Oklahoma State University Athletics
Quotes: Fiesta Bowl Offensive Press Conference
December 29, 2011 | Cowboy Football
Dec. 29, 2011
Photo GalleryTodd Monken Interview
Justin Blackmon Interview
Levy Adcock Interview
OKLAHOMA STATE
Brandon Weeden
Brandon Weeden: We have had great practices so far.
Q. Is there room for the sticks?
Brandon Weeden: I was able to get 9 holes in. Actually I got 11 in, but the last two were in the dark. It was a lot of fun.
Q. Is that the only golf you have played?
Brandon Weeden: That's it. That's probably the last time we will get to play. We have team functions from here on out.
That was it. I made the most of it. I played well.
Q. When you look at the Stanford defense and see the different coverages, golly, is that something new for you? I haven't seen that out of any defense this season.
Brandon Weeden: You know, I think the team ?? we just played Oklahoma and they are probably the closest thing to it. They played everything in the book. They play everything. It will take a lot of preparations for our film study and all that stuff leading up to it. And kind of getting ourselves in good plays.
Our main goal is to get good plays. They got good players and they are very well coached. It will be a challenge.
Q. You are saying the Oklahoma game was a good game to play, last game of the season leading toward this?
Brandon Weeden: I would say so, from a personnel standpoint. They are very similar. They have 11 great athletes on that side of the ball and try to confuse as far as coverage. I think that is kind of a good tune?up, I guess you could say.
Q. 24 this deep in the season, 13 games, is there more to the offense we haven't seen? I'm sure they have pored through your games. Are there things you haven't done?
Brandon Weeden: There is some. The thing with the offense, you can run the same plays by doing it with different looks, whether it is formations or whatever it may be, motions, whatever it may be. There is a lot of things that we feel like we can show that we haven't done throughout the year.
At the same time, we are going to run the same plays we feel comfortable running and same stuff we have been doing all year.
Q. For a game like this, are you more likely to add something different or just do what you do and do it really well?
Brandon Weeden: I think pretty much do what you do and do it pretty well. Just add wrinkles to different looks to offset them.
You got to focus on what you are doing and do it well. I think the basics are taking care of the football. Blocking, all the stuff ?? we have so much time to prepare. Those are the things we focus the on the last two, three weeks.
Q. So much time, do you worry about rust?
Brandon Weeden: It has been good. We have done a lot of two?minute stuff, with our defense one speed, ones versus ones, twos versus twos. It is more of a game situation. If you go against the scouts, yeah, you worry about having rust and not playing full speed. We have been going full speed against our own defense. The coaches have done a great job as far as that goes.
Q. You have a lot of things ahead of you. But this season, there were a lot of things on the field and off. Have you reflected on the journey of getting here?
Brandon Weeden: Yeah, a little bit. After that Oklahoma team, me and Blackmon talked and talked about how satisfying it was. Especially more for him, coming back, I think he wanted to beat Oklahoma and get a Big 12 championship. That was just one piece of the puzzle we thought was pretty special.
Yeah, it has been a pretty fun year for us and a lot of hard work that has gone into it.
It has been a joy. Been a lot of fun to be around these guys and experience some stuff we experienced.
Q. When you decided to come back, you and he had the news conference, that day, is that what you pictured? Not many people have picture?perfect years. I know you can look at the Iowa State game for whatever. But this is really kind of what you guys wanted?
Brandon Weeden: Absolutely. I think ?? I said it that day. We wanted to go to a BCS game. That was one of the things we talked about, and we were able to accomplish it.
Sometimes when you go through those situations and you come back, you never know how it is going to turn out. You might get injured or not have the year you want to have or whatever it is.
I think we both have pretty solid years and we put our team in a position to play in a BCS game. Everything we were able to set aside, we were able to accomplish.
Q. You are in a BCS game but not the big one. Is that a let?down?
Brandon Weeden: This is as good as it gets, being in Scottsdale and playing in the Fiesta Bowl. I think every team's goal is to play in the championship. I don't think there is any guy in the locker room let down about it.
