Okung keeps spirits high for No. 11 Cowboys

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) -To an opposing defender hoping to get pressure on Oklahoma State quarterback Zac Robinson, Russell Okung poses a problem.

The hulking tackle is the protector of Robinson's blind side, a menacing 6-foot-6, 320-pound presence who hasn't budged from the left side of the Cowboys' offensive line in 3 1/2 years.

To his teammates, he's the upbeat, smiling rock they can always rely on.

"He's a great guy, a great person, a big spiritual leader on the team. He's just really important to us in so many facets of our life," said guard Noah Franklin, Okung's neighbor on the offensive line. "He's there for any guy any time they need him, on or off the field."

Through all the difficulties the 11th-ranked Cowboys (9-2, 6-1 Big 12) have endured heading into Saturday's Bedlam rivalry game at Oklahoma (6-5, 4-3), Okung has provided stability. Playing through a banged-up ankle and other bumps and bruises, he's one of only three players on the Oklahoma State offense to start every game, extending his streak of 45 straight starts.

This week, his solid play was rewarded when he was named one of three finalists for the Outland Trophy given each year to college football's top interior lineman.

Off the field, he's been just as impressive.

Coach Mike Gundy marveled at the way Okung was able to take over the team's chapel service on a Friday night before a recent game, delivering a message to an audience of his teammates. Gundy said he'd be glad "if my boys could grow up to be like Russell - and I'm not talking about 6-6, 320. I'm talking about just as a person."

Okung decided after last season to return to OSU instead of entering the NFL draft as junior, where Gundy thinks he would have been taken late in the first round or sometime in the second round. Now, he could be a top-10 pick.

But Okung didn't always feel comfortable in his current leadership role. He broke into the starting lineup earlier than expected as a freshman, and eventually built up a reputation as one of the best blockers in the nation.

"All I wanted to do was I wanted to play the game," Okung said. "I was going to leave all the leadership things to everybody else. Leaders always say that when you go into anywhere, you don't want to be a leader. You're kind of forced into that role."

His teammates now consider him a natural for the job. Linebacker Donald Booker put it this way: "It's like he always has the right word at the right moment."

"He's a pleasure to be around, like a big baby. A giant baby," Booker said. "He's just always in a good mood. You never see him down on anybody or bringing anybody down. He's always trying to keep everybody up and keep their spirits high. He's very spiritual."

Okung shies away from taking credit for the chapel services, but he doesn't take them lightly either.

"I don't really think it really relates too much to football because when you're talking about God, you're talking about saving lives and giving him the glory," Okung said. "As a team, it keeps us together, it keeps us strong, especially when we rely on God as a source of power."

Each week, Okung wears eye-black patches with the Bible verse Isaiah 40:29-31 - which states that God gives strength to the weary and power to the weak - on them. He says the passage helped him get through some tough times in his personal life during the summer, and then to deal with the Cowboys' adversity this season.

All-American receiver Dez Bryant has missed all of Big 12 play after being ruled ineligible, and All-Big 12 tailback Kendall Hunter is among the prominent OSU players to be sidelined by injury. Most recently, Robinson missed the Cowboys' last game against Colorado after being injured on a designed run play.

"I really believe that Scripture, the word is powerful. It does things to you and it does things to your life," Okung said. "It's a Scripture that somebody shared it with me, and all of a sudden things just changed for me."

Behind Okung, the Cowboys are leading the Big 12 in rushing for the fourth straight season and they've given up only eight sacks in 11 games. But Okung said he doesn't see himself as deserving of accolades like the Outland Trophy.

"Our coaches always talk about buying into the program and buying into the things that go on, and I think I'm just one of those players that I bought into what they're saying," Okung said. "I put those things and the team above myself, and eventually things came around and you've got the product you see now - an unfinished product you see now."

Okung said his goal is to be a consistent, powerful, positive presence for the Cowboys.

"It kind of amazes you. As a young player, he's kind of one of those guys you look up to but you don't realize he's actually a teammate," safety Markelle Martin said. "You look up to him as like an older guy."

And when Okung talks, others listen.

"One of his philosophies he believes in is if you want it, you've got to work for it. Nothing's ever going to be given to you," Martin said. "You've got to constantly work and work, and once you get there, there's always going to be somebody wanting to take it from you, whether it's an opponent or adversity. You've just got to keep fighting and never let anyone take it away."