Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboy Football Arrives in Arizona
December 27, 2014 | Cowboy Football
PHOENIX - The Oklahoma State football team arrived Saturday at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort and Spa for the TicketCity Cactus Bowl. Okstate.com caught up with coach Mike Gundy and a few players at the team's first practice at Corona del Sol High School in Tempe, Ariz. Their comments:
Coach Mike GundyOn the team's first practice in Tempe:
"Well, we're all here safe. It's been a great half of a day. The facilities and the hotel are beautiful, so everybody is pretty excited, The weather is perfect, too, so we're looking forward to having a great practice. As always, we've had great hospitality here with the volunteers, and we're very appreciative of TicketCity and the Cactus Bowl for everything they've given us."
On if the team's history in the desert has a special place with him:
"It really does. It has been very good to Oklahoma State, and we've enjoyed our time out here. We've had great experiences and great practices out here, especially with the extra week with the players. They've played well, and that's what's important with bowl games. We've had really good practices back home, but we want to finish up strong this week, enjoy our time here and go out and play the game."
On what he sees in Washington:
"They're a very good football team. They're very well coached. I've followed Coach Petersen for a number of years now and in his time with Boise State. He's had a lot of success, and they're really multiple in all three phases. They do a lot of different things on special teams, and they're very multiple with offensive formations. Defensively, they've got three All-Americans and arguably one of the best outside linebacker-types in the country. We'll have our hands full, but I think our team will play very well. One of the interesting parts is that they've played very well over the last four or five weeks, and our team has improved over the last four or five weeks. I think it's a great matchup."
On dealing with the distractions of a bowl game:
"Most of our work is put in back home. When we come here, our goal is to have two good practices, a couple of lighter practices and a walk-through. There's time, especially early in the week, when they'll get to be around town and be a college student. They'll have time to go out and enjoy their lives, but there's also time to be serious. We have an hour of meetings and two hours of practice each day, and they know they have to stay focused during that time. We've had a system that's been good to us over the last nine years now. We feel like it has worked, so we'll stay with it and give the players a chance to enjoy Arizona, but also get ready to play in the game."
LB Seth Jacobs
On being at the first bowl practice in Arizona:
"This is a great facility, especially for a high school. We're just happy to be here. There's great weather, as you can tell, and we're thrilled to be in this bowl."
On the Bedlam win over Oklahoma:
"That was a great win. It felt good to win like that. We just kept fighting throughout the game. It was definitely a confidence boost going from that game. It's just one of those things where we have to keep moving forward and practice hard each day."
On preparing for the bowl in Stillwater:
"Practices were good. We would go in in the morning and prepare with film and everything and do what was necessary to do in order to win. We'd go to practice and they were smooth practices. We made mistakes, but you always do. We learned from them and hopefully we can move forward and do the best we can in this game."
On what the team wants to accomplish in the last week of practice:
"Just refining everything and making sure we're ready to play this game."
On if he has looked at the off-the field itinerary for the week:
"I have not really looked at it that thoroughly, but I'm sure we're going to be doing a lot of really good stuff. I'm excited to be here. It's a great place, so I'm excited."
RB Desmond Roland
On what the bowl experience is like after going to one every year of his Cowboy career:
"It's a great experience. You get to spend time with your friends and family; your brothers on the team. You get to really know people outside of just business like practices in Stillwater. Free vacation, so you can't complain about that. Then you get the game, so especially if you win, that's the best part."
On what he remembers about Arizona from his last trip:
"The weather. It's just amazing weather and it's an amazing area. I love Arizona. I said I might move here one day. That's the best part about it is the weather."
On the intensity level:
"We're out to win a ballgame, especially the seniors. It's our last one and we want it to end on the right note, so the intensity level is very high right now. We've got to pick it up today."
On what he knows about Washington from watching tape:
"They've got a lot skill players on defense, a lot of NFL prospects and a lot of physical players on their D-line and a lot of skilled players on their defense. We've got to come ready to play."
