Oklahoma State University Athletics
OSU-Texas Tech Post-Game Quotes
September 25, 2014 | Cowboy Football
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Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy
Opening statement
“As always, it was a good win. It's not ever easy through Big 12 play. I mentioned this a couple of weeks ago, but every game is going to be like this for us with so many young players. We've got a lot of areas to work on. Our cover units were average. There were a lot of penalties on it, but still, we need to cover better and we need to tackle better. Defensively, I thought we played good for two-and-a-half quarters. We started out slow but for the most part played pretty well. Early in the game, we weren't doing anything offensively. We just kept putting them put on the field, and that's the worst thing you can do against Tech. Overall on defense I thought we played pretty good. We had a couple of guys get knicked up a little bit so we were playing with a lot of freshmen out there. One time I counted five true freshmen, and that made me a little nervous. They went out and competed and made some plays.
“I thought Daxx (Garman) played good except for the one ball he threw across the goal line where he tried to throw it across his body. Other than that for the most part, I though he played well. I thought we ran the ball better in this game, but we still have a ways to go. Overall, it was a win, and we'll get back at it and be in another slugfest next week.”
On Garman throwing deep balls
“I think he throws a nice deep ball, and they're real catchable. In fact, we should have caught at least two more or maybe three. They were challenging the run, their safeties were out of the box. You don't have a guy to block him, and you have to throw the ball over their head. That's where we ended up in the game.”
On Ramon Richards
“As soon as he went in, they threw right at him and for the rest of the game. He had some pass interferences. He's a freshman out there, and he's fighting for his life. A couple of times, he was called for pass interference or was fighting for his life, and the guy ran right over him. Either way, he's out there, and he had to play.”
On Garman's performance
“I thought he handled himself really well. It was his first Big 12 game and only his third game at this level. For the most part, he understood exactly what we wanted to do. He did much better in our run-pass checks. In fact, I don't remember him making a mistake, run-pass check-wise. He's learning, and he's getting better. He needs to learn how to slide. I told him just get the first down and slide, and he took a hit. So he needs to learn to get down once he gets a first down. He competed and to be a quarterback, you have to be the toughest guy on the field. You're the one who gets hit, and you can't defend yourself so that's a choice you have to make as a quarterback in this league.”
On James Washington
“From the day he stepped on this campus and we threw the ball down the field, he elevated over everybody and took it away from them. He did it over and over and over in practice. He went up against some pretty good corners, and in most cases, if you do it in practice all the time, you have a pretty good chance of doing it during a game. Not always, but most of the time. He has an uncanny ability to leap and take the ball from the highest point, and he's very, very competitive. No matter what the position is, if you're a guy that competes, you have a chance. He's got a long ways to go. He made some mistakes. He busted a few routes, but if the ball is in the air, he's gong to go get it. He's going to make that effort.”
Oklahoma State offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich
On receiver James Washington
"He's got a great vertical leap. He's very springy. That's what we said when we were recruiting him. He's really come into his own. He can really go up and get the ball. He has a very unique skill set."
On throwing the deep ball
"We work constantly on our yardage marks on our fade ball and our longer go-route. Those are certain things that we get pretty adamant about as far as being meticulous. We don't just say 'go run' and then throw it up to you. Sometimes that's the case. It's that simple when you go one-on-one, but you try to be as disciplined as you can. We've practiced structure and repetitions. The receiver has to turn his head at the right time. If he turns his head too early, the defensive back is going to throw his hand up and interfere with the pass. All of those sorts of things are things we rep on a daily basis, and we try to get better and better."
On the 50-yard touchdown pass to Tyreek Hill
"I held my breath the whole time that ball was in the air. Tyreek has an uncanny knack to step on the gas pedal and chase it down. I think (Daxx Garman) knows that so he leaves it out there for him."
Oklahoma State defensive coordinator Glenn Spencer
On cornerback Ramon Richards
"I don't know how many (plays) he got, probably more than we thought he was going to get. We knew that was going to happen at some point during the year, and it's going to be great to go out there and correct some mistakes after a tremendous win. He's going to have a lot of learning to do. He's very positive. He had a big smile on his face after the game. When those guys are out there, you've got to protect them sometimes so I've got to do a good job of calling the game until they get their feet on the ground. I'm proud of the way he fought."
On if the 84-yard Texas Tech scoring drive at the start of the game surprised him
"Did I want it to happen? No. Was I disappointed? Yes. I wanted to get off the field. They have good offensive players. They move the ball well on a lot of people. They scored some points and moved the ball. Am I pleased? No. I'm upset with that. The thing we didn't do is panic. I've told everybody that we're an average group just trying to get good so to make us something we're not is ridiculous. I try to tell them that. We've got a great teaching tape and a tremendous win to get better. I don't think the effort was bad at all .We were chasing them down, but we've just got to teach them some better technique."
