'I enjoyed my time with Coach': OSU's Mike Gundy formed bond with late OU coach Billy Tubbs

STILLWATER — Before his death last year, Billy Tubbs made a few extra trips to Stillwater for football.

The legendary OU basketball coach watched a few football practices last year to watch his grandson Cale Cabbiness, a freshman walk-on receiver for the Cowboys at the time.

Tubbs also formed a relationship with OSU coach Mike Gundy.

Their conversations ranged from coaching to young people to changing over a career.

“I enjoyed my conversations with him,” Gundy said. “Obviously, he’s got a really good personality, which we all know. He’s not scared to speak his mind, which we all know. He plays an exciting brand of basketball, kind of what we’ve done here in football starting 15 years ago.

“So, I enjoyed my time with Coach.”

That made Saturday night’s 21-20 win at Boise State even more special for Gundy and the Tubbs family.

Cabbiness, who had just made the traveling roster Wednesday after a plethora of injuries to receivers, made the game-sealing catch. He was lifted onto his teammates’ shoulders on the field afterward and was even able to dance in the locker room with Gundy.

Gundy pushed Cabbiness to break it down, a moment caught in photos.

“His dancing skills are not good at all,” Gundy said. “Very stiff when it comes to that and really shy. But a great moment. I wanted him to be able to enjoy that.”

Gundy’s relationship with Cabbiness goes way back, too. Cabbiness was on Gunnar Gundy’s Little League Baseball team before he became a star at Norman North High School.

“He’s a good kid,” Gundy said. “He works hard, does it every day and just kept going. It’s a perfect example of when a coach says you never know when you might get your chance.”

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Rashod Owens makes impact

Since arriving before last season, Rashod Owens has been a wanderer among the receivers group.

He’s played all three positions — both outside and in the slot — as personnel and needs have shifted.

The latest, though, is his most impactful.

Owens played the “Z” outside position Saturday in place of injured Tay Martin, catching two passes for 34 yards. 

“It’s unfair to him,” Gundy said about moving Owens so much. “We have to have guys ready in case something happened he’s maybe going to play somewhere else.

“He made a couple third-down catches and had a drop. But he’s continued to improve over the last month and show that he has capability of making a few plays on game day.”

Gundy was also high on Owen’s blocking ability, something the Cowboys desperately needed.

“After watching the tape, he did block pretty good,” Gundy said. “In fact, a couple of our bigs runs were based on him blocking.”

Entering Saturday’s Big 12 opener against Kansas State, Martin or Owens could get the start at that outside position.

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Jaylen Warren, Jason Taylor honored by Big 12

Running back Jaylen Warren’s big week resulted in two conference awards — Offensive Player of the Week and Newcomer of the Week — while Jason Taylor II’s heroics earned him Special Teams Player of the Week.

Warren, a transfer from Utah State, had a career-high 32 carries and 218 yards in the win over Boise State. He also scored two touchdowns, including a 75-yard run that was the longest Cowboys rush since Chuba Hubbard’s 92-yard score against TCU in 2019.

Taylor, a Carl Albert graduate, blocked the go-ahead field goal with 2:09 remaining. Moving into a starting role, he also had four tackles and a quarterback hurry.

OSU has won five weekly awards this season.

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Baylor kickoff set

Make it three straight weeks of a primetime kickoff. OSU will host Baylor at 6 p.m. on Oct. 2, it was announced Monday. The game will be televised on ESPN2.

The Cowboys have had night games in all but one week this season, with the Tulsa kickoff being at 11 a.m. earlier this month.

Jacob Unruh covers college sports for The Oklahoman. You can send your story ideas to him at junruh@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @jacobunruh. Support his work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.