Oklahoma State-Kansas Postgame Quotes 11-25-17

Head Coach Mike Gundy
Opening Statement:
"That was a good game for our team. I was really proud of our seniors and the leadership they gave us during the week. I thought we improved in all three phases special teams-wise ... defensively, I don't know how many possessions they had ... 13, 14 something like that. I think there were eight three-and-outs, and we forced a turnover. We got a little bit lax there right before the half and gave up a touchdown that we shouldn't have. Then offensively we were able to do things in that drop-eight defense. We get a little better at it each week, in identifying different ways to attack it and move the football and score.

"I was proud of our team today. It was a great day for the seniors. When you look from a national prospective, you had a chance to watch basically the Biletnikoff winner, in my opinion the guy who could very well win the Davey O'Brien. Mason accounted for 45 touchdowns, which is one more than Barry Sanders had. He broke that record. That's a big-time accomplishment. He's the nation's leading passer going in and throws for 438 and two touches. He had a couple of interferences to keep him from getting a couple of other touches. I was very proud of him. The first time ever a team had a 4,000-yard passer, 1,000-yard rusher and two 1,000-yard receivers played on the same team in the Big 12. That's pretty special for all those guys, and we played about as good as we can play. We'll get a little rest and get ready to go play in a bowl. Coaches will be out on the road tomorrow and maybe even tonight recruiting.

"Overall it was a really good day for us. I told the seniors that as much as they've accomplished on the field, these are high class, high character guys. You can walk outside this stadium and ask what OSU's record was in 2006 and 2008 and 2004, and I doubt more than one or two could tell you. It'll be the same thing with this class. One thing that will stick with them forever ... these are high class, high character guys. That's who they are. They have developed this culture, and the young players need to watch and learn from them. As a coaching staff we couldn't be any more proud of what those guys have accomplished and what they stand for. The fans, the administration and everyone involved should feel the same way because they're first class guys. You look back and you think that you got to spend a lot of time with guys who do things right. They work as hard as they can. They give their bodies up. We push 'em, and we push 'em and we push 'em, and they keep doing it. As you can tell, I'm very proud of them. I wouldn't trade them for anybody. I'm looking forward to spending another month with them and then playing in a bowl game."

On sending off Mason and seniors:
"This group is hard. Every year is hard. As I get older, I get a little more emotional. You just never know when it's going to end. When you see those guys move on who have been with us, the character and the class is important and when you have a group like those guys it's just tough to see them go."

On in-game senior farewell:
"You know I've never really done that. You see it a lot in basketball. I would like to say it was my idea, but it wasn't. It was suggested to me. I've always been a little leery of it. I don't want to be disrespectful of Coach Beaty at Kansas. I should have done it earlier and when you have that luxury I just think it's right for what the players go through in their four years, and I just think we owe that to them. I told them after the game, about half of KU's staff used to work here, and those guys are all friends of mine. In the end when Taylor (Cornelius) comes in, we run our offense and they give us a certain look where he's trained to take an out-and-up call, and he signals and we hit it. I didn't feel good about it, but he's out there playing. You gotta let him go. We tried to do the best we could to let them play, and we had another number of walk-ons that were able to get in the game, stop the game, bring them out and let those other young men play. They're very important to the organization."

On playing without a Big 12 title in the picture:
"They've been good all year. When I talk about their class and character, part of that is being able to overcome a big win but then also come back after a game like last week. You gotta come back and work hard and do it right, and that's what they do. They're well trained. The people and staff who work with them ... strength and conditioning, our staff ... they've gotta coach up to that. That's what we expect them to do."

On last Rudolph to Washington touchdown:
"I was worried about that. That new defense makes it hard to get the ball to him. It makes it hard to get the ball to anybody just based on the structure and the way things happen. A lot of what we do is set things up and put people in spots to get the ball to certain people. With this style of play you really can't. You don't know where the ball is going. Mason has to do a good job of understanding, and he was excellent today. That's one thing with him ... It's kind of funny. This year he has really worn me out. I think I'm done for the day, and he'll text me and ask me to go over game script or meet him to watch tape. And I'm thrilled, but he's so into it he's kind of wearing me out this year. That's what you get, though. You want to get it to James. I thought he got held a lot today, which frustrated me quite a bit."

On Mason:
"I don't get up here and say things to make people feel good. To be as decorated as he is and the way he handles things ... Like I said Monday, I got tied up and forgot to go give Thanksgiving dinner to the homeless people, and I felt terrible. They said, 'Mason covered for you.' That's the kind of young man he is and there are others. When you're talking about a decorated player, there's not much else you could ask for. All you can ask is them to give you all they've got, and they put their time in."