We are all excited to be here. This is a great venue, and pretty sure everybody in the country will be watching Monday night.
Q. You have something to prove?
Brandon Weeden: I think so. That's any time you step on the field. You want to prove you are one of the best teams in the country. When you are going up against a team like Stanford that has been solid all year long, it is good for us to show where we fit in the country.
Q. Should the winner of this game be No. 2 in the country?
Brandon Weeden: It is hard to say. It really is hard to say. I don't know. Depending on the outcome, what happens in the Alabama game.
There is a lot of things that could still happen. I'm not worried about it. There is not another game to play.
Q. Do you look draw from old Weinke? What do draw from an older guy going into the NFL?
Brandon Weeden: He set the standard. I looked at what he did. He had a long career in the NFL and pretty successful quarterback and also the backup. So you can use a comparison.
I don't think about it that way. Once you are in the draft, it is a positive my age will help me immediately. I don't have to worry about maturing. I have already played a professional sport. I have been fortunate to have some money in my pocket. That's not an issue. I think it is all positive.
Q. Speaking of your previous sport, what was that year like with Jordan Pratt back in Columbus, Georgia?
Brandon Weeden: It is good. We are creatures of habit. We do everything together. I got to know Jordan well. He had great stuff. He can really throw it. He had really good stuff. Great guy. Fun to be around.
I didn't even know - my wife was reading something on the Internet. She told me he was back at Stanford. I had no idea until after that Sunday night when we saw we were playing Stanford. Pretty neat. I shot him a message on Twitter and communicated back and forth here. I haven't seen him since we have been out here.
Q. Is it true that year that you guys were saying if this didn't work out we are going to try football, and the other players on the team said no, you won't, you're crazy?
Brandon Weeden: We talked about it. I talk about it all the time. My deal was when I was 18 and I signed originally, if baseball didn't work out, I would play football. I always talked about it. I was thinking I would pitch in the Big Leagues.
Later in my career, I would bring the football to the field and I used that as part of my program. Wasn't until later in my career I said I would give football a shot. People thought I was crazy. And I said we'll see. I guess it is funny how it worked out.
Q. Did you ever think your baseball injury would prevent you from having this kind of success?
Brandon Weeden: Even when I was playing baseball in '05?6 in the off?season, when I would throw a football, never had any issues. If I were to throw a baseball, I probably would have issues.
My arm has been great. I haven't had any injury, any soreness, anything with my shoulder. So it is amazing. It is funny how two different motions are completely different.
In baseball, I had a hard time sleeping at night. Now I'm never sore. Thank God for that.
Q. It was the shoulder injury that you had?
Brandon Weeden: Rotator cuff tendonitis. Never had surgery. Normal wear and tear of being a starting pitcher that plays 140 games.
Q. But the motion is that different?
Brandon Weeden: Completely different. With a pitcher you are throwing every pitch at 100 percent, changeup, curve ball, throwing everything as hard as you can. I think the torque, the ball is lighter, more of a whipping motion, really turning balls as far as changeup and curve balls. There is a lot more stress on your football.
In football, you don't throw 100 percent. You do but you are dumping it down.
Q. How do you describe the off?field relationship with Justin and how well you two read each other?
Brandon Weeden: We have an unbelievable relationship, not only on the field but off the field. We are close friends. We hang out. We have a good time. He is one of my favorite guys in the locker room.
It is amazing how smart he is. That's the thing. On the field there are not many guys that understand football and coverages and route running and stuff like that. That's why he is going to be a really high draft pick.
So I think it is fun just to be a part of it. I look back on all those, and I said I would be able to be the guy to throw the ball to Justin. He has a bright future in front of him.
Q. Why do you think Oklahoma State has had great success recruiting great receivers?
Brandon Weeden: We have always been a team ?? our old defense, we throw the ball around. I think that's attractive.
