Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State Football Report, August 14
August 14, 2013 | Cowboy Football
Aug 14, 2013
STILLWATER - Dressed in shoulder pads and shorts, the Oklahoma State football team practiced for approximately two hours Wednesday in the Sherman Smith Training Facility. After practice, running backs coach Jemal Singleton gave some insight into his position group:
On Wednesday's practice:
"It was a pretty good day today. Guys were running around and moving around well. Our recognition of what it is we're trying to accomplish was pretty good. We still have got to work on our ball skills and catching the ball, but overall, it was a pretty good day."
On the misconception that the Oklahoma State offense is all about passing:
"To be honest, I hope that all of our opponents think that we're a passing, passing, passing team because we've got some guys who can do a good job carrying the ball. All you have to do is look at the stats for the past few years. We kind of get that perception of being a passing team, but we've had a 1,000-yard rusher the past six years, we've had an All-Big 12 rusher for about the same amount of time, so obviously, we're doing something when we've got the ball in our hands."
On what he looks for when recruiting a running back:
"Everybody wants a guy with size and speed with good cutting and change of direction. I call it the zero-to-60. I don't need a guy that runs a 4.1 in the 40, but if he can run 10 yards extremely fast and explosively, then that's what I'm looking for - change of direction and acceleration. In our offense, we like a guy with decent ball skills who can catch the ball out of the backfield and also be a threat as a receiver. You look for a lot of different molds. Take a look at Joseph Randle. He was a different type of back than Jeremy Smith is and Jeremy Smith is different than Desmond Roland. I don't think there is a cookie-cutter approach to what you can look at as a running back. I'm looking for football players. They can come in all sizes and shapes and different skill sets. Do you make plays when you're on the field? That's what I look for."
On what makes Jeremy Smith effective:
"Jeremy is extremely explosive. His burst - he's got a really good burst. When he sticks his foot in the ground, he can get going. He's got some good size and strength to accompany that. That's the main thing, just his explosiveness when he gets the ball in his hands. Over the years, we've seen that he has had some long runs and he's gone the distance and a lot of that is because he's able to burst through a hole with great speed and quickness."
On Desmond Roland and freshmen Corion Webster and Rennie Childs:
"Des Roland is coming along. He's going into his junior year now, so he's no longer a young guy. He's been around, he's played some reps and done some good things. We're going to see him play. With us and how we go really fast and play a bunch of plays, he's going to get a significant amount of playing time. Fans are going to see that he's very capable of doing what we ask him to. We've got some young guys, the two new freshmen (Webster and Childs) that I've got the fire hose on them and I'm spraying them down with as much information as they can handle. They're progressing very well and I'm happy with their progression. Now it's can they continue to learn and continue to study and continue to do those things when college starts."
On if he can see Webster or Childs being in the rotation for playing time this year:
"I think so. You look at them physically. Neither of them is a small guy. It's not like they're 150-pound kids. They're both in the 180, 190 range. They have good size and they both have really good speed and have proven through camp already that they can stick their nose in the hole and be aggressive when they run. Both have the athletic capability to do it. It's going to be mentally, can they handle it?"
