After losing Mike Yurcich to Ohio State, Mike Gundy again dipped down to the lower divisions to find his next offensive coordinator. He didn’t wander as far as Division II this time, instead plucking Princeton offensive coordinator Sean Gleeson away to the same role in Stillwater.
“We are excited to have Sean join our staff,” Gundy said in a statement. “He comes with expertise in quarterback play. Both his offenses the last two years have dominated the Ivy League and have produced two different quarterbacks who were named Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year.”Gleeson had been on Princeton’s staff for six years -- during which the Tigers averaged a program-record 36.9 points -- and offensive coordinator for two, a period in which Princeton put up 43.7 and 47.0 points per game. But even that doesn’t really tell the whole story.
In addition to posting a perfect record in 2018, Princeton led the FCS in scoring offense by averaging 47.0 points per game and ranked in the top 10 nationally in total offense (second with 536.8 yards per game), rushing offense (sixth with 295.5 yards per game), third-down conversion percentage (second with a mark of 53.4 percent) and pass efficiency (seventh with a mark of 161.26). The Tigers’ 470 points scored in 2018 set an Ivy League record.
Coached directly by Gleeson, Tiger quarterback John Lovett excelled as a dual-threat performer in 2018. Lovett led the Ivy League by averaging 303.0 yards of total offense per game – passing for 203.7 yards per game and rushing for 99.3 yards per contest. He ranked second in the league in both of those categories. Lovett threw 18 touchdown passes against just three interceptions and completed 66.1 percent of his passes.
Lovett won 2018 Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year honors over his teammate, Jesper Horsted. It marked the first time in Ivy League history that two teammates were finalists for Offensive Player of the Year award.
In his first year as offensive coordinator, quarterback Chad Kanoff earned Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year honors, but did it in a different way than Lovett. Kanoff was a pro-style passer who set the Ivy League single-season record with 3,474 passing yards.
Though the gap between the Ivy League and Big 12 is substantial, Gleeson said Sunday his former program and his current one have more in common than their black-and-orange color scheme.
“There’s a ton of overlap between the system that I have been in and Oklahoma State’s,” Gleeson said. “As a coordinator, I believe in an offensive system that allows our players to be fast and physical. But, most of all, I think what will be noticed on Saturdays is how hungry we play the game.”