Oklahoma State defensive coordinator Glenn Spencer
On the seniors
"You see them come in as pups and grow as men and leaders. Coach said in the locker room that we had tremendous leadership in this class. It's easy to lead right when everything is going great. But to lead when life hits you in the mouth, that's a great life lesson, and these guys didn't blink. I'm just proud of them and how they persevered. Their last home game on this field they accomplished something great, and I'm happy for them."

On the curtain call
"Yeah, you don't see that. I'm glad we had a timeout left. It's kind of hard to do on our side of the ball. That was a nice idea on Gundy's part. It was a nice send off those kids deserved."

On Chad Whitener and his interception
"They had hurt us on a couple curl routes. He's just so smart. He knew where to go. He got on the quarterback's eyes. He's done that a lot in his career so it's fitting for him. I think he had a couple tackles for loss. The leader. The unselfishness. Playing with pain. He loves this program and this program loves him."

Oklahoma State offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich
On Mason Rudolph
"You have to really tip your hat to his upbringing with his family, his high school coach. They did a tremendous job of molding that young man into a great football player with the right mindset for a quarterback."

On Rudolph to Washington
"It's just a special connection they have. You have a receiver that's the best I've ever seen at running the deep routes. You've got a quarterback that throws a great deep ball. Just to be able to connect on so many of those plays, it's fun to have as part of your arsenal."

On Marcell Ateman
"This guy is clutch. When I think Marcell Ateman I think clutch. That's the thing with our offense is balance. He complements us extremely well. He's a tremendous matchup problem for anybody that wants to play man because of his height. Also, his ability to get off the line of scrimmage versus press. I've said that before several times."

Quarterback Mason Rudolph
On winning on senior day:
"It's great, and it was cool to go out there with a bunch of guys on both sides of the ball. We've been together for four years so that was cool, and it was fun to end it here at home. Now we get a month of practice for the bowl game. Whoever we get, I think we're sitting at three losses, but we're a few plays away from being a one-loss team so we're going to be excited. We're going to prepare our butts off and try to go beat them."

On the bowl game providing extra time with his fellow seniors:
"It's cool. It's more than a couple of weeks, and you get the whole bowl-site experience so it's a good way to end the season. We'll finally have some time to get academically sound and rest our bodies in the next couple of weeks. There's some guys that will come back a lot closer to 100 percent, and it'll be a fun way to end my career."

On breaking Barry Sanders' OSU single-season total touchdown record:
"I didn't know that. I think Barry Sanders did a lot for the university and obviously won a Heisman Trophy so I think he'll always be the best from Oklahoma State. It takes a lot around you to get something like that done. Not everyone in the country has James Washington, Justice Hill, Marcell Ateman and Jalen McCleskey to throw the ball around to. I've been blessed with a lot of weapons to pass the ball to, and it has been fun. I couldn't have done it without those guys and the guys up front blocking for me. I'm just really happy and feeling very blessed."

Offensive Lineman Brad Lundblade
On senior day:
"It was awesome going through warm-ups and "The Walk" for the last time. It was pretty emotional during pregame. Obviously, there's some things we still need to improve on during the game, but overall it was a great experience for my last game in Boone Pickens Stadium."

On the ovation after his final offensive snap:
"It was really cool to be able to do that with all those guys. We've all been together and played a lot of football together so having that moment there at the end - knowing it was our last snap. They told us going into it that it was going to be our last play so just having that moment together and being able to go out together was really special."

On the bowl game providing extra time with his fellow seniors:
"Oh it's awesome. I'm just trying to soak in every single moment because I know that I have one more game left here so I'm just trying to enjoy every single moment."

Wide Receiver Chris Lacy
On senior day:
"It was fun to come out here for our last game in Boone Pickens Stadium and get a big win. We sent out our seniors in the right way."

On what it means to him to be a part of such a heralded senior class:
"It just feels good. We had a lot of accolades coming in, and we've put together the best receiving corps in the nation so it just feels good to be a part of a group with so much great talent."

On the bowl game providing extra time with his fellow seniors:
"It just means I get a few extra weeks with everyone. We're going to cherish these moments together because we're all making memories that will last a lifetime."

Wide Receiver Marcell Ateman
On senior day:
"We felt good, and we knew that Kansas was going to play a little bit of a different scheme - similar to what they played against Oklahoma. It was fun though with senior day and everything and being able to finish my last game here the right way."

On what it means to him to be a part of this senior class:
"It's big and just seeing all of the success we've had. We had a great season, and I've been here with every single one of the seniors since I was a freshman. I've been here with James (Washington) and those guys since the beginning of our career here so it's just a blessing being a part of this group."

