Oklahoma State University Athletics
Gundy, Cowboys Preview Texas Game
November 08, 2010 | Cowboy Football
Nov. 8, 2010
STILLWATER, Okla. – Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy and selected members of the team visited with the media Monday at Boone Pickens Stadium to look ahead to this week's game at Texas. The highlights:
Mike Gundy, Head Coach
Opening Statement
“Obviously last Saturday was a good win for our football team. I watched the tape and I thought we played well in all three phases. I thought the coaching staff did a great job with the game plan. The players focused really well last week and were able to execute the plan. We started fast in all three areas and things went really well for us. We were excited to be able to get some other players on the field. It's not much different than what we thought after the game. But we're back at work now for this week. It's a good challenge for us. The team needs to stay focused and practice well and continue to move forward like we have the last couple months of the season. We're very excited about the game on Saturday night. We're looking forward to traveling down to Austin and competing. The players were in a good frame of mind last night at practice. ”
On the difference between this Texas team and the Texas teams from years past
“It's truly hard for me to describe what's going on at Texas. Just like I think it would be difficult for other coaches to know what's going on here at Oklahoma State. I would say that they aren't playing as well or winning as many games as they would want to. But it doesn't really factor in on what we're doing here and that's all that matters. Our players and our coaches do a good job of taking care of our business. And that's the way we want to proceed this week.”
On all the hype surrounding the team
“It's only a factor if you start to listen to it. I've said this for four or five weeks now. If you start to think you're a pretty good player and that your team is better than they really are, you just need to look around the country every Saturday and you will see teams get knocked off. I'm a firm believer in that. We have some good players who have made a lot of good plays this year. And we have a good football team. But we're not beyond practicing well and keeping the right frame of mind in order to win our football game.”
On the possibility of winning in Austin for the first time in 66 years
“It would be nice to wipe all those records off the board but it doesn't factor in to the game. As much as you'd like to use it as motivation and think it's going to make the players practice harder and play harder. It's not. They have to practice because they have a purpose and a goal in mind as to get better every day. They have to go play hard because they have to be accountable to each other. I just don't think it factors in much.”
On Brandon Weeden
“We didn't have to sign him, he walked on. We got lucky from that standpoint. We knew we had a big strong athlete who had some ability. You don't go in the second round of the major league draft unless you have some skill. We didn't really know whether he would pan out. Playing minor league baseball is one thing. Being involved in a college football program where you have discipline year round and off-season workouts and all the things you go through just to be a player is another. So sometimes those guys don't make it. But he just kind of hung around and stuck through it. He's matured a little bit and gotten better. He's playing in an offensive system that fits his style of play.”
Dana Holgorsen, Offensive Coordinator
On if he expected the offense to perform at its current level in just his first season at OSU
“We felt that we could get it to this point. You never know how the team's going to mesh and how everybody is going to play well together. I felt pretty good about it or I wouldn't have taken the job. It's an established program. Coach Gundy's done a good job with it for five years; they're used to winning, the facilities are good, so we knew we had something to work with.”
On if he expected Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon's rise to stardom
“Like I said, I thought we had a pretty good product to work with. You never know how kids are going to develop, but that's why you get out there and practice every day and put guys in a position to improve. It's kind of up to them at some point to. We've got a good group of kids that work hard that like the game, and when you have that, you have a chance for success.”
On if the offense is playing its best football right now
“Yeah, I think so. We're kind of starting to jell. We got a little complacent at times. We probably busted more assignments than we have all year, honestly, but we made a lot of plays. We blocked well and we played smart; we didn't have bunch of penalties and turnovers and stuff. We've got to get missed assignments cleaned up and just continue to press on. We've been saying since game one, just get one game better, each week, get one game better, and if we get a game better, we'll have a chance to have some success and have a chance to win.”
On Texas
“They're well-coached, they've got a bunch of energy. They're not inexperienced at all. They're athletic, their schemes are sound. They play with a bunch of effort, play with a bunch of energy. It will be a challenge . They're top two in every category defensively other than scoring defense, which they've been put in some bad situations this year too, so they're good and it will be a challenge.”
Bill Young, Defensive Coordinator
On if the Baylor game was the best defensive performance of the season
“I think we've been playing really well at different times during the season. I do think that that was one of our better outings, without question.”
On Texas quarterback Garrett Gilbert running and throwing
“I think you've got to be concerned both ways. He's a lot faster and more athletic than a lot of people give him credit for. I think he's like 6'4”, 220 or something like that, so he's a big guy once he gets loose into the secondary too.”