On the defense running 61 plays in the first half
"I told them at half that it doesn't matter. That's what we do. That's what we train for. We've chosen to play a lot of football games over the last couple of years playing the way we play. When you sign up to play defense here, you've got to embrace that role, and you've got to be proud of your work after the day. You're going to be tested. You're going to be strained. You're going to be stressed. We use that as a battle cry to play tough, and play 90 snaps tough. We want that 90th play to be the same as their first play with their effort and their eyes, discipline and toughness. I want to look at that on film and see if we were doing that at the end.”
Oklahoma State linebacker Seth Jacobs
On slowing down Texas Tech's pass-heavy offense
"You know, give credit to Texas Tech. They were very talented on offense, and they made us stay out there for a lot of plays. I'm proud of the defense, especially with the way that we rallied. There were some tough times and some ups-and-downs throughout the game, but we gave them pressure, got sacks and produced a good all-around win."
On helping the defense with a crucial fourth-quarter interception
"I was just in the right place at the right time. The corner made a good hit and made the quarterback throw up a desperation play so the ball just kind of fell in my lap. I was just there at the right time."
On the importance of opening conference play with a victory
"There are still some things that we need to improve on each week, but it feels good to go out there and get a win, overall, especially with it being our first win in the Big 12 this year. It's a great feeling, but at the same time, we just need to continue working hard in practice so we can put up our best performances against the rest of the Big 12."
Oklahoma State safety Larry Stephens
On the overall defensive effort
"In practice, we practice like that every day. Coach Spencer does a great job of teaching us to go out there and give it our best effort, and that's one of the key things that we did tonight, along with running to the ball, which is one of the key strengths of our defense."
On displaying the team's physicality in conference play
"That's one of the things that I've personally been emphasizing to the team. There are a lot of teams out there that say they can be physical, but you have to back it up on the field. Being physical is one of the keys to being a good defense overall."
On giving the defense a boost with his fourth-down pass breakup early in the game
"That was my man, initially, but he went all the way under so I was just following him. Whenever I saw him catch the ball, I threw my body at him, hoping that he would drop it, which he did. It felt good to be able to help the defense like that early on."
Oklahoma State wide receiver Marcell Ateman
On being a big part of the team's 45-point offensive output
"It just comes from practice. We practice like that every day. The coaches always say, 'Practice makes perfect.' We went out and practiced well this week, and it showed up in the game."
On being in-sync with Daxx Garman
"That's just teamwork. We've really been working on team chemistry, especially with the connection between us receivers and the quarterbacks. Tonight, we were just able to connect, and we've got to keep building on that in practice."
On starting conference play with a strong offensive effort
"We had some drives we didn't do too well on, but we're always looking for ways to get better. We put up a bunch of points, but that's not good enough for us. The next game, we might want to have 65 points. It's never good enough so we've got to just go to practice and show up in the games."
Oklahoma State tight end Blake Jarwin
On recording his first-career touchdown
"It's a great feeling. I've really been trying to work hard lately and help this offense, but you've got guys like Marcell Ateman and James Washington who open up a lot of things for us. Our offensive line blocks great, Daxx (Garman) throws one of the best balls in the country and every team is afraid of Tyreek (Hill) so it just felt good to be able to help these guys out."
On the offense's consistency throughout the night
"Like I said earlier, there's so much talent in this offense. You've got James Washington, Marcell Ateman, Tyreek Hill, Desmond Roland and an incredible offensive line. Everyone does their job, and that's why we're able to be successful in situations like that. We all know our role, and if we do our role, we can be successful whenever we need to be."
On starting off team's Big 12 schedule on a high note
"We can always do better, of course. It's a good feeling right now, though. We'll have to get in here early tomorrow and watch some film so we can make some corrections and get better for next week."
Oklahoma State defensive end Jimmy Bean
On how the team prepared to stop Texas Tech's high-powered offense
"We knew what Texas Tech was going to come out with. We knew they were going to bring their fast-tempo offense, but we go against that in practice every day so we had a good idea of how it was going to be. It ended up being a good battle all the way into the fourth quarter, and we did a good job of closing it out in the end."
On putting pressure on Texas Tech's quarterbacks in the second half
"At halftime, we didn't really make any big adjustments. There were a few little things that we talked about, but we knew we just had to get after them. We kept on telling ourselves to fight through it even when we were tired, and Tech's offensive line eventually kind of gave up. We knew they were tired so everybody started bringing the pressure."
On what kind of statement it makes for the team to start out conference play with a win
"We played well tonight, but I don't think we made a statement at all. Each game is going to be a battle every week, and that's how we've got to prepare for it. We can't believe that we made a statement. We've got to keep pushing and do better things."
Oklahoma State running back Desmond Roland
On how the offense prepared for tonight's gam
"We really had a good two weeks of practice. The offensive line has been working their butts off, the receivers have been working well and Daxx (Garman) has been a leader. It just all came together tonight."
On the offensive line's contribution to the offensive output
"Coach Gundy has been pushing them pretty hard these past few weeks, especially with getting to them to send the message that they can be physical. It's obviously paying off, but we've just got to keep working hard and keep improving."
