STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) -Dez Bryant earned his place in the spotlight with the kind of highlight-reel catches that put him on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
With that recognition comes a certain amount of attention: The Oklahoma State receiver last week found himself in the crosshairs of the Georgia defense.
The Bulldogs took advantage of opportunities on OSU running plays to get an extra bump in against Bryant, perhaps the top receiver in college football as the only returning Biletnikoff Award finalist from last season.
Coaches for the No. 5 Cowboys just want to make sure he handles it the right way with Houston coming to Stillwater this week.
“He’s going to face that all his career. … He’s going to be asked to get into some things. People are going to try to put snakes in his head,” offensive coordinator Gunter Brewer said. “He’s grown up quite a bit. There was a couple plays there that as emotions grow and it’s a contact sport, you’re going to see those things.
ink as he matures, he’ll learn that they’re trying to get him into a different game, kind of get him riled a bit.”
Georgia safety Bryan Evans lowered his shoulder into Bryant on the very first snap of the game, delivering a blow that sent Bryant to the sidelines for the next four plays. Cornerback Prince Miller and Bryant also had a handful of confrontations, including one that resulted in offsetting unsportsmanlike penalties in an Oklahoma State goal line situation.
Had it been just Bryant that drew the penalty, it could have proved costly in a red zone situation that eventually resulted in an OSU touchdown. The Cowboys went on to win 24-10.
“It’s been the same for Dez for two years. There’s been a lot of times that he’s involved in activities that don’t necessarily relate to football,” Cowboys coach Mike Gundy said. “He has to do a good job of staying patient. We talk to him about it all the time.
“He’s very competitive and there will be guys that try to take him out of the game. He has to be patient and play by the rules and do what he does best, which is make big plays.”
Bryant, who had three catches for 77 yards and two touchdowns against Georgia, also was called for a pair of 15-yard offensive pass interference penalties – including one that was declined.
I was expecting all that.”
Bryant frequently gets double-teamed. On one play, two Georgia defenders lined up against him and gave him an immediate bump at the line of scrimmage in what Brewer compared to the treatment a “gunner” gets on a punt coverage unit.
“They just tried to keep him from ever getting off the line. That’s a great way to do it, but if you double him, it means somebody’s got to be open somewhere,” Brewer said.
Brewer doesn’t want his star receiver to back down, but he also doesn’t want to see unsportsmanlike acts that hurt the team.
“We do like to see that emotion, but you want to use it on the field and do it with a clean block and a clean catch and a clean run instead of taking away from what the game’s supposed to be,” Brewer said. “We want to keep it in the confines of what the rules allow you to do.”
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