Oklahoma State University Athletics
Football Practice Report - August 18
August 18, 2012 | Cowboy Football
Aug. 18, 2012
STILLWATER, Okla. - The Oklahoma State football team scrimmaged for approximately 100 plays on the Boone Pickens Stadium turf Saturday. After the scrimmage, coach Mike Gundy and members of the team spoke to the media:
Mike Gundy
On the scrimmage:
"Our scrimmage was very clean. Guys had good attitudes and played hard. The defense ran to the ball and was much more competitive than it was a week ago. Offensively, we went through our second scrimmage without any holding calls. I thought that was pretty good in a 100-play scrimmage. We had a few procedure calls - one in a two-minute situation. I thought the kicking game was good. Overall, I thought it was a really clean scrimmage and I thought the guys had a nice finish to camp."
On the play of receiver Charlie Moore:
"Charlie's had a really good preseason camp. He had a drop today and missed a punt. I wish he would have caught that. Other than that, Charlie's done great. He's blocked well, he's played hard. He's playing two positions for us. We're excited about him this season."
On if the defense responded well after last week's scrimmage:
"I think so. The defense started out much faster. Last week, they started slowly and the snowball got going downhill and they never could do anything about it. Today, they started faster and played well. They forced a couple turnovers and got the momentum on their side. The offense came back and made some plays. I thought it was a really good scrimmage for both sides."
On the play of quarterback Wes Lunt:
"Wes is playing well. He looks like he's got good command of our offense. He seems to be handling the blitz pretty well. I would expect the first two or three games of the season, (opponents) are going to try to blitz him a lot. He seems to be handling it really well. Our defense is bringing a lot of pressure and he's making good decisions."
On if most of the depth chart is set:
"I don't know that there's anything lingering now. Defensively, we play two deep. Those guys rotate in and get the same amount of reps. Offensively, we use so many receivers and we use all of our running backs. Offensive linemen - coach Wickline is moving a few guys around, but for the most part, there won't be many changes. We're pretty settled in the direction we want to go to start the season."
Defensive Coordinator Bill Young:
On the defensive line:
"They're getting better and better, we've got a long way to go. We're not a finished product but we're working hard and have got to be proud of the effort the guys are giving. We've got some real quality depth, which helps us a lot especially on hot days like today."
On if the Oklahoma State defense can be one of the nation's best:
"Gosh, I'd love to say we're going to be a great, great defense, but I don't know if that's going to be the case. They've got to overcome a lot of coaching to be a great defense, to start with. We want to be a real solid defense. We want to make plays. We want to create turnovers. We want to get out there and get the offense some good field position. I don't know that we're going to be the Steel Curtain or anything like that."
On how the defense has improved from last week's scrimmage:
"The biggest thing is we were able to get Brodrick Brown back. We've got some healthier guys out there in the secondary, which helps a ton. We had some young guys that let the receivers get behind them and we weren't getting nearly the pressure. We got just a tiny bit better pressure but a lot better coverage."
On defensive improvement during camp:
"Every day we're getting a little bit better. We've got a long ways to go, so we'd better get better. We have to improve every single day."
On quarterback Wes Lunt:
"He's doing an awfully good job. He's so impressive as a freshman quarterback. He has thrown some balls where we've had great coverage. He got one here on the sideline where we were all over it and he drops it in the bucket. You've got to give him a lot of credit, too. Tracy Moore and the other receivers - all of them are doing a really good job."
On if the defense played with more edge Saturday following last week's showing:
"We definitely challenged them. They should have had a better day. We feel like we didn't play as well (last week). We had some issues - we let the ball get behind us, we didn't have much pressure and didn't have a lot of containment. That's a lot of issues. We played better, but gosh, we've got a long way to go."
Receiver Isaiah Anderson
On his confidence level:
"I feel real good out there. I'm making a lot of plays that I wasn't able to make last season. I'm showing the coaches that I'm ready to play this year and am making a name for myself."
On how he has improved:
"Last season with Hubert Anyiam in front of me, I was kind of that backup guy and knew I had to step in and make plays if he wasn't able to. Now he handed me the stick and I'll go and take it on my own. I'm taking it full on and making sure I get better."
On how he now views his role on the team:
"I've got a bigger piece of the pie now. I'm going to be counted on more this season than I was in my previous two. I'm ready to step up to the challenge."
Receiver Tracy Moore
On if the players have hit the point where they're ready to hit somebody from another team:
"We've been ready to play another team since the last game. It's been (a long time) since we got to play. Coach Glass tried to kill us in the summer and we're ready to get out of that mode and go play someone else."
On the play of quarterback Wes Lunt:
"Wes looks great. He doesn't play like a freshman. You can't use that excuse that he's a freshman, because if you give him that excuse, then every time he messes up, you'd say it's okay. I look at him just like he's Brandon Weeden."
On who else has impressed him:
"Most of the guys on the defense have gotten a lot better over the summer. Daytawion Lowe and Brodrick Brown have had great two-a-days. Charlie Moore has played really well, but the person who has impressed me the most has been Isaiah Anderson. Isaiah has learned how to use his speed. He's studied the game more and learned how to get open."
On the physical growth of Wes Lunt since his arrival:
"He plays pretty big. He plays like a big athlete that's not really scared to get hit in the pocket. A lot of smaller quarterbacks would duck away from the defender as they're throwing, but he'll step up like Brandon Weeden did and make that throw then take the hit."
On how important a player's initial offseason on campus is:
"He won't know it right now, but it's really crucial. It'll set the tone for the rest of your time being here. Learning how to do everything and learning how to work hard and get where you want to get. He's done a really good job but he won't really know until next year and the year after that. You learn a little bit more."
