After former Oklahoma State starting left tackle Caleb Etienne announced his transfer to BYU on Monday, Cowboys coach Mike Gundy shed some light on a possible reason Etienne transferred to Kalani Sitake’s program.
“Caleb felt like he got beat out (for the starting job), so he left, but that’s his choice,” Gundy said, per Cayden McFarland of KJRH TV.
The 6-foot-7, 330-pound Etienne started 13 games at left tackle for Oklahoma State in 2022.
“... He didn’t feel like he was going to start here and he was going to lose his job, so he wanted to go somewhere else,” Gundy said.
Gundy used the opportunity to talk about some of the effects the transfer portal is having on college football.
“I think now everyone’s coming around the portal and realizing the portal is there for a variety of reasons — players can get more money in NIL, they can be a player that’s late in their career that just says ‘I want to do something different, I want to go somewhere new,’ or a guy says ‘I’m not going to be a starter, I want to go be a starter,’” Gundy said.
“I’m not a big fan of the portal in the spring because it’s extremely difficult to replace roster numbers, but I don’t make the rules and standards, I just adjust to them as they go.”
BYU plays at Oklahoma State in the 2023 regular-season finale on Nov. 25, so Etienne could have a chance to face off against his former team.