Cooper Bassett adjusting to life as a defensive end

Less than a month later, he was in a completely different world. New side of the locker room, new meeting rooms, new place on the sideline, new existence.

When OSU hired Dana Holgorsen as its offensive coordinator in January, Bassett's tight end position on the offensive side of the ball was eliminated. So the Tuttle native switched to the defensive line.

"It is almost like you're playing for a different team," Bassett said of the early days after the switch. "You're on a different side of the locker room. When you go to a meeting, you're not meeting with the offense; you're meeting with the defense. When you're on the sidelines, you're not with the offense; you're with the defense."

His comfort level was erased and he had to start from square one even though he had been on campus for two years.

"It was almost like being a freshman again," Bassett said. "Even though I had been here for two years, I had just started playing defensive end for a couple weeks (before spring football began). I was like a rookie. But now that I have experience under my belt, I feel like one of the older guys."

Admittedly raw at the position despite playing it in high school, Bassett looked to veteran defensive ends like Richetti Jones and Jamie Blatnick to help smooth the transition.