Oklahoma State University Athletics
Media Luncheon Quotes
September 15, 2003 | General
OSU Coach Les Miles
On the SMS game after watching the tape
'It was kind of how it appeared from the sideline, they seemed to assign a lot of defense to our passing game, and gave us the opportunity to break long runs and run very effectively. That's not something that would be very uncharacteristic of us, to call runs, so we did and it worked out for us, with two backs over 100 yards. I thought the defense played well, looking at it on film, they looked sharp. I thought that the SMS offensive line came off the football pretty well, I thought they were a physical group. I like the position our defense is in right now.'
On Josh Fields and the passing game:
'I think anytime, it's not just the quarterback that bears that burden. I think some of the routes weren't as sharp as they needed to be. I think that some of the throws that appeared to be off could have been very well thrown but not necessarily in conjunction with the route that was run. I think that Josh was, at times, as sharp as he needed to be in that game, but then at other times I think he wasn't at late season or mid season form like last year. He needs to, as we all do as a team, need to improve. The timing of the passing game depends on the protection, the route depth, and the foot work and mechanics of the quarterback, and all of it needs to be tightened up a little bit.'
On SMU:
'Looking at them on film, they've got a really solid, sound defense. They play with great technique, and Phil Bennett has done a good job at making that team sound. They played well against Baylor, Baylor was very fortunate to win. This will be their first home game, they have a back that runs for over 100 yards a game. It would stand to reason that they look to move the football with the ability to run that back, and their quarterback is a 6-5 guy who can really throw it.'
On playing in Dallas:
'There will be a good group of friends and family and people that follow our program at that game. We do recruit Dallas very well, it's an important area for us, so we look forward to going across the border to play a game in an area that's rich with talent and an area that we recruit very strongly.'
Offensive Lineman Sam Mayes
On last week's rushing performance
'I think we're getting a lot better at running the ball. That's one of the things we're working on in practice - getting the ball to Tatum (Bell) and letting him run up field and watching Seymore Shaw run for 60 yards. It's just a great feeling to have two backs over a hundred yards. It's a real focus on our team.'
On this weekend's match up with SMU
'SMU is a good football team and we're going to Dallas so I don't expect anything out of them except a hard fought game. I played against them last year and played against some good athletes and I expect the same thing this year.'
On OSU's performance in road games
'I don't think that playing on the road is that much of a focus for this football team. Have we lost some road games? Yes. Have we played against some great football teams? Yes. Nebraska is a hard place to play, Texas A&M is a hard place to play, Texas is a hard place to play - everywhere we go is one of those great arenas to play football in, but I don't expect any less out of my teammates than a victory.'
On a coach's assessment of the team
'If I was head coach of this team I would be saying to myself my players are getting better each week. I think if you watch us play you see that if the technique is not perfect the effort is always there - everyone is giving 100 percent towards the victory. As long as we're getting better each week - that's what counts.'
On some of the young offensive linemen
'I think they're doing a lot better. Kellen and especially Corey both have a nice little nasty streak in them, which definitely helps their playing because they are always 100 percent effort. They go all out all the time. Kellen's the first one down the field - he's the first one picking Rashaun up 50 yards down the field.'
On the depth of the offensive line
'I've never been on a team that has so many guys that can come in and play on the first team offense. There is no doubt in my mind that if one of us goes down on the first team that we'll bring another kid in that's just as effective as we are. They are great athletes and they have a good future here.'
Linebacker Lawrence Pinson
On handling the SMS rushing attack
'I'd like to think so. This week we focused a lot on stopping the run because last week coach didn't feel like we did an efficient enough job. I don't think it's missing tackles, I just think we've been out of position. Now that we're starting to learn our technique, I think we're starting to play a lot better.'
On the performance of the younger players
'I think they're doing a great job. A lot of the veterans have been working with the young guys and giving them confidence and we've been helping them with the calls and lining up. I think they're doing a real good job stepping up and playing.'
On measuring the success of the defense
'We measure our success primarily on what we do as a defense. Each week our goal is to get better as a defense stopping the run and shutting down passes and playing our roles and assignments. We just focus on getting better.'
Linebacker Paul Duren
On last week's defensive performance
'We didn't allow any play over 25 yards the whole game and we met all our goals. We we're real pleased but we can't be satisfied.'
On the key to winning against SMU
'We've got to be run stoppers. Wyoming ran the ball on us a little bit and we can't let that happen. That's what we've got to do this game - they have a real good tailback and we've got to come out and shut him down.'
On the importance of winning on the road
'We haven't played very well away from home. We've got to come out and win soundly.'
