STILLWATER — When Oklahoma State football coaches came to Grant Seagren the night before the Oregon game and told him he’d be starting the next day, Seagren was rightfully puzzled.
They told him starting offensive tackle Markell Samuel had suffered a broken foot.
During a walk-through.
At the hotel.
“Never seen that,” OSU interim head coach Doug Meacham said. “That was a new one. Broke his foot in a walk-through in a hotel lobby. I didn’t even know it.”
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A 6-foot-6, 311-pound redshirt sophomore, Seagren went to work preparing for his first college start in one of the sport’s most intimidating environments.
“It wasn’t as overwhelming as I thought it was gonna be,” Seagren said. “It turns out, football is football at the end of the day.”
Samuel looked ready to be a central figure on the OSU offensive line after transferring from Appalachian State and winning the starting job at left tackle.
But the injury resulted in some shuffling, with redshirt freshman Nuku Mafi moving from right tackle to left, and Seagren stepping in on the right side.
Now, Seagren is set for his fourth start, with the Cowboys facing Arizona at 2 p.m. Saturday in Tucson. According to Pro Football Focus grades, Seagren has been OSU’s second-best offensive lineman this season, behind guard Noah McKinney and just ahead of center Austin Kawecki.
That’s a good sign for a player who had been a tight end in high school and walked on at Nebraska two years ago, not knowing what position he’d play for the Cornhuskers.
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“They just said come in and be ready to play whatever,” Seagren said. “The first day, they told me I was going to focus on…
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