Oklahoma State University Athletics
OSU Football Coach And Player Comments
April 08, 2003 | Cowboy Football
Asked Texas Tech's blocked-FG return for a touchdown "You go from 7-7 to 14-0, and I think it sort of typifies the mistakes that you make throughout the season. Fourth-and-inches and we go for it, and we score, but unfortunately, we have an illegal procedure call just as Reggie crosses the goal line. So you've got to get points on the board, and we're going to settle for what looked like an easy three, but it turned to be seven points the other way. Can I figure it out? No, I can't."
On the missed opportunities in the first half "I was shaking my head for a lot of things at halftime. At halftime, we really talked about trying to come back out and get back in this ballgame. And that first drive -- I think they went, total, 10-for-14 on third downs -- we just couldn't get off the field. They were 10-for-14, and we were 4-for-14."
On the illegal procedure calls "The feedback I got was that they were calling our signals. Whether it was true or not, when you look on the line of scrimmage, it's just a matter of concentration. I asked the official about it, and he didn't hear anything. But when one guy jumps, and the other guy next to him doesn't jump, then why did he move? Still, Aso is the guy that makes the call. We practice against crowd noise all the time, so it's up to them to concentrate and listen to our cadence."
On rallying the troops this week "The thing we're going to do today is to meet and talk about what kind of team we are. Right now, we're a team that makes a lot of mistakes, and that's been costly throughout the season. The thing I'm going to do is to appeal, not only to the seniors and juniors, to try to right the ship. The only way you can do that is to buy in completely to what we're doing on offense and what we're doing on defense and eliminate those kinds of mistakes. Watching the film, we're in the ballgame, and then we're not able to overcome our own mistakes. We have self-destructed in every ballgame. There are a couple of ballgames where we've played well. But for the most part, there has been a breakdown here and a breakdown there, and so consequently, there is a confidence problem."
On whether the team quit against Texas Tech "I never like to use the word 'quit,' because when I look at the film, I do see the kind of effort. But at the same time, when it snowballs like that, you do see guys out there hustling. Now do you see everybody out there? I can't say honestly that everyone is hustling. But that's part of the problem when you're down 55 or 48 points going into the fourth quarter. It really gives you an idea what kind of kids you've got. Are the kids going to fight until the end? Well, some of them do, and obviously there's maybe one or two of them. I say that, but in their own heart, I think those kids feel like they didn't."
On the mindset coming into the game "I hope the fact that we're at home, that our seniors are in their last two ballgames, there's great opportunity to gain momentum against the Baylor team. They're going to be looking for their first win, so are we. My hope and prayer this week is that we do put it together in the kind of fashion that's going to give us momentum going into that last ballgame. And from that standpoint, it's an important ballgame. Guys have to drop whatever personal agendas that they have and rise to the occasion for the benefit of their team going into next year."
On Baylor "When you look at them, we're very similar in terms of our youth. They're a team that has athletes on it, but they lost their quarterback early in the season, and it's been somewhat of a struggle for them to score. Defensively, because they've been on the field so long, it's a defense that has two great corners, so they have excellent players, but they have not been consistent on either side of the ball."
On being back at home "That's a plus. I think we've played better these last two ballgames at home. We just need to complete a ballgame to where everything is jelling, and we don't have the kinds of fundamental and mental mistakes that we've had for the last couple of ballgames."
On his injured knee "What happened was, I had my eyes open watching the game, and I was very intent on that play (laughter). But I wasn't intent on the guy that was going to hit me. What happened was that I got flipped backwards, and my knee got caught under ... I think it was Elbert Craig. I abruptly got up and got back into the ballgame, but in the meantime, after the ballgame I found out that my knee had swelled up. I won't know (if he needs surgery) that until today at 5 o'clock when I get an MRI. Hopefully, it's not the kind of news I don't want to hear -- hopefully, it's not an ACL. It popped, but I didn't scream loud. (laughter) You're not supposed to scream, but somebody picked me up. The next time a group headed my way, I hobbled my way off away from them."
OSU Players
Khary Jackson On recovering from the Texas Tech loss "Well, basically that was a hard loss for us. We just have to get ready for Baylor and not look back on that loss. We have to start working hard this week because Baylor is coming in here to win. They see us lose like that and they probably think they can come in here and beat us easily. We have to let them know that they just cannot come in here and beat us at Lewis Field."
