Oklahoma State University Athletics
Post-Game Quotes From OSU-UL
September 15, 2012 | Cowboy Football
Sept. 15, 2012
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Oklahoma State Head Coach Mike Gundy
Opening Statement
“We will release injury information on our players in this game Friday before the next game. We put a procedure in place where we put out an injury report on the Friday before a game, and we have an open week so we'll follow that out of respect for the players any time there's an injury.
“With the game, I was very pleased with our team in all three phases. Defensively, we started and played very well. Offensively, we were able to move the ball, both running and throwing it. Special teams, I thought our players competed. We did have a few penalties, a couple holds on offense and one on special teams at the end of the game, but for the most part I thought our team did well with penalties today and corrected some mistakes from the last game. Next week will be a good opportunity for us to get caught up in a lot of areas. Play some base offense, base defense, and special teams and get the players some time off to try to get their legs back and get ready for the Texas game.”
On adjusting the offense to J.W. Walsh
“J.W. has been here and practiced. It's a little different approach offensively, but our coaches had taken that into mind. We didn't change offenses but we feel that there are things that he does better than Wes (Lunt), and we tried to highlight that part of our play calling and just move forward.”
On bouncing back from the Arizona loss
“We were disappointed in our play in the last game, and I had said that for a variety of reasons. Our team played well today, and we played efficient in all three phases. That's why the results are this way, but we have a lot of work ahead of us in different areas. We have to find where our players best fit in depending on their talent and schemes before we play the next game.”
On the defense
“Obviously, the defense played well. They gave up 10 points for the most part so I thought that we were tighter. I thought that we had more pressure on the quarterback. I thought that Calvin Barnett really got good pressure inside. There were times that they let go of the ball in the first half and as soon as they did, we were hitting them. We had better pressure and were a little tighter on the outside.”
On injuries
“It's always unfortunate when you have a player that could have some sort of a severe injury, whether it's Wes (Lunt) or even Devin Hedgepeth. The hardest part of being a football coach is seeing a player that has worked hard get injured, and it puts a knot in your stomach so nothing really eases it. I was pleased with the way J.W. (Walsh) stepped in. He had a good look in his eye. There wasn't any fear, in my opinion, and I'm pleased with that. He went out there and played.”
On the defensive staff and having Coach Bill Young back
“I don't think there's any question that we had another set of eyes in practice during the week, in meetings and on game day. They all work really well together. (Young) has a really calming demeanor on game day. He and Coach Spencer work really well, and the other guys make the adjustments so it's an advantage having him back.”
Oklahoma State Player/Coach Quotes
Quarterback J.W. Walsh
On his initial reaction when Lunt got hurt
“As soon as I saw him grab his knee, I immediately felt bad for him. But at the same time, I've got to go out and play. So I immediately got my mind right and ready to play. And the team was great with me, they were slapping my hand and slapping my head telling me, 'Hey we're not going to skip a beat. We're going to go run the offense, and we're going to score and do what we do.' And that was evident today. I was fortunate to have the guys help me like they did today.”
On the opportunity to play
“It was a little surprising. At the same time, I've always said, you've got to prepare like you're going to play. And when it happens you have to be prepared, and the coaches have always helped us and the team was great. And you're just fortunate to have the guys around you and help you the way they did today.”
On what he did and didn't do well
“The way the offense clicked today was amazing. Everyone was in the right spots, they were doing the right things, and it's just good to know that you've got the offense moving like it was. We did a good job operating and a good job of being where we are supposed to be and being set up right. But on the other end of that, there were some wrong reads and some miscues. And you'll have those in any game so we'll get back to the film and we'll correct what we need to correct.”
On his preparation
“Any reps you get help. I've gotten quite a bit of reps, and I've had lots of film time and have been able to see the defense that we were going to prepare against. And to get out there and play was a lot of fun.”
On playing with Josh Stewart
“To have Josh out there is an unbelievable feeling, a comforting feeling to know you have someone out there that I've been around for I don't know how long. It's nice to know he's out there with me. At the same time, I feel like I've known these guys for my entire life. We have a good connection and good bond as a whole offense and team, and it was evident today the way we came together.”
Defensive Coordinator Bill Young
On being back
“It felt really good. You get so out of sync when you miss two ball games. I've coached 44 years and never missed a game. It was hard on me not being there. It was exciting to be back. The crowd was really into it, and the players were really into it. The atmosphere was wonderful.”
On Wes Lunt's injury
“It's always tough anytime you lose a player on offense, especially when it's your quarterback. At the same time, we had a lot of confidence in J.W. We just had to keep going. We had to play, and we knew that.”
On the defense bouncing back from Arizona
“I think it was a combination of a lot of factors. One was the opponent we were playing. Two, we were more tuned in. Getting beat always makes your defensive players work harder to try to do better, and I think that was part of it. Being at home really helped us, too.”
Offensive Coordinator Todd Monken
On Wes Lunt's injury
“It was one of those things where we were running a play action pass and the tailback's taking outside. Did we rep it enough to where he knew the fullback was going to be hot? No, he started to float and didn't get it out. It was another one of those that we haven't repped enough. As a coach, you feel like you have a part in that. Hopefully, it's not something extremely bad.”
On the team's reaction to Lunt's injury
“It's a team sport, and we don't want to be a team that gets shocked when the quarterback gets hurt. I think our team responded really well, and J.W. is playing pretty well. We played off the defense. When your defense it stopping them and you're getting the ball right back, the offense's rhythm is good. In that second quarter last week, we never got out of that rut where we couldn't get moving and kept getting penalties. This week it was make it and take it. When that happens, a lot of things are going to go well for you.”
