Oklahoma State football: J.W. Walsh played with pain — and never said a word

That was the bombshell dropped Sunday, when head coach Mike Gundy revealed OSU's latest body blow during his regular teleconference with the media. Walsh, himself in a replacement role for the injured Wes Lunt, is done.

Now the focus flips back to Lunt, and the hope — need — for a speedier recovery.

Or it could finally find senior Clint Chelf, the odd man out in the spring quarterback derby, now the one man standing at 100 percent.

Walsh, with a bum knee, would finish with 415 passing yards, the ninth-best passing day in school history and a key component in a solid 31-10 win. Ran for 49 yards, too, including a 3-yard touchdown scamper in the fourth quarter.

Later, Walsh strolled into the postgame press conference, answered a bevy of questions and hinted of nothing wrong, even declared himself to be “100 percent.”

When the adrenaline wore off, apparently, concern and probably inflammation crept in.

“He finished the game and he ran, made throws,” Gundy said Sunday. “I'm speaking a little bit out of turn here, because it wasn't an injury that progressively got worse. It just happened, and then he was able to play with the pain.

“I can only say that it was a pretty amazing performance. I would hate to use that term for a guy or a player on my team that's only a freshman, but for him to finish the game the way he did, and run the football and never say a word was really a terrific performance.”