I think we have really good wide receiver coaches. So I think they want to be around good, solid coaches. And I think the success ?? I think you look at ?? it starts with Bowman which had a chance to be a high draft pick and then Dez and now Blackmon. Other guys throughout the country see that; that will be fun to be in that offense and catch 100 balls a year.
Q. We heard Coach Gundy is more comfortable now than he was three, four years ago. Do you see that? Does that manifest in how he deals with the team?
Brandon Weeden: No question. When I got here five years ago, he was young. He still is a young coach. He was learning how to deal with the ins and outs of becoming head coach.
He has done an unbelievable job. He understands his players. Got a great relationship with all his players. He gets it. And I think he understands ?? I think the biggest thing is he has hired great coaches around him to put a good program and good thing going.
So I think it's amazing. He has done a lot of good things for this university. He wants to be here for a long time.
Q. Grant was saying he was more of a drill sergeant four or five years ago balls he wasn't comfortable yet as a head coach. Has he changed in how he deals with you guys, lightened up?
Brandon Weeden: No doubt. He was a position coach that called plays and real hands on. That's the way he went about it his first few years. Once he realized he has a lot on his plate outside of football, he said he would hire assistant coaches and throw his two cents in.
He has done a great job of that. He is hands on. He wants to help coach my footwork or route running. He still throws tips out there. He is a lot more in the background and he does a great job and a lot of fun to play with him.
Q. How bad is his dancing?
Brandon Weeden: Pretty bad. But some of those moves, if I can do that at 43, 44, I will be pretty excited.
Q. Receivers, who is the next great one?
Brandon Weeden: I think Mike Harrison has the chance to be really, really good. I tell him all this time, if he learned to quit doing his own thing and do it the way the coaches teach him how to do it, he has great hands. Like Blackmon, he has a chance to be special.
Tracy Moore coming back, has another year, will be a great player.
I think Torrance Carr, I think if he can continue to get better, stay focused, buy in to what we are doing, I think he has a chance to be special.
Q. How much contact did you have with Andrew Luck at camps?
Brandon Weeden: A lot. Quite a bit.
It was neat how it all worked. There were a lot of quarterbacks there. We had dinner all together and there is a local bar we go to and hang out. We were around each other all day. He was one of my good buddies there and spent a lot of time with.
Q. What struck you most about him? His teammates say he is a goofy guy.
Brandon Weeden: Completely. He is goofy. But I think he is not cocky. He is extremely humble. He obviously has a bright future ahead of it. He is an extremely humble guy.
Q. From a quarterback standpoint, what are some of the challenges you think are hardest facing Stanford?
Brandon Weeden: Going back to the coverages, they play so many different coverages. They are doing a good job of that. They are well coached, play hard. They are a really good football team.
Any time you play a team with the talent they have, it is a challenge. It is about us taking care of the football there will be mistakes.
Q. (Question about the title game)?
Brandon Weeden: The system is in place. It worked out. We came up little bit short. If you looked back and you said before the year started we wanted to go to the national championship, you probably thought we were crazy. But our goal was to go to a BCS game.
We are extremely excited about it. I'm extremely excited to be here. It is a great venue. I think this will be one of the games that people will sit down and watch.
I can speak for all 120 guys, we are really excited to be here.
Q. You have been married for a couple years. Can you talk about how this helped you making the transition from baseball back to college up to where you are right now?
Brandon Weeden: First of all, my wife is extremely supportive. She has never discouraged me from doing anything. She is always supporting me 100 percent. That makes it easy right there.
She understands I'm busy and an I am working out and doing stuff. She understands it. She gets it. She is ready for me to be completely done with it and spend some more time with her, yeah.
She understands this is what I wanted to do. Even when I played baseball, she was really supportive back then. It has made the transition very easy. When you have somebody at home that was nagging all the time because you were gone, it would be tough. She is not like that. She is really supportive of what I do.
Q. She wasn't exactly a football ??
Brandon Weeden: She was more of a baseball nut. And her dad coached basketball. So football is kind of foreign to her.
