Postgame OSU Spring Game Quotes

Coach Mike Gundy
Opening statement:
"The scrimmage went well for us from a health standpoint. We were able to tackle and had a physical scrimmage. We had 100 plays and I was pleased, I thought the defense played really well. Some guys made plays and we were able to run some of our offense and have a good day. I thought we kicked the ball, I thought we punted the ball well. Other than Zach [Sinor] those are all new faces out there. I thought Taylor [Cornelius] did a good job of directing the black offense for the first time being out there. Overall, it was a good day for us and the real work starts now for us. Finish up in the classroom in the next two weeks, get in the weight room and get ready for summer."

On the offensive line competition:
"We've got some guys that are in there, seven guys, that without watching the tape that we feel like can roll in and they're in pretty good position. There will be some spots that there will be real competition for. There are some guys that are pretty solid there."

On the run game:
"We're in a divided unit, we substitute a lot in a lot of our packages, so there's kind of a minimal opportunity for us to be as diverse as we want to. As is the case in most springs, there's an advantage for the defense. They've seen the same plays for two months, but they've got to get lined up and make plays also. We're an improved team. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but it's a little more difficult at times to function in a spring game than you want it to be."

On the defensive line:
"Overall, I thought their effort was good. I really like [Jordan] Brailford and Jarrell Owens. I liked the pressure we were getting from those guys. They are young guys that we need to make plays for us and fill big shoes with [Jimmy] Bean and [Emmanuel] Ogbah gone."

On his confidence in the offensive line entering summer:
"They're much improved and Chris Carson, we didn't let him run in the second half, so they're better. We've got a long ways to go, but we've improved."

On if he thought about not splitting the offensive line:
"We thought about it, keeping the main group together, but we were really trying to facilitate the fans and do the best we could to give them a game and let them see some of the players. There were a number of guys out there today that hadn't been on the scene."

On the competition for backup quarterback:
"We really haven't decided. Throughout the spring John [Kolar] and Taylor [Cornelius] both have played well. There's been scrimmages where John has run for close to 100 yards, so I mentioned to the staff that after the first week in August we need to establish who our No. 2 quarterback is, just from the standpoint that it's really difficult to get three guys ready to play in a game."

Offensive Coordinator Mike Yurcich

On the offensive line:
"As a whole, from a spring perspective, we feel good about where we're at. We had to make sure we were balanced at the same time. Evaluating depth and things like that will probably run all the way up to fall camp for us."

On how many linemen he feels comfortable playing:
"I don't want to give you a hard number and leave a guy out, but I think we feel good about seven guys right now. Larry (Williams) is a guy that needs to keep learning the system and get better fundamentally. Junior is a guy that we think can come in and press for some playing time and some early action. Depending on what happens in the offseason and summer, we've still got a lot of work to do, but we'll be deeper than we were last year. That's for certain."

On if anyone is locked into a spot on the offensive line:
"We feel pretty good about our tackle spots right now. Victor (Salako) is playing pretty good and (Zach) Crabtree is doing well at right tackle. Brad (Lundblade) at center is a very good communicator and just looking to see where we can build depth. Mike Wilson has got a ton of experience and toughness, so he'll be hard to beat out. We'll keep seeing how we can interchange those guys. The one thing you want from your linemen is to be able to understand concepts so you have some versatility and if you do have an injury, people can move around because of it."

On Taylor Cornelius' performance:
"Without having looked at the tape, there were a couple of plays where I thought he should've gone to his seam route, but he started off well and he has had a great spring. He's a young man that is very capable of leading our offense and we feel good about how he has progressed."

On how Cornelius has grown since joining the team as a walk-on:
"You have to tip your hat to his work ethic, determination and his ability to go to work in the film room and in the weight room. I think his work ethic and his attitude have gotten him this far and built his confidence. He had confidence obviously to come here as a walk-on cause he believed he could play at this level. It takes a little bit of guts to say that you can play in the Big 12 to come here as a walk-on and improve as he has is a good sign."