On surpassing 1,000 receiving yards this season:
"Personally, that was my goal. It was big. That was my goal for the year, and I'm just proud of myself for coming into this year and accomplishing that."

Safety Tre Flowers
On senior day:
"It was a great experience, and it was fun to see everyone do well during our last home game. But we've still got a chance to go win a 10th game so it's not the end of the road yet."

On this year's senior class:
"I talked to (Zach) Crabtree, and I said that we'd never seen a group that was so close. We talked to every position group and the young guys, especially our corners, and we've seen that they're getting better. It's nice to see that we're leaving a legacy."

On the bowl game providing extra time with his fellow seniors:
"It's going to be fun. Nobody really knows what goes on in our locker room all of the time, but I love being around these guys and they love being around me so I'm going to have fun."

Linebacker Gyasi Akem
On senior day:
"It means a lot. You always want to leave on senior day with a win and have a good time so it was good to leave here with a win."

On what it means to him to be a part of this year's senior class:
"This year's senior class has probably been the best that I've been around since I got here as far as leadership and that kind of stuff. I can't say enough about these guys and what they mean to me."

On the bowl game providing extra time with his fellow seniors:
"It means a lot for all of us because we need to be able to get our bodies back and ready to go for the bowl week. Whoever it is, we just want them to know we're going to be coming out guns blazing and ready to try to beat whoever it is."

Kansas head coach David Beaty
"I would like to credit Coach (Mike) Gundy and those guys. It's a very talented team he's got there. A good looking ball club. They do a great job of recruiting here, just as good of a job as anybody in the conference. They've got some really good football players no doubt about it."

On OSU not playing in Big 12 Championship game
"They do have some weapons. They are an impressive team. They will be a match for whoever they play in a bowl game. It's a tough conference. For that team right there not to be in the championship is crazy to me because they are a talented team. It just tells how talented this conference is from top to bottom."

On rebuilding
"They understand and know the vision, and I've been very clear how we build it. Unfortunately, when you go through rebuilds, they are not always a quick fix. We are trying to do it the right way and do it with guys who have three to four plus years to where we can develop."

On Peyton Bender's performance
"Peyton stepped in there and did some things early. When we protect him, he's got some talent now. We just have to do a better job of keeping him upright. When they protect that dude, he can carve you up. I stand behind what I say, Peyton Bender can throw the rock now. He just needs some time. "

On reflection on the season
"If you sit right here, in this chair, and don't prepare yourself to win every game, why are you here? I truly expect to win every game we play, every single one. When you're starting to build a program, they are going to feed off you. They are going to feed off what you see and feel. They are smart. They are like dogs, they know. If you don't believe, they feel it, and they know without a doubt I expect to win every game we play in."

Kansas quarterback Peyton Bender
On the decision coaches made to start him
"Carter (Stanley) banged up his knee a little bit against Oklahoma. He tried to go on Tuesday and Wednesday, but he was having a hard time moving on it. Coach (Garrett) Riley and coach (Doug) Meacham mixed me in with some of the (first team) reps, and by Thursday we knew he wasn't going to be able to go."

On starting the final game of the season
"You want to play so it's always fun when you get that opportunity. I just try to go out and make the most of every opportunity I get because they're limited, as I saw this season. Any time you get the chance to play, you want to make the most of it."

On the touchdown to Evan Fairs
"It was right there before the half just trying to get some points so we had a four vertical play call. They were just off man so he was 1-on-1 so we just gave him a shot, and he made a great play on it."

Kansas linebacker Joe Dineen
On the approach this offseason
"I'm just excited because we got a full year with coach (Zac) Woodfin and his staff. I think those guys are really good. I think we'll come into next season motivated and in shape."

On Mason Rudolph
"We knew he was obviously a stud coming in. His (offensive) line is great. We had a hard time getting pressure on him throughout the game. He was accurate. He didn't miss many open guys. He extended plays. He did a lot, and he ran I think two touchdowns."

On tying the school record in tackles for loss
"I had a goal at the beginning (of the year) to make more of my tackles at the line of scrimmage. I'm glad I got to accomplish that this year."

Kansas offensive lineman Hakeem Adeniji
On playing with two torn labrums for a portion of the year and not seeking surgery immediately
"I hurt one in fall camp and the other in the (Texas) Tech game. The season is three months, and you put in all this work. I was not going to sit out. I just went out there, and I was prepared like a pro. I went out there trying to perform my best every week."

On the most disappointing thing about the season
"(We had) missed opportunities and not being able to get things done. There are points here and there in the season to turn things around, and it just seemed like something always went against you right when you needed it to go right. It's hard to take, but we're going to keep pushing. There are two ways you can go: you can fold or you can keep pushing."

Oklahoma State University Athletics

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