On beginning Big 12 play with a strong offensive show
"I don't think it's anything different, really. We've been putting up points for years in the Big 12 so I'm pretty sure everybody knows how our offense can put up points at any time. It was still a great team win, though, and it felt great to get our first victory in the Big 12."
Texas Tech head coach Kliff Kingsbury
On if his team improved
"No. I've never seen a team shoot itself in the foot as many times as we did tonight. It was embarrassing football, honestly, that's the only way to put it; 158 yards on penalties, three turnovers, one going in the red zone and then you give them the ball twice in the red zone. It's just bad football, and it's on me. I have to get it fixed."
On Davis Webb's status
"I'm not sure. I just know that they didn't feel like he could come back in tonight, but I'm not sure of his status."
On Patrick Mahomes' performance
"He was up-and-down, I thought. He's a competitor so he came in and fought, but your first playing time is a little tough."
On the offense without Webb
"We would play to Pat's (Mahomes') strengths. He does some things really well. We'd make sure we're calling plays that he likes. We were in a similar situation last year with some freshmen quarterbacks so we'll figure out how to get it done."
On his confidence in Mahomes
"He's right on par to where those kids were last year so we put him in. This offense wasn't really tailored to his strengths so we'd have to do a better job of coming up with stuff he likes and executing."
On the defense
"I thought that in the first half they made plenty of plays and got us the ball sometimes where we could've gone out and gotten some separation. In the second half, we just gave up too many big plays. The guys were in position, just not making the plays. And you have to give their kids a bunch of credit, they made a bunch of plays and went up and got the ball."
On the defensive breakdown of deep passes
"It looked like a bunch of them were covered. I know 24 (Tyreek Hill), the one time ran by everybody with speed, but a lot of the times we had guys in position and they made the play and we didn't."
On Oklahoma State's offense
"I just thought that we were trying to take away the run so we left the corners out there one-on-one, and they took advantage of it. They took a bunch of shots, kept making plays, the QB put some good balls up there and they did what they had to do."
Texas Tech wide receiver Jakeem Grant
On overall performance of game
"I feel disappointed. I mean the whole team feels disappointed because penalties killed us once again. We've tried to harp big on penalties because every game penalties kill us. We've got the momentum going our way and then all of a sudden a penalty drops us back three-and-out so I mean, if we get the penalties cleaned up, we'll get rolling."
On quarterback Davis Webb
"He just told us to pick up where we left off. Davis is a good guy, but just because he is out it doesn't mean anything. Pat (Mahomes) can do the same thing. That's why he is here. He's a freshman, and he's playing. (Webb) was just like 'Score for Pat, score for Pat.'”
On his personal performance
"I feel like I played OK. I feel like I dropped some major balls there that I could have caught. I hate dropping balls, but it's not about me or how many yards I have. I just want to perform at my highest peak for my team and get us the win."
On penalties
"I feel like we're just not focused enough. If we had better focus, we wouldn't have all those penalties. Some penalties are just crazy and out of control. We need to be able to control ourselves... Those things we have to get corrected and coach does a great job of every time we get a penalty, we get a punishment for it. I think they're going to start getting strict on that because every game penalties are killing us. We need to get that stopped"
On quarterback Patrick Mahomes
"He's a scrambler. He has a great arm, just like (Webb), and I feel like just because he was in the game, it's not the reason we lost. The penalties killed us, and I feel like (Mahomes) is a great quarterback. He can come in a pick up right where (Webb) left off, and you see that we drove down the field and scored. But all of a sudden another penalty comes in and we've got to punt."
Texas Tech wide receiver Bradley Marquez
On the outcome of game
"It's very frustrating. The most important thing is it's a conference game and to kick off this conference like that, we felt we did everything early that we could to put ourselves in a position to be successful tonight. We ended up hurting ourselves, but credit to Oklahoma State. They came out and beat us. They played a great game and mistake free. They made good plays when they needed to be made."
On quarterback Davis Webb
"He's very upset. He's a competitor. He wants to be out there. You see the frustration on his face when he had to come out and he wanted to go back in, but we've got to look out for his best interest down the road and get him healthy. By no means did he want to come out of that game."
On penalties
"As players, we've got to take ownership and play better technique and just be smart and remain focused, especially with those 15-yard ones. Those are personal fouls, and that can be easily fixed. I think it just comes down to focus. It's on us as players. We've got to correct them. There's no magical thing we can do to stop this. It's just got to be as a player you've got to know when you can do certain things and when you cannot. Rules are rules. You can't hold. You can't get a pass interference. You can't do things of that nature. We've just got to fix it as players and focus a little bit more."
Texas Tech defensive back J.J. Gaines
On his interception
"It felt good. We had already scored and just got the ball back. It felt good to do it for my team."
On the defense
"We definitely played better against the run. We've got to play good on the running and passing to be a complete team. We did better against the run, then we let a lot of the yards go for passes."
On penalties
"It's self-inflicted wounds. The less penalties, the better chance we have at a win. It does hurt at times, but we've got to get rid of them."