On John Kolar:
"John is obviously a different skill set. We call a lot more quarterback reads with him, but accuracy and going and putting the ball where it needs to be on each play is still a work in progress."

On what he liked and didn't from the spring game:
"I would've liked to have seen the tempo up a little bit, but that's nobody's fault but my own. I tried to slow it down and make sure that plays were being communicated. The black team obviously came out and scored right away. We stress scoring on opening drives. From the orange team we just want to see more consistency in moving the chains. It was a typical spring. From my experience, it's hard to get a rhythm and obviously we need to take care of the ball better."

Defensive Coordinator Glenn Spencer

On what he liked and didn't like about the spring game:
"That was the first time we got to full-tackle all spring. I was up top, calling for both sides, but I liked the speed. We made some mistakes and gave up a few big plays, but they were all really young kids. I can't let that tee me off too bad, but I am upset about it. Turnovers are good. Those only happen if you have guys flying to the ball and making plays. We had six starters out because of injury. I was asking before the game if anyone had ever been fired because of the spring game, but it turned out OK."

On the defense forcing turnovers:
"It happens because of hustle. Sometimes you're not going to get them, but you're definitely not going to get them if you're not in the right place. We emphasize it all the time and typically better players get more turnovers. That's kind of the way it is."

On pressuring the quarterbacks during the game:
"Coach (Gundy) held that whistle a little bit more today so we got a chance to tackle for a little bit. A couple of times they were reaching for shoulders, and I think that's cause of the habit we get into during the spring. I was disappointed in a few missed tackles because of that and you never know if that whistle is going to blow or not. I think the big thing, with all of the starters out, is we developed some depth. A couple of spots, I can say that these guys are coming along and be able to help us win some games. A couple of those spots are pretty thin because injuries happen and a lot of our team is some good, young players. We didn't have the feel of having our best guys out there and I'll be glad when those guys get back out there."

On replacing Jimmy Bean and Emmanuel Ogbah:
"It's a process. I think they're definitely better off now than they were day one. I'm one of those guys that they have to show me when it's all on the line. I can't rubber stamp those guys and say now that they're going to be near the production of Jimmy (Bean) and Emmanuel (Ogbah), but that's our job - to get them ready. Until we play somebody else, you've just got to put them through some fires and coach them hard. I think I saw some production today. I don't know why those things happen, but we'll know when I look at the film on Monday."

On his take on spring practice as a whole:
"You don't keep score. It's just the little things that we emphasize all the time. When those things don't happen, two young kids give up balls that shouldn't happen. They're definitely not ready when those things happen. You tell them this is a game-type experience and all you can do is evaluate them and see if they're ready or not. It's a process with a lot of them. Because of injury, there were a lot of kids out there just filling spots and doing the best they could so I can't get too upset with those kids."

Defensive end Jarrell Owens

On OSU's defense today:
"The defense was great. We came out, competed and made plays. It was a great day."

On his new role:
"I came out knowing I can compete. I played with confidence, and made plays. That's all there is to it."

On Coach Gundy's mentioning him as a good player:
"Jordan and I are both fast and athletic, and we decided to come out swinging. We wanted to play hard today."

Offensive lineman Zachary Crabtree

On the game:
"It was good. It's the spring game, so it has a little different feel to it. It's a different way of going about it. We had a good day, but now it's time to go watch the film. There's definitely some things we could have done better. There were things I could have done better with pass protection."

On the spring:
"It was a good spring. Today doesn't really resemble that at all, just in the sense of play. The orange team had a rough day today, but we'll get it fixed."

Defensive end Jordan Brailford

On the game:
"The black dominated the game, I think we did a good job. Defensively, on both sides of the ball we did a good job. We had a lot turnovers, and our line did their job today. I know we're going to improve in the summer."

On the spring:
"The spring has been great. We made a lot of strides, and a lot of people have gotten better. We've had some setbacks with injuries, but overall it's been great."

Oklahoma State University Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Jimmy Bean

Jordan Brailford

Chris Carson

Taylor Cornelius

Zachary Crabtree

John Kolar

Emmanuel Ogbah

Jarrell Owens

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