On being insulted by people thinking Baylor can win this game "I do not really consider it an insult. That is their personal opinion. We know we can beat Baylor, and we are not going to let them come in here and just destroy us. They are going to come in here ready to play. They are going to come in here with a big fight. They do not having anything to lose, and their record is just as bad as ours. We are going to play like it is our ballgame."
On helping the younger players cope with this season "That is what this game is about. That is why we have to win this game, try to go out with nothing but wins here on out. If they see us keep losing, then they are going to feel like they are going to be failures in the future. There are a lot of seniors leaving, and we hold this team together. If they see us breaking down, then they are going to break down, so we have to keep our head up."
On wishing for another year of eligibility "I wish I had another year. I want to come back and play for these guys. I feel like I have not been doing everything I can do for this team. But at the same time, I try my hardest to do the best that I could at the position they put me in, whether that is to block or catch. I feel I did everything to the best of my ability. I really do wish I had another year of eligibility."
On the injuries "A lot of the key players got hurt. I think it was just the turf or the traction in the turf. Once you planted you got stuck and somebody would roll over your ankle and that was it. I got hurt like the second play of the game. I tried to come back and play through it until the end of the third quarter when they told me not to go anymore. They said I could mess something up real bad."
On if he will play Saturday "Even if it is not OK, I am going to play Saturday, we really have to win. I feel the rest of the team needs me. I am just going to get through it, and hopefully by Wednesday, I will be practicing again and getting ready to play on Saturday."
On if Saturday was the low point in his football career "That is the worst loss I have ever experienced in my life. The rest of the team feels the same way. It was embarrassing. I felt like I let the team down because I got hurt and could not come back. We cannot lose like that ever again here. I do not think anybody ever will lose like that again."
On putting things in perspective other than wins and losses "It makes you realize how special life is. My friend in high school did not even get a chance to experience college football. At least I got a chance to experience it and play with these guys. This has been a great experience for me. Even though we are losing, at least I am still getting to play football. I would feel the same if we were winning. Everybody does not get this opportunity. I take it as a gift from God."
On coming back home "When we are at Lewis Field, we have a lot of fire. I have never seen the emotion in the locker room like when we played Texas A&M. It felt really good in there. It felt like we could have beaten anybody that day. Even at Tech we had a lot of emotion. Things just did not go our way."
On having talent "We have more talent than most teams, but you have to execute plays. I told Coach Simmons it is not the coaches that are making us lose. They cannot block people or run the right routes. It is all about us making plays. We have the talent to do it, so we just have to do it. That is the only way to win."
On Coach Simmons leaving "We want it bad for him, and we want it for ourselves. We want it for the juniors, sophomores and freshmen. We want to go out and win for Coach Simmons in his last two games. For the seniors, it is our last two games as well. We need to go out with two wins for him and for us -- especially for him because he has been a pretty good coach to me. People do not give him a lot of respect, but he has helped me since I have been here."
Reggie White On becoming a 1,000-yard rusher "Actually, that is a big honor. It is a big honor for the whole offensive team. Our line has been taking criticism throughout the years, and this just shows you what kind of line we do have. I give credit to all of those guys because without them, I would not be able to gain all those yards."
On playing on artificial turf "I like grass a lot better. The first play I hurt my shoulder being driven into the turf. It is hard to fall on. I will take grass or what we any day over that turf."
On finding positives "I mostly think about winning those games. We have been moving the ball all season. It is just when we get in that red zone, we do not produce any points. We shoot ourselves in the foot with penalties and turnovers. It is not too hard to find positives because we are doing what we want to do. We are just not winning those games."
On the season being almost over "I cannot speak for everybody. Some people are probably glad, but I am not because I still want to go out there and fight and win ballgames. I feel most people are glad that are season is not over. They want to go out here and beat Baylor so we can stop hearing about our seven game losing streak. We are ready to play and we are going to go out and give 110 percent."
On playing another year "I have comfort in having another year. Khary is a senior, this is his last year, and I am sure he wanted to win and go to a bowl game. I have the opportunity to come back and show that OSU can win. We are going to win, we are going to keep fighting. There is a comfort level for me and the other guys coming back."
On playing at home "It is good to do the things it takes to win those games and that we are not giving up. We are going to keep playing no matter what the circumstances. We are out there winning in an OSU jersey, and there are a lot of people that want to be in that position. We are going to keep fighting for ourselves and the OSU fans."
On being insulted by Baylor thinking they can win "I take it as an insult when anybody thinks they can come in here and beat us. I know we can beat anybody if we put everything together and go out and win. It does not matter that it is Baylor. If they say OU can come beat us I will take that as an insult."