Running back Joseph Randle
On the offense's performance
“We knew we were going to have to keep rolling. J.W. can play, and he brings a lot of different stuff to the table. We were excited to still get out there and finish the game. In the running game, we still take the hand off, run the ball and follow our blocks. We played a great game.”
On the bye week
“I would rather play next week and get another one under our belt, but we're going to have a lot of time to prepare for Texas. We're going to still work hard. We won't have much time off.”
Fullback Kye Staley
On scoring
“I think it was mostly the adrenaline. I was glad I could put some points on the board for my team. I felt great with this one coming in my senior year. I haven't run that long since high school. It was a fun touchdown.”
On the team's performance
“I think we did a pretty good job. We wanted to set the tone after last week. We gave that game away, and this week we just wanted to get back to Cowboy football.”
Louisiana Head Coach Mark Hudspeth
On Oklahoma State
“They are a very talented football team. They are a well-coached team. They did a great job of game planning, and their players played hard. It is hard to beat a team that is playing that well. It was obvious they wanted to respond from last week, and they did it in a big way.”
On his team's third-down conversion struggles
“We have to find some answers. We are definitely not giving our defense a fair chance. We gave up a lot of yards defensively, but offensively, we are putting our defense on the field way too much. We have to correct those things. I was disappointed in the run game today although once we got behind, we had to abandon the run. We had to find some big plays. But I did not think we stopped the perimeter run at all defensively. They did a great job scheming that up. Overall, they did a good job.”
On OSU's speed
“They have good speed on the perimeter and a good plan, and our guys were not executing like they should. Good effort on their part; they did great.”
On his halftime coaching
“Halftime was a little rough. I was pretty agitated just because I know we are a better football team than what we showed. We have too many starters back on offense not to move the ball. I'm not saying we are going to score 60 against these guys, I'm just saying we have nine starters back on offense so we should have executed better than we did. It is disappointing that our offense has not found its rhythm with nine starters back. We will get there.”
On the Louisiana quarterback situation
“We weren't getting it done early so I told (offensive coordinator) Jay (Johnson) to make a change. Terrance (Broadway) came in and moved the ball well at times. We put Blaine (Gautier) back in, and he did move the ball again. We are just trying to find answers right now. We are not getting great quarterback play. We're not getting bad quarterback play, but we are just not getting quarterback play that will allow us to score points. Anytime you are 1-of-7 on third down in the first half you've got to find some answers.”
On his plan for next week:
“We will go back and evaluate the film. We will make sure Blaine (Gautier) is healthy because you could tell at times he was sore. You could tell he wasn't quite himself. He fought through it. You could tell defensively we missed Justin Hamilton up front. Anytime you lose a starting defensive tackle against a team like this and you lack depth that makes it tough to stop the run. We have got to rally and use this as a time to improve.”
On OSU quarterback J.W. Walsh
“I thought he played exceptionally well. I thought he pulled the ball down and ran the ball well. He managed the game, and you've got to give the guy a lot of credit. Anytime you've got a backup quarterback that can come in and execute the offense that says a lot. A lot of teams don't have that ability.”
Louisiana Player Quotes
Quarterback Blaine Gautier
Opening Statement
“We started off slow. First half wasn't the way we usually play football. We started to get things going in the second half. We started getting back to playing Cajun football, but it just wasn't enough today. We want to come back this week and get better at doing the things we're use to doing and get back to playing the type of football that we play. We're looking forward to coming back home and meeting FIU for another SunBelt game at Cajun Field.”
On what happened today against Oklahoma State
“We started off slow. We couldn't slow them down, and we just weren't getting things started on the offense. We definitely know that we want to score and get those possessions and not get those three and outs because it hurts our defense.”
On coming into this game after sustaining an injury last week against Troy
“I was fine. I had good treatment throughout this whole week. I felt great coming into this game. I was prepared and ready for hits because that's the type of offense we have. Quarterbacks are expected to do a lot - run the ball and pass the ball. I think my offensive line did a great job today. They blocked up and did a lot of good things tonight. We just have to get better and continue to prepare for this week. “
Cornerback Jemarlous Moten
On Oklahoma State's speed and running game
“They were really fast. We prepared the whole week knowing that they were going to come with tempo so we wanted to speed it up a little bit, but we started off slow.”
On their slow start
“We aren't use to seeing an offense that goes that fast. We practiced the whole week trying to get the plays in and getting the safety started, but it was just a tough start.”
On Lunt's injury and Walsh's performance
“Both quarterbacks are pretty good so we prepared for whichever quarterback went in. Lunt is a really good quarterback. When Walsh stepped in, he made some big plays. We thought the offense was going to be down a little bit and change the momentum.”
Wide receiver Darryl Surgent
On why the team got off to a slow start
“That's one of the things we wanted to work on a lot was starting off fast because we know that once we get going that we're a really good offense and really explosive. That was the only thing we were trying to work on. I can't really say what it is, but with this bye week we'll be able to work on it more.”
On going 1 for 7 on third down conversions in the first half
“That's one of the things that can help us with starting fast and staying fast. If you don't convert on third down and you constantly punt, you can't get into the rhythm you want to. For us, once we get into that rhythm, we're a good team and that hurt us a lot, not converting.”
On his touchdown
“At practice we're clicking. We just want to make sure we can transfer that into the games. That was a play we can build off of and continually get better with.”
