Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboy Football Report, Aug. 14
August 14, 2014 | Cowboy Football
Aug. 14, 2014
STILLWATER, Okla. -- The Oklahoma State football team practiced for approximately two hours Thursday morning at the Sherman E. Smith Training Center. Defensive coordinator Glenn Spencer talked about practice and position battles. His comments:
Defensive Coordinator Glenn Spencer
On Thursday's practice:
“It was good and bad. We picked up the tempo a little bit, so we tested them a bit. We tested the wind and their endurance. What I liked about it was we had some guys trying to hold each other accountable, so we had some guys with a chip on their shoulder. If they saw somebody not getting up to chase a ball or not finish a play, they would start to get on each other. That's what you want as a coach.”
On underclassmen battling for spots:
“Obviously, we've got some returning guys who are having good camps, but I'd rather not name anybody now. We've got some good battles for some positions. We'll have a long personnel discussion after Saturday's scrimmage and set some things up.”
On specific players stepping up their game this week:
“I think we're getting good play up front. Those older guys, like [James] Castleman, Ofa [Hautau], Jimmy [Bean], Sam [Wren] and Trace [Clark], give us some good ends and some good defensive tackles. Those guys will be giving us some good depth. Ryan [Simmons] is having a good camp, and Jordan Sterns has been really physical this camp and has been doing a good job. Both of our corners are having a good camp. We've really got some depth concerns in a couple of positions. We had a couple of nicks out there today, and it's going to affect us, so we've got to get those guys back out there.”
On what he's doing to get the team ready for Florida State:
“It's all about getting us better right now. We'll get into our game week prep next week when school starts. We'll get some more opponent looks in our team periods. There's a little carryover between what our offense does and what we're going to see, so that's good. It usually comes down to fundamentals. Scheme-wise, it comes down to defeating blocks, getting off blocks, getting great angles, knowing the scheme, knowing where your help is at and giving a tremendous effort to the ball. That's 99 percent of it, and then we'll get into some scheme stuff as we get closer to the game.”
