Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State-Washington State Post-Game Quotes
September 04, 2010 | Cowboy Football
Sept. 4, 2010
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Oklahoma State-Washington State Post-Game Quotes – Sept. 4, 2010
Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy
On the game
“It was a good win for us to have at home to start the season. I was pleased with the effort, and I thought we tackled fairly well on defense. Offensively, we had a limited number of mistakes. Good guys made good plays. Overall, we were sound in special teams. I didn't think we were as productive as we should have been, but for the most part we were okay in that area. We played well as a team. We had a little bit of a lull there when the lead got cut to seven, and I'm proud of our offense for coming back with a couple quick strikes.
“We were able to play a lot of players. Just about everybody on our roster got a chance to play tonight, which is good. We're looking forward to another week of preparation. As the season progresses, the teams we play will be more talented. We'll be ready to go to work tomorrow.”
On Kendall Hunter
“I was pleased with Kendall. You don't have to be in this business very long to see that he's excited about playing football. As I had mentioned in the offseason, players that have success and then run into a tough season and have it taken away from them – the ones that have something to them are going to come back really hungry. He had a terrific spring. He had a tremendous offseason. He never said a word. He just works hardm and he's really excited about getting into the game. He did well. We're really happy with what he did; obviously he's a good player.”
On Brandon Weeden
“I thought he handled himself well. I know he made some mistakes, but we talked about that. He's going to make some mistakes. He throws a nice ball. The ball rotates really well, and it's fairly accurate. He looks good out there. It was his first start, and he had some pressure on him. He's one of the few guys who has a lot of hype built up, and he hasn't really done anything. I was pleased with the way he performed.”
On Justin Blackmon
“He had a good night, and he effectively caught the ball. He's got good size and good strength. He's an example of a guy that's come back after getting a little experience a year before. He should be a better player just because he's not a rookie anymore, and he's an experienced player. He established himself tonight as a guy that can make some plays.”
On Shane Jarka and Chris Donaldson
“Jarka and Donaldson will be examined this week. It doesn't look like they're going to play next week, but they're not season ending injuries.”
Oklahoma State offensive coordinator Dana Holgorson
On running the ball...
“Well the only thing I've said since I got here is that everyone says if it works use it, and we handed the ball off to (Kendall Hunter) the first time and based off that we averaged 11 yards per carry.”
On his reaction to actually seeing Kendall Hunter in a game
“He is pretty good. They had a hard time tackling him. We have a long way to go on offense. I thought Brandon (Weeden) managed the game well, and we took care of the game well. Obviously Kendall rushed well, and we had the deep threat in Blackmon. I am happy with those three guys, but we are still looking at another five or six guys to step up.”
On the offensive line...
“I was happy with the line. I think there are five guys that are contending and are feeling more comfortable.”
Oklahoma State defensive coordinator Bill Young
On Markelle Martin and the rest of the secondary
“I think Markelle is a talented player, just a remarkable guy. Coach (Jason) Jones has done a great job with him, and we feel really, really good about our secondary and our safeties.”
On Markelle Martin's hard hits
“I think it makes players look twice. Instead of looking around for the football, they have to look for him too.”
On the linebackers
“Glenn Spencer has done a great job since I have been here. Orie Lemon is a very talented guy, and James Thomas just keeps getting better and better so we feel really good about those guys.”
Oklahoma State junior safety Markelle Martin
On the game
“I think it went pretty good. We came out very physical as a defense, and offensively we made plays so I am proud of our guys.”
On getting to tackle someone besides teammates
“We came out very physical. We had a few missed tackles at the beginning, but overall we were very physical, and we were just wanting to tackle.”
On the defense as a whole
“The corners came in and did a great job covering. The outside linebackers came in and were very physical. Overall everyone came to play today.”
Oklahoma State junior quarterback Brandon Weedon
On Kendall Hunter
“The kid is special. I mean he doesn't get as much credit as he should, but he is just special. I got caught watching him a couple of times when I should have been paying attention to Coach Holgorson. The play is never done with 24. I am glad he is on our side.”
On his offensive line
“Those five guys just played tremendous tonight. They kept guys off me. I didn't have much pressure tonight. That's a testament to them. They work hard in practice and are starting to feel comfortable with themselves. As quarterback, it is nice not being on the ground very much.”
