Oklahoma State University Athletics
Simmons Speaks On Opener Against Louisiana-Lafayette
April 07, 2003 | Cowboy Football
Asked if the team is ready for the opener against Louisiana-Lafayette "I like to think so. We've been practicing, hitting ourselves, for the last couple of weeks. We had a mock game Friday and a scrimmage before that, and there's some enthusiasm and excitement about this weeks practice because they know there's a game at the end of the road. So yeah, I feel like they're ready."
On how much contact took place in the mock game "It was minimal. We had shoulder pads and shorts on. It was really a chance for us to work on some game-like situations, substitutions, and make sure problems don't come up during the course of the ballgame."
On the state of the program in his fifth season "I'd like to think that we're ahead of schedule in terms of what we've accomplished over the last couple of years, the fact that we've got 27 seniors, the way we've played, the improvements we've made around here. This season has a lot of high expectations, not only from me but also from our fans and our team. We're looking forward to a having a great year. So from that point, I think were right on schedule."
On looking ahead to the rugged midseason "One of the things we've always talked about is playing one game at a time. What we've got to recognize is that from a talent standpoint, any team can beat any other team on a given day. Obviously, it's our opener, it's a home game. We talked about as a team that one of our goals and our focus was to take one game at a time. As a coach, you can talk about those things, but we have to go out and make sure that we're not forward-focused but present-focused. Hopefully, this team will be that way."
On the depth chart "It really wasn't a puzzle. We just had to see at certain positions how guys would fit in and what kind of practices that they had. It was very difficult at some positions because although you have a two-deep roster, you still have guys that are still capable of playing, it just takes them a little bit longer, and you continue to bring those guys along. Our backup quarterback right now if we had to start tomorrow would be B.J. Tiger, but obviously we feel good about what Ben Bolding is throwing and he will still be in the mix."
On why Kenyatta Wright and Marcellus Rivers are not listed first in the depth chart "I think you have to understand that Marcellus was not here during our Spring practice. He's still very much a part of this offense. Although you may see his as two-deep, you'll see him in the game quite a bit. Those guys can go either way. I think the same thing with Kenyatta Wright. (Dwayne) Levels has really accelerated his play to where he can start a ball game. Obviously, Kenyatta Wright had a sensational year here. I think it's a tribute to how those guys have played, but it also gives you more depth at those positions, too."
On the defensive backs improving and being a strong part of the defense "I like to think so (that they will be a strong part of the defense). I think based on scrimmages that we've had, when you look at Alvin Porter, when you look at (Jacoby) Shepherd, (Marcus) Jones, and (Ricklan) Holmes. I think that those guys have been very impressive in our outside drills and our scrimmages. They've come up with good plays. We think that they're going to have a big season based on what we've seen in practice."
On Nathan Simmons' playing time on Saturday "He got quite a bit of work in that short-yard scrimmage. How much work depends on the course of the ball game and how it's going. We really plan on trying to use all three of those tailbacks in various positions."
On Reggie White's performance with his ankle injury "For the most part, I've been told that he's said that he's ready to go and we're going to find out today and in the next couple of days if that ankle's going to be a factor."
On the first game being a special time "It's the beginning of the season. I'm like the players. We sit around and we practice all these three-a-days and you're anxious to see what kind of a team you have and the performance of the players. The players come out and say that from a goal standpoint, we want to do this and we want to do that. You really want to see how your team is going to execute. As a head coach, you have a feel of how you want your team to play, but now they have to go out and play the way you want them to play."
Player Quotes
Offensive Lineman Adam Davis
On the progress of the offensive line "In my opinion, the last week of practice was really good with the offensive line. The guys started to step it up and started to gel together. I just noticed a lot more cohesiveness there, and we were playing a lot better."
Asked whether his return from injury is the offensive line's missing piece "I think coming back, I bring a little bit of experience to the table, but as far as being the missing link, I don't know about that. Basically, I was just trying to survive. [laughter] I hadn't done any rigorous exercise, and I hadn't put on the pads in about nine months, so really getting back the use of that was my main goal, and I was just trying to survive a two-and-a-half-hour practice."
On the offensive game plan "I think Coach Simmons is maybe thinking about opening it up a little bit, but in the Big 12 Conference, our premise is going to be running the football. That's just a given. The way we throw the ball is that we rush first, we get the running lanes open, and then we come back off that with our play-action passes and stuff like that."
Asked whether the team is ready to begin competitive play "It's been nine months for me. I hadn't played any football since the Texas game last season. I had a shoulder operation and did the knee right here in Stillwater. So I'm really excited to go. I can't remember when I've been this excited. Especially with the talent on this team, it's really going to be exciting to watch us play."
On the possibility of looking past Louisiana-Lafayette "The main thing about that is that it's the first game of the season. We're ready to hit somebody not wearing orange. So we're not looking past anyone right now. Everyone's looking at it like that right now. We have to beat them to get to the next game, so I don't see anybody overlooking them."
On the progress of quarterback Tony Lindsay "I think he's looking really good. Especially, his throwing game has come around a lot. Our passing game, from what I've seen this year, is three-fold better than it was last year. Tony's making better reads, better checks; he's just a more experienced football player."
On his role as a captain "I think it's a great honor for my teammates to choose me and Tarrell. I was really in awe. Right now, I'm just going to try to go out and play the best I possibly can on Saturday, try to be a good role model for my teammates, listen to what they say and try to be a good leader."
