Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Preview Season Opener
August 23, 2012 | Cowboy Football
Aug. 23, 2012
STILLWATER, Okla. - Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy and selected members of the team visited with the media Thursday in Boone Pickens Stadium to recap training camp and to look ahead to the team's Sept. 1 season opener vs. Savannah State.
Coach Mike Gundy
Opening statement:
"I guess we're back at it. Players are starting to get excited. I know the coaches are. It seems to be the talk of the state. Everywhere you go now, college football's back. It's that time of year that I really look forward to. We've had a really good preseason camp. Our football team is healthy and our attitude is good. Preparation has gone very well up to this point. We've worked extremely hard and will continue to work hard through the weekend and start to back off as we get closer to game time. We're just looking forward to practice. We've got four or five more days of quality work. Then we'll start to pull the tires off and get our legs back and get ready for our opener against Savannah State."
On team chemistry:
"We've talked about it as a group the last few days. Chemistry creates the identity of this team and that's important with the departure of key players. They're getting closer every day. Not with just the way they practice and the way they compete against each other, but also in how they take care of each other. As we progress through the next month and two months it should be really important. The best information will come from them because they're the ones that have to have it. We tell them all the time that this is their team. Coaches do the best we can to put them in the position to have success, but their success is based on them and what they want to put into this and how close they can become as a unit."
On QB Wes Lunt:
"I think he has to do what he's capable of. He's not a very outgoing teammate. He seems to be very level-headed and low-key. He has to develop leadership through respect. I know he's done as well as he can up to this point. Everything we've asked him to do he's done a nice job. I think the players are starting to rally around him, but he's still got some work ahead of him. As he progresses throughout his career he'll get better each day."
On Wes Lunt and not having to simplify the offense:
"We haven't had to simplify any of it. How much will be called on game day has yet to be seen. Those discussions took place after spring ball and throughout the summer in preparation for fall camp and there wasn't any scaling back the offense. He's shown signs of being intelligent enough and smart enough to be able to handle it. We feel like it is better for Oklahoma State football that we give it all to him and see how much he can handle in the early part of the season."
On preparing for a team with little media coverage like Savannah State:
"The offseason evaluation is the same. We don't know a lot about them other than what we read and there's not as much coverage. Is it the same as playing a school from maybe the SEC? No it's not the same because you don't get the same media coverage, but it doesn't really affect our game preparation."
On the freshman receivers:
"They're all about the same. They've had good days and there are times that each one of them individually has struggled based on knowledge, knowing the offense and pushing on that wall that you go through as a true freshman. We really like this class. I think this is the best class we've had in eight years from top to bottom for a variety of reasons with the wide receivers being included."
On DT Calvin Barnett:
"He's in better shape than what most two-year guys are. I was impressed with him in the spring and he's had a good summer. For a two-year guy, he's farther along than most guys that we've had. Hopefully, we can get 35-40 plays out of him the first game.
Offensive Coordinator Todd Monken
On Jeremy Smith's development
"He has gotten a lot stronger; he really has worked at it. We will see how that translates over. I think he has gotten a lot better at understanding how to catch the ball as well as his understanding of space. He understands where to be so that the quarterback can find him. He understands whether to break out when he is matched or whether to settle in his spots. Those things are really critical."
On who will lead the receivers
"I really don't care. I think you have guys that do certain things well like Justin Blackmon. He was a great one-on-one player so until it was a one-on-one situation, I really didn't care. It's all about which guy can win. You got to target those guys you want to get the ball to in those critical situations based on what you think you're going to get. Other than that, I really don't care. The defense dictates that, I can't determine how they are going to play us."
On Charlie Moore's ability
"People just look at him and underestimate him. The reality is, he is that fast and he's big and physical. Coach Dunn has done a great job with him. He has turned himself into a very good football player."
On being patient with players
"I have got to be better in understanding that guys are going to develop. It happens at different stages for different guys. Justin Blackmon redshirted, enough said. Brandon Weeden was a walk-on. You have to keep reminding yourself of that in a business where nobody wants to wait. That's the hardest part about what we do. It has all got to be now. We want it now. We need them to be good now. It annoys me when they aren't good now. So now I am going to move on, and I have to fight that."
Co-Defensive Coordinator Glenn Spencer:
On the offense:
"It's amazing. It's another guy that can throw the football. There are fast receivers. We are looking at ourselves as a defense, there are five receivers out there each snap. We have to cover the field. The ball is coming out fast so the defensive linemen better rush, the corners better break and get back to the ball. From our standpoint, Wes is getting the ball out the same way Brandon did. He is so accurate, there are not a lot of bad throws that he makes. We better be perfect in our breaks. We better be perfect in our timing or it's going to be a completion."
