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Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy plans to meet with receiver Justin Blackmon and quarterback Brandon Weeden in the next few days to find out whether they'll return for another season with the Cowboys or enter the NFL draft.
The duo helped propel the Cowboys to their first 11-win season, which wrapped up with a 36-10 win against Arizona on Wednesday night in the Alamo Bowl. Blackmon set Oklahoma State records with 111 catches for 1,782 yards and 20 touchdowns this season while Weeden had a school-record 4,277 yards passing with 34 TDs.
''I still think that for both players it's better (to return), because they've had one great year, if they have another one like this - which they're very capable of - then they'll elevate themselves very high in the draft,'' Gundy said Thursday night.
Gundy said he's sure the players are aware of the potential for a lockout in the NFL next season, but he doesn't want the players to focus on that as they make their decisions.
''It really needs to come down to they want to come back and be on the team and play college football again,'' Gundy said. ''That's the important aspect in my opinion is do you want to be on a college football team, do you want to experience the college life, do you want to continue to work toward your degree, or do you want to go out there in the real world and get into that game?
''That is more important in my opinion than the lockout.''
Blackmon caught only 20 passes last season before breaking out as Oklahoma State's top playmaker this year as a redshirt sophomore. The 27-year-old Weeden hadn't started a game before this season. He had been out of football for five years while playing minor league baseball and spent most of last season as the third-string quarterback.
''If he plays another 12 games or so, he could really elevate himself into a pretty high draft pick, in my opinion,'' Gundy said. ''I really feel that way about him. He needs some maturity, he needs the experience, and there's some pretty good quarterbacks that are going to be in the first couple rounds this year.''
Gundy said he has had ''very minimal discussions'' about the draft with Blackmon and Weeden because it wasn't the right time to do it while preparing for the Alamo Bowl.
''I don't think there's any extended period of time that we need to find out exactly what's going on,'' Gundy said.