OKLAHOMA STATE
Justin Blackmon
Q. One of the defensive backs said they were running across and ran into you and they said you look bigger in person than what you thought. You usually hear the opposite?
Justin Blackmon: Yeah, I was going to say normally it is vice versa: Man, I'm disappointed, you are a lot smaller than I thought you were.
I guess I'm doing something right.
Q. How cool is this? This is probably the biggest game of your career and the last, hitting all at the same time? That has to fire you up even more to have a great game.
Justin Blackmon: I'm just enjoying it. Haven't really thought about it being my last.
Like I said, we are going to go out there and have a good time and just play hard, see what happens.
Q. Do you think you might think about it as you are running out and thinking "This is it"?
Justin Blackmon: I will be thinking about one thing: playing football.
Q. David Shaw at Stanford says your stamina strikes him that you can go eight, nine plays full speed, come back, no huddle, and keep on going. How did you develop that kind of stamina? Did you always have that?
Justin Blackmon: I think it is strength conditioning. It is the coaches getting us prepared for the offense. I think we are fresh throughout the week.
Coach Gundy doesn't make the schedule where we are hard running or running two?, three?hour practices, things like that. We kind of keep it short. We take care of business in a short amount of time. We use that high tempo in practice, and I think that conditions us for the game.
Q. Most people think this is going to be a very high?scoring game and a shootout. What do you think? Is that your expectation?
Justin Blackmon: I'm just expecting or hoping for a win. I can't really tell you how it is going to be. The way we run it, it is going to be high tempo on our side of the ball. They are a little more slower on their side.
So it will be interesting to see how it plays out to them.
Q. Do you think the winner of this game should be ranked No. 2 in the country?
Justin Blackmon: I think whatever happens after this game happens. I can't control anything that goes with that.
Q. When you were growing up, was there a wide receiver that you modeled yourself after that you really admire?
Justin Blackmon: Not any in particular. I try to model myself after a lot of them. I run a lot of different routes and the way they run.
Q. Anybody in particular right now?
Justin Blackmon: It used to be Darrell. He worked off the field. And Andre Dawson.
Q. When I look at J.W., I see the same skill set, athleticism. Is that too simple or is that pretty close?
Justin Blackmon: That's pretty close. I never thought of it that way. He is good with his legs. He is probably one of the best conditioned people on this team. He can run real well.
I envision they will be using a little bit more of the running quarterback style than what we use with Weeden.
Q. When you look over at the old man, what are your thoughts on final game playing with the guy that y'all accomplished so much together?
Justin Blackmon: I haven't even thought about it. We are just enjoying this, having a good time and we go out and just play the game.
I'm sure we will sit back afterwards and be like, wow, look back at what we have done. Right now we are just enjoying the time together and trying to get this game ?? or get this W in this game.
Q. When you see the Stanford's defense, when you looked at them, what's the first thing that jumps out at you? What is the key to executing against this defense?
Justin Blackmon: One, they are very physical. They are always in the right spot at the right time. They hustle real hard and get up field and come back and make a tackle chasing down the field. They are real physical and also they run a lot of man.
That's one thing that stuck out to me, me being a receiver. I'm always looking at the coverages. They run some man. And that's something we really don't see too much of.
Q. When you think about the transfer ?? maybe you haven't thought about it. When you think about the transformation of this class, you coming in, three years with Brandon, how important is it to end it with the highest note, to win the Fiesta Bowl, the biggest game of the season?
Justin Blackmon: I think it is the icing on the cake. I think we had a great year. Win or lose this game, it is still going to be a great year. You can't look back and see it was a terrible year because we lost this game.
But to go out and win this game would be big for Oklahoma State and Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Q. Is this more a process ?? this is your reward for all the hard work you have done all year?
Justin Blackmon: That's it. It is the icing on the cake, like I said.
Q. As a junior you got the distinction of being the last guy introduced. And you said a week earlier you didn't know how you would respond. When the moment came, was it overwhelming?
Justin Blackmon: I don't really know how I felt. It was a good time. It was good for the family to be out there with me and everything. It was just a good time.