On the OSU defense "They're tough. The linebackers are phenomenal. I kinda kid around Raymond Cato. He kinda de-cleated me the other day. It was my first practice back, and we were running a little inside drill. He got downhill on me and kinda lifted me up, so that's been an inside joke between us right now."
Linebacker Tarrell Knauls
On his last season opener as a collegian "I think as far as a senior's standpoint, it would get anybody excited because everybody knows that this is the last go-around, and they've got to make it happen, not only for themselves but for the team. So everybody, including myself, is really geeked up for this situation."
On being elected as a captain "When I was elected captain, it was surprising to me because my teammates selected me. It was surprising, but I took that as where they looked at me as being the captain and a leader, and they also looked at me as being positive. So I have to step up my ability to be positive and to be able to lead the team. I want to let them know I'm there for them and make it more comfortable for them."
On the team's 27 seniors "I told the fellas when I was elected captain, 'I'm not going to change anything; nothing's going to be different for me just because I have captain behind my name.' I'm still going to be the same person; they can come to me with anything. It's just that I'm out there making decisions on the field, leading the team."
On the team's linebackers being touted as one of the best corps in the nation "There's not too much pressure for us because we have so many good linebackers. We just have to live up to the hype that we're getting. Right now, we're getting lots of positive pub, but if we don't live up to that, we're going to get a lot of negative pub, saying 'What happened to Oklahoma State's linebackers? They were supposed to be all this, but now they're not playing the way they're supposed to.' It's not too much pressure for us because we're playing the same way. It's just that now we're getting a lot of pub about it, so we need to keep better within ourselves."
On the Penn State-Arizona game "We watched the Penn State-Arizona game, and the only problem Arizona had was that they weren't tackling well. We have to go out in practice and say, 'Look at what happened to Arizona: If you don't tackle well, teams are going to run up the score on you.' Because that's what football is all about ®¢ tackling and making big plays. So we don't want that to happen to us."
On the punt-coverage team "Nobody's gonna run over me and block a punt, no lie. [laughter] I've been on there for three years, and I take a lot of pride in it. Special teams are a big part of a game. People kinda overlook special teams, but as you saw in the game the other day, special teams can break you also."
On the defensive line and the secondary and the defensive line as a whole "As far as the defensive line, we wouldn't be as good as we are if weren't for the defensive line, because they make our jobs a lot easier. They keep the offensive linemen off of us so that all we have to do is run downhill and make plays. So I give all the praise and hype to the defensive line for me and all my fellow linebackers being where we are now.
"As far as our secondary, we have improved a whole lot. It's like a completely different situation. We have Alvin Porter out there getting two or three interceptions every practice; Evan Howell, on the other side, has been working really hard on his footwork. Our safeties have been really good ®¢ Adam Edwards at free safety and J.B. Flowers at strong. With J.B. Flowers playing strong, I let him know every day in practice that if he's gonna play beside me, he's gonna have to bring his game up to my level ®¢ I like joking around with him like that.
"As far as the defense, I think we're gonna be great. Last year, our weakness was the passing attack. We'd shut down the run, but our weakness was stopping the pass. So I think all of us have come together and are starting to gel as a defense."
On Louisiana-Lafayette "Because they have a new coaching situation and things like that, we really don't know. Today, we'll go into film and go more in-depth looking at the players. We'll learn a little bit more today after the meetings. But we've been working on a lot of things: We've been looking at the films from last year. To slow our defense down, they did a lot of hard counts to try to draw us offsides. We've been working on that, trying to prepare for things like that and trying to be ready for trick plays and anything they might try like that. So we just want to be prepared for anything."
On the possibility of looking past the Ragin' Cajuns "As a player, we have to go out and play this team like they were a Big 12 team. Looking back at our season last year, we would overlook a team and maybe look past to a bigger team. We can't do that this year, because last year teams would come out and wear us out that weren't supposed to. So we take that as a learning experience, not to overlook a team and to take it one week at a time."
On adjusting to UL's set if they don't do what OSU expects "It all goes back to us playing and to good coaching. If they come out and run an option play, run it for 20 yards, we'll go right to another defense to shut all that down. I don't think there's a team around that can run on us, because that's what our defense is, to stop the run. And that's what we're going to do."
On the performance of Tony Lindsay "The first defense really doesn't get to go against the first "O" too much, but watching him from the sidelines, he seems to be more poised. He has his head on right, trying to lead the team, be more vocal and be more relaxed behind the line. I think that's going to help us a lot."
On practicing during a game week "Game week gets us more motivated. It gets us ready to go, knowing we can start to hit another team. We've been beating on each other every week. It's been almost a month hitting on each other, so it's time to smell new blood, go out there and jump on another team. It just gets us ready to play since it's game week. Everything picks up as far as the mental part of the game, because we have to sit back and watch a lot of film about them. This is the week to where we really get down into this team because this is game week. We'll probably be watching a lot more film and more offensive technique."
On defensive coordinator Rob Ryan "Coach Ryan is the guy who really came in and turned this defensive program around. He's not the kind of coach to nag and get in and tell you, 'When you're in this position and line up like this.' He says to get in a position where you feel comfortable and to go out and wear that opponent out. He doesn't teach too much technique; he teaches you more pursuing to the ball, making tackles and things like that. He came in and made a big change. All the guys really respect him, and they play hard for him."
