Others find it hard to live with the mistakes.

Sanders knows the haters are out there. "There's gonna be people that still hate me to this day because of that game," Sanders said. "I carry the chip on my shoulder, I put a smile on my face. I wake up and call my mom every day, and I go to work." Sanders made strides in his level of consistency last year. He set career highs for passing yards (2,839), passing touchdowns (20) and rushing yards (668), plus a career low for missed games, sitting out only the opener because of COVID-19 protocols. Prior to last season, he had never gone two consecutive games without a turnover, but did it three times. And he had just two turnovers during a six-game stretch from mid-October to late November when the Cowboys thrust themselves into the College Football Playoff race. "Spencer has been fantastic for us," Gundy said. "He knows (the offense). He can run it fast. He understands. The middle toward the end of last year he started to make really quality decisions in a short amount of time, which is very important in quarterback play in our opinion." - Daily Oklahoman

rSr/2024