Oklahoma State University Athletics
Gundy, OSU Players Meet With Media
September 21, 2009 | Cowboy Football
Sept. 21, 2009
STILLWATER, Okla. - Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy and selected Cowboy players met with members of the media Monday at Boone Pickens Stadium to review last week's win over Rice and to preview this week's game against Grambling State. Here are some highlights of what they had to say:
Head Coach Mike Gundy
On the offense against Rice
"The game was good to get back on the winning track. I thought that our players played with really good effort. We improved in many areas. I thought the quarterback played more consistent than he had all year. We didn't throw many passes, but when he did it worked out well for us. He ran the ball effectively. We thought our tailbacks were able to get some tough yards for us. Keith Toston converted on some key third and fourth downs for us."
On the defense against Rice
"Defensively we improved. We tackled better, but we still have to improve and be more efficient. The turnovers in the situations that we put the defense in are concerning. We have to do a better job of taking care of the football, and not giving them the ball on the other side of the 50. It was a good win for us and we are looking forward to another week of preparation."
On the Grambling State defense
"The team we are playing is a little unusual. Grambling State has a defensive lineman who has scored two touchdowns and got another one to the three yard line in three games."
On the Grambling State offense
"Offensively they have a quarterback who has a lot of ability. He moves around a lot and makes plays. For our defensive to get him pinned up will be a challenge."
On resting injured players
"I have never been big on not preparing to play the next game. I just feel like you just have to go all-out in the next game. If we have a guy who needs to be rested then we will not practice him as much, and maybe not play him. If they have the capability of playing, and it's not an injury or situation that could affect their career, then we will play them."
On the OSU running game
"I am not as concerned with the running game at this point. We have two new guards playing and we are bringing those guys along each week. The guys playing tailback gave us some good touch yards, but when Kendall Hunter is in there and breaks a sixty yarder it pushes up the yards per carry average up a little bit. We are thrilled with the guys we have in there, but it is a little different when Kendall is in there obviously, he is an All-American."
DE Richetti Jones
On being able to play again and getting his first sack
"It felt great to be on the field and play football with my teammates and have fun, to just play the game that I love. That sack was one of the best feelings I've had in my life. If it wasn't for the other 10 guys, I wouldn't have gotten it, but it felt wonderful."
On fighting through his hip injury
"I've never wanted to quit, but it's been a long, rough road. I broke my hip my senior year of high school and I had to recover from that. It was a long road because I wasn't the same player that I was in high school coming into college. I didn't have the same mobility that I had, or the same strength or speed. I had to build myself back up."
On defensive improvements needed before Big 12 play
"We need to improve on a little bit of everything. There is always room for improvement, even if we beat everyone 100-0. There is always room for improvement. As players, we don't know right off the top, but our coaches will know after they watch the film."
DT Ugo Chinasa
On what the defensive focus is for this week's game against Grambling State
"We have to go out there and play hard. We've got to get pressure on the quarterback and stop the run. We need to work on everything."
On getting more pressure on the quarterback against Rice
"It felt pretty good, Richetti Jones had the sack. Everybody has got to get back there and get some pressure. It felt good. It is very important for us as defensive linemen to get to the quarterback to help our defensive backs."
TE Cooper Bassett
On his comfort level at tight end
"I'm very comfortable. I haven't had the opportunity yet this year and I have no problem with that. Whatever I'm needed to do, if that be blocking, that's fine. I came here to play tight end and that means I'm supposed to block and catch the ball. When the opportunity arises and the ball comes my way, I'm confident I'll be able to catch it and hopefully do something with it."
On the importance of the offense succeeding early in the game
"We were very happy to start the game off with a touchdown. Rice is not a bad team. Their defense presented some troubles. Especially with offense, you're going to have those times when you have trouble clicking. We had a few penalties. As an offense, we want to score on every drive. If you start beating yourself up about it, you're going to dig that hole down. We know we're going to be able to put points on the board."
RB Keith Toston
On what has led to struggles in the running game
"There have been plays where I've made the wrong cut and didn't get in the hole quick enough and it closed on me, there have been plays where the guard or tackle might not pull fast enough and there have been plays when we've actually broke and the receiver might have missed the block downfield. It's pretty much everything, but we're addressing it and continuing to get better."
On playing without Kendall Hunter for the second straight week
"I'm pretty comfortable with every running back that we have. There are a lot of us, we started the year off about six deep and all of us could play. The top three of four, we might start on other good teams. Anytime you have a running back go out it hurts, but to have a lot of backups like we have, it keeps us moving."
On improvements before Big 12 play
"We want to go out there and try to focus on the little mistakes we made the week before. We want to try to focus on game day and get the job done. We're going to focus on Grambling State like we're playing OU this week. Practice is going to be like it was last week and the week before that.
On if the running game will arrive
"There's no doubt in my mind. We're just missing it barely. When we break down the tape, we can see that it's little things that are costing us our big plays. With the guys we have on this team, we could have a breakout game at any time and I think we'll be okay."
C Andrew Lewis
On if a bye week would be beneficial this week given some of the team's injuries
"I think I'd rather have a game. I'd be more comfortable giving our offensive line another week to try to get better and improve. Hopefully we'll spark our offense and have a better running game next week."
On if this game presents a chance to jump start the offense
"It seems like in seasons past, it's taken a few games to finally get the offense going. Hopefully, this game, the offense will start clicking on all cylinders and we'll do well."
On not having a 100-yard rusher yet this season
"It's our offensive line's job to have a running back go over 100 yards rushing. We do take that personally. We want to keep on grinding."
On struggles in the running game
"I think it comes back down to communication. Everybody's got to be on the same page. On the offensive line, when I make a point, everybody has got to know what they are doing. We have to have everybody blocked up."
On fewer penalties last week
"I think players were playing smarter. Coach Gundy always talks about playing smart. I had a clipping call last week. You just have to think and focus, `is it really worth a 15-yard penalty?', and just don't make stupid mistakes."