On Wes Lunt as a freshman quarterback:
"I have been doing this for 24 or 25 years and you just don't look at him like that. The guy that is out there with our number one offense could be a senior. To us, he's just a guy that is throwing the football and running a fast-paced offense. We'd better be on our game. We haven't seen him push the panic button one time, and we come at him with everything we have. He loves it. He's running the show. He is showing he is composed, and we can't rattle the kid. I am looking forward to seeing him do his thing in the fall."
Junior WR Charlie Moore
On expectation to win this season
"[We're] definitely not entitled to it. Coach Gundy stresses that. But our goal is to win it all, and we know that we're going to do everything we can. And that's hard work, and that's who we are, but we're going to try and win every game that we can."
On his strengths
"I like to maximize my potential in every way I can. I think some of my strength is that people are going to underestimate me, maybe because of my size, or because they don't know about my speed yet, but hopefully I can surprise some people."
On Freshman QB Wes Lunt
"If he makes mistakes, he knows we're going to support him, and when we make mistakes, he's there to support us. It's a team sport, and it's a beautiful thing, and I think he's going to be really comfortable because of all of the hard work we've put in."
On his strong performance in the spring
"Every time I train, I take pride in going 100 percent. I try to be the best I can be in everything that I do, whether it's on or off the field. But with the spring I had, it's definitely something that I can use to my advantage as motivation. It made me never want to slow down. "
Senior LB Alex Elkins
On having depth at linebacker
"To be honest it doesn't take off too much pressure just from the fact that there's going to be competition throughout the season. It's not necessarily that I am worried about losing my job, which I should be, and I am, but having someone behind me to push me and make me better is definitely beneficial to this program."
On the preseason scrimmages
"You need to have eleven players doing their job in order to be successful. During the first scrimmage, the offense had a few more players hitting on all cylinders than the defense did. It's always back and forth and that's the way it's got to be."
On the growth of the linebackers
"Getting the year under our belt, being able to build some team chemistry and understand what everyone is about both on and off the field has helped us tremendously. You don't want to line up next to a guy you don't know anything about. We have been able to understand each other at a more personal level. The deeper our bond and team chemistry, the stronger our mind is going to be."
On Caleb Lavey
"I think he is a great guy. He is a very good vocal leader. Whenever we are on the field, he is going to speak up. It's not that we don't have leaders all across the board, some leaders on our team right now are more vocal than others, and he is definitely one of our vocal leaders. He is a good guy and someone that people can follow because he goes out and does what he is supposed to do when he is on the field. It is easy to follow someone who does it right. It is hard to follow someone that says one thing and does another, and he is not one of those guys."
Junior RB Jeremy Smith
On offensive leadership
"I think there are many leaders such as Kye Staley, Lane Taylor, Tracy Moore and a few other guys. We pretty much just have to group together and listen to each other because there are different points that we all have to hit on just to be better as an offense."
On offensive expectations
"Go out and compete. Not everything is going to go right. You have to let that go. Whatever happens on the previous play, you have to let it go and move on to the next one."
On goals against Savannah State
"You never know what will happen. You can't take them out of the picture. As long as we execute every play and do what we are supposed to and not slack off, we will be ready when they come."
On If there are any changes to the offense
"No, there are none at all. We are planning on doing the same thing we have been doing and that is just doing what we know best. Most of these kids have already played in this offense anyway back in high school so it should not be hard for them to grasp it."
On having offensive line continuity
"It's lovely, I couldn't ask for anything better. It is a blessing. I love it."
On where team grew most during fall camp
"Becoming the band of brothers we were last year. Last year, we were pretty much unstoppable because we were so close as a team. During the fall, even on our breaks, we were still together talking about football."
Offensive Lineman Jonathan Rush
On confidence in new offensive starters
"We have depth. Anyone that starts out there and goes out there to play has proven himself. They've earned their roles. Even though they may not be Brandon Weeden or Justin Blackmon, they've earned their stripes so far."
On facing more blitzes
"That's part of football. Every team has a different plan of attack. If they aren't blitzing, they're going to be doing something else. They will load the box and stop the run. It's just one of those things where we have to go out there, analyze the situation and deal with it as it comes."
On how Wes Lunt handles himself
"I think it's a great thing because you never really see freshmen in general go out and start, especially as a quarterback in a huge leadership role. To see a true freshman come in and do that really says something about his character. He's always mellow and composed. It shows a lot about his character."
On Lunt's command of huddle
"I'd like to see it in game situations. So far he has done well. We have given him a hard time about speaking up, but so far, he has been golden."