On Texas' offense
“I think that they're an outstanding football team. I know that they lost a lot of games, but they are tremendously talented. You look back, I don't know how many five-star and four-star recruits they have in their program. They're a lot better than they're playing. They've kind of been snake-bit: the ball is right on the money and all of sudden the balls tipped and now they're running the other way, scoring touchdowns on defense. It puts you in a bind.”
Brandon Weeden, Quarterback
On being the leader in the Big 12 South
"This is what you play for. Every game gets bigger as you go and this one is a big one. It hasn't really settled in yet because everything happened so fast. Every week you have so much going on and it is hard to soak it all in. I think that we will look back and know we accomplished a lot of things, but if we can accomplish our main goal that is good."
On the Texas defense
"They do some of the same stuff that we have seen. They play a lot of man defense. They are going to be fast and athletic, just like Nebraska was."
On being called a "System Quarterback"
"It is my biggest pet peeve. You are still throwing all of the throws that they make in the NFL, so it isn't any different. I have never understood the term 'system quarterback', I think that it is bogus. They ask me to make throws and as a quarterback that is what I do. We are throwing deep routes and stuff they do on Sundays."
Kendall Hunter, Running Back
On Justin Blackmon coming back after missing a game
“Any time you take a game away from a person that really loves the game, he's going to come back with emotions and stuff like that.”
On the mindset going into Texas
“Texas is Texas regardless if they're having a bad season or not a bad season. Texas is always going to be Texas, but we're not worried about Texas; we're worried about ourselves and trying to get better.”
On what makes Justin Blackmon special
“He likes to work hard and just go out there and have fun.”
On what it would mean for him to beat Texas in his senior year
“It would mean a lot to beat Texas because I'm from Texas. It's probably a dream for every player from Texas to beat Texas.”
On the offensive line
“They're getting better by the week and they're continuing to get better. Without them, I wouldn't be where I am today.”
Markelle Martin, Safety
On what it would mean for the football program to beat Texas
“It would be good for us just for the fact that we believe in what we're doing, we believe in what we're capable of, and just to come out with a win over Texas, regardless of their record, it's a big deal because that is the University of Texas and we understand that they're a big program. It would benefit us and we would feel good about ourselves.”
On Texas' troubles
“I saw a little bit of that K-State game and it just seems like one mistake is leading to another. They have the talent, they have the speed, it's just they haven't been able to get going and get clicking offensively. That makes them a dangerous team, because at any given time, they can produce points and they can get those turnovers with the speed that they have.”
On if he expected the success OSU has been having
“We just took it to ourselves that all we need to do is believe in what we have. Just go out and buy into our system, keep working hard and just give it all and we'll see where we stand at the end. I think that week after week, we prove to ourselves how good we can be. We still haven't reached our full potential where we think we need to be, but we feel like we're making strides to be a good team and we just need to continue to work.”
Johnny Thomas, Safety
On his two interceptions in the last two games
"I just found myself in a good position and in the right place at the right time. I had to make a play on the ball."
On going to play Texas
"Most of all we are just looking forward to playing another game. We haven't beaten Texas in a while and that is all the motivation we need."
On the Texas offense
"Well they do similar things to teams we have played. So Coach Young is going to do a good job of making a game plan to go in and execute."
Lane Taylor, Offensive Lineman
On the offensive line as a whole
"I think the more that we play together the more we become a better offense. As long as we just come out each week and prepare like we do, hopefully we can break some records."
On Brandon Weeden
"He is a leader in the huddle. He keeps everybody going and it helps that he does so well on the field. He keeps our play intact. I think his age helps too. It would be different if it was a 19-year-old quarterback telling us what to do."
Brodrick Brown, Cornerback
On going to Austin to play Texas
"They are going to look at us as the game to spoil our season. But we just have to continue to focus, continue to work and to come to practice and be ready to play. They are Texas, so they always come to play."
On if anything has changed leading up to Texas
"It is nothing new. It is the same routine we have had all season. We are just going to take one day at a time and continue what we are doing in practice."
Shane Jarka, Defensive Tackle
On playing Texas
"I think that it is a huge game for us. We are just going to treat it like every other game. We are going to prepare hard, practice hard, and do what we always do to get prepared to get ready for a team like this. A win like this, this late in the season, is important.”
On the pressure put on OSU to win
"We put it on the back burner. There is no sense in stressing over a game like this. It is just another game, it is a big game, but at this point in the season every game is a big game now. During this season, teams have beat other teams that shouldn't have been beaten, and some teams shouldn't have lost games, so we are just preparing for another battle."