On his first career start in nine years
“I didn't start the way I wanted to, things were moving fast, but I just had to slow down and get the jitters out. After that, overall I think I made a few mistakes, but it wasn't too bad.”
Oklahoma State senior running back Kendall Hunter
On his first game of the season
“I was just happy to get back out there. You never know what you are missing out on until you get injured.”
On his performance
“I have to thank my offensive line for everything I was able to do tonight.”
On where he is physically
“I am bigger and stronger so I have been working really hard this summer to get back to where I was.”
Washington State head coach Paul Wulff
On the game
“We came out the first play of the game and turned the ball over, and we're fragile enough and young enough we get in spells and things go against us and we didn't respond very well. I thought our kids played tight early for quite a while. We just didn't play. I think we wanted to really bad, and they really want to do great. The attitude is great. They didn't cut it loose. They played tentative. They played not to make mistakes.
“We had some balls dropped in the passing game. There were some missed throws. We just didn't execute well enough. Defensively, we went up against a running back who is special. He set the tone for their whole offense and the tempo of the ball game. We couldn't adjust very well to their tempo early on. He dictated that ball game in several ways. I felt our special teams were very good other than the blocked punt at the very end.”
On missed tackles
“We were horrible. We were absolutely terrible, and we worked on it all camp. It seemed like we didn't get off the blocks very well all day, particularly the defensive line. Obviously, Kendall Hunter, you have to give him a lot of credit. He can make a lot of people look bad, but there were other missed tackles on the players, too. It was very poor tackling and we can't have that on defense.”
On what it will take for WSU to believe they can win
“We've got to have success. We've got to have games where we come in and compete with somebody, and we've got to start winning some games. I think they believe in each other. We've finally got the trust factor, but we've got to get some games where we go in and compete and win, then we can build off some success. We ran into a very good football team. They've got excellent speed and size. Even their backups are great looking kids. I thought they were better than us today, period.”
On the speed difference between OSU and WSU
“I thought they looked faster in spots. I thought 24(Kendall Hunter) clearly looked a lot faster and stronger. There was a big size difference at the skill positions. Right now, our guys aren't fully developed in spots. We've just got to keep lifting and getting them better. Six of our eight DB's we brought for two deep were freshmen. They've got to get bigger and stronger, and they've got to tackle better.”
Washington State freshman wide receiver Marquess Wilson
On what went through his head when he caught his touchdown
“Honestly it happened so fast, I caught the ball and took off and knew I had to get points on the board to get us closer to them on the scoreboard.”
On if he was nervous going into his first game as a true freshman
“Starting off I had a few jitterbugs, but once I touched the field and saw how the atmosphere was I got pretty comfortable.”
On if he enjoyed playiing in his first game
“I enjoyed it.It was a fun game except for the score part, it didn't come out quite as we wanted it to.”
On if it was an issue for the offense getting used to each other
“Not at all. Going through practices, we all got close to each other so we've got a rotation down and are comfortable out there.”
Washington State senior kicker Nico Grasu
On how he felt kicking a 56-yard field goal on his first kick of the game
“I wasn't quite expecting to be kicking a field goal that long on my first kick, but I approached it just like I would an extra point, stayed calm and made the 56 yarder.”
On what was going through his head on the fake field goal
“We knew we wanted to get another score since we were only down a touchdown at that point, and the play set up nicely for us and we thought we had it. But the ref just spotted it at a different spot from where I thought I had gotten.”
On what it would have meant if the play had succeeded
“It would have been a huge play and built more momentum for us, especially if we ended up scoring on that drive, but it just didn't happen.”
Washington State junior defensive end Brandon Rankin
On the reaction on the sideline when Washington State fumbled on the opening play
“We just brushed it off and looked to the next play and were looking to make plays. That's what we do, stay in it and keep fighting.”
On the biggest difference between junior college play and Division I play
“The tempo of the game is much quicker, but it's nothing I can't adjust to. It's just like how I adjusted from high school to JC. I'm going to adjust from JC to here, it's all about adjusting. I've just got to play much better than I did tonight.”
On how difficult it was dealing with Kendall Hunter
“He's a good player, we just didn't wrap him up and take him down like we're supposed to. Too much shoulder tackling, but nothing we can't work on and get better at.”