Q. 200 some-odd catches over the last few years. Are there two or three that you consider your greatest hits that you could put in a time capsule? Whether they were highlight catches or important catches?
Justin Blackmon: I wouldn't say there were two or three. I have enjoyed every bit of it, all of them, every catch. I know not everybody is blessed or is able to do the things that I have been able to do. So I just enjoy it and take it one step at a time.
Q. (Question about being a playmaker).
Justin Blackmon: I thought I was a good player. I can catch the ball. I knew over time that getting bigger, use that to my advantage, put on some weight and everything and try to up my game. So I knew that if I got the chance, the opportunity, I could do some things.
Q. What do you weigh now?
Justin Blackmon: I used to weigh 175. Now 210.
Q. Could you imagine at 175 being 210 and sustaining speed?
Justin Blackmon: I thought 175 was big for me. I never thought I would be this ?? I would have never thought I would have reached 200. It was shocking.
Q. Can you envision yourself at 230? Or do you think 215 is about right?
Justin Blackmon: I think it is about right. At some point last year I weighed about 223 and I dropped it and got back to my normal weight.
Q. What was going through that like? You mentioned you didn't think yourself as too strong or too fast when you arrived. When you did add the weight and it became ?? it made you more explosive, what was that like going through that, sort of seeing a transformation, like, wow, I can get up field fast?
Justin Blackmon: Being a little scrawny kid and coming out of the weight room and having a little definition coming in and the process, it was a lot of fun. I enjoyed the group that I worked out with. I enjoyed them pushing me. I just have a good time when I am out there working out and conditioning.
Q. Did that help with your speed or at least your explosive speed?
Justin Blackmon: It did. I got explosion off the ball and all that. I have gotten faster since I have been here. I have put on more weight. So I think the muscle is working to my advantage.
Q. Is there any NFL player that you have patterned your game after?
Justin Blackmon: Not so much any particular, but, I mean, I like to take things from different players and different things, just all around. We got tapes on hundreds of hundreds of receivers. I just like to pull and see how different people do different things against different coverages.
Q. You play bigger than you are. Do you have an explanation for why that is? How is that? We heard that from Stanford's defensive coordinator: You look bigger on film than you actually are in person.
Justin Blackmon: I don't know. I thought I looked big in person. Obviously I don't live up to expectations. I don't know. I just like to go out there and compete. I enjoy being out there on the field.
Q. When you and Brandon were sitting in that press conference announcing you were coming back for another year, was it this game and this moment you had in the back of your mind as far as what you wanted to accomplish for this season?
Justin Blackmon: It is what we have accomplished already. We said we were going to come back and win the big championship and play for BCS Bowl. The fact that we did it and we're here and playing in a BCS Bowl is that icing on the cake.
Q. Is it meaningful to you ?? I think everybody would agree if there is a Mt. Rushmore for receivers, it is Dez and you. Have you thought about you? Certainly statistically, if there is a Mt. Rushmore for receivers, are you on that?
Justin Blackmon: Being in the conversation with those guys and those of us at Oklahoma State, to be in those conversations, it goes to show how I have been in being mentioned with those guys.
Q. Your low moment was the ankle.
Justin Blackmon: I haven't had any low moments.
Q. You weren't heartbroken when your ankle was swelled up twice its size?
Justin Blackmon: I wasn't low. I was just ready to get back on my feet. I like to play. I wasn't going to let that ankle stop me from playing.
I was happy to be out there, and I did what I could to the best of my ability.
Q. When you and Brandon took the podium for your announcement last January to say you were coming back, do you look back on it now? Is this almost exactly what you pictured?
Justin Blackmon: It pretty much is. This is the reason we came back to play in the BCS game and win the Big 12 championship. I think we accomplished a lot this year, and that's why we did come back.
Q. There is no guarantees. When you made that decision, anything could have happened. You think, sometimes, that was a great decision but, boy, we were fortunate?
Justin Blackmon: When we made the decision, we made it. I have no regrets about it. When it was made, that was the end of it for me. I never thought about it after that.
Q. Can you compare years off the field as far as your friendships, your camaraderie? I have asked you this before and you haven't played with it too much. Was this maybe the most fun year for you as well just with your teammates and the relationships and everything as well?
Justin Blackmon: I would say the last two years we have really just grown close as a group and became good friends with everybody. Everybody likes to hang out with each other on and off the field.
It has been real good, the connections we made in these last few years.
Q. You are going to a different place in the future, whenever that is. Do you expect to stay ?? are you one of those guys, yeah, I want to come back? We see guys come back in their off week from the NFL all the time. Charlie Johnson is one that always comes back. Do you see yourself ?? I always want to stay in touch with that program?
Justin Blackmon: Oh, yeah, for sure. Oklahoma State has done a lot of things to help me get to where I am. I can't turn my back on that. I will definitely be coming back any chance I get.
Q. You and Brandon average six touchdowns a game. Do you ever marvel on all the touchdowns you are making?
Justin Blackmon: I didn't even know that's a stat we had.
Q. 71 touchdowns last year, 70 this year. It is not just passing game. That's a ton of touchdowns.
Justin Blackmon: That's a lot of touchdowns. I haven't really thought about it. I think we play every game and we go in and you play hard and to the best of our ability.
We are not so much looking at the stats every game, he had 500 yards or 300 yards. We don't look at it. We put it in the past, good and bad, and go on to the next game.
Q. I asked about J.W. Do you see Clint rising and claiming that job?
Justin Blackmon: Clint has showed himself. He has thrown many touchdowns in the short time he has played. He is a great athlete. He is a runner himself too. I can see them both being good quarterbacks and being successful.
Q. You are one of the best guys to ask. Is it really close? Would you want to step out on that ledge?
Justin Blackmon: I think right now, I think Clint would have the front running. He is more comfortable in that situation. He has more poise. J.W. is still learning a lot and trying to get things together.
When J.W. matures or learns the system, where he can get out there and react and not be thinking about things, he will be all right.
Q. Is it the period between the Bowl and the start of August preseason? That's a lifetime in terms of film study. J.W. could be a completely different guy by then.
Justin Blackmon: He could be.
Q. You are a good guy to take advice from. Mike Gundy talks about this difference in you from that one year. You didn't redshirt ?? yeah, you did?
Justin Blackmon: I was a redshirt.
Q. Between your redshirt and your next year, your work ethic increased and all of a sudden you were ready to step up in the role. Do you remember that process and what was going through your mind to motivate you?
Justin Blackmon: I just wanted to ?? like I said earlier, I just more bought into the system, instead of complaining about things I had to do, waking up and went up there with a smile and enjoyed it and made it as fun as possible. Just doing that and buying in and really listening in everything I am being coached about helped that.
Q. Stanford's secondary, you watch tape, they run a lot of coverages. They seem to be very smart and sound in what they do. Their coaches have NFL pedigree. Is that fun for you to think, this is a lot like what a NFL secondary looks like with college players in it?
Justin Blackmon: They do a lot of different things that we don't normally see. It is going to be fun to go out there. I think it is just going to be interesting to see how they played.
Q. Do you know there is more media in the NFL?
Justin Blackmon: I figured that.
Q. Do you still own a drum kit?
Justin Blackmon: Yeah, I got a drum set in my basement.
Q. At your folks' place?
Justin Blackmon: In Stillwater.
Q. Do you have a full?
Justin Blackmon: Full drum set.
Q. What kind of music do you like to drum?
Justin Blackmon: I haven't been out there since the season.
Q. Are you good or really good?
Justin Blackmon: I'm just an average. I like to beat on things, go down there and make noise.
Q. Were you in the band?
Justin Blackmon: Yeah, I did that my sophomore year and then they cut me off of that.
Q. Who is "they"?
Justin Blackmon: My coaches when they wanted me in for halftime.
Q. Do you have a band you are going to join?
Justin Blackmon: No.
