Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboy Football Report, April 10
April 10, 2015 | Cowboy Football
STILLWATER -- The Oklahoma State football team held its 12th practice of spring ball Friday at the Sherman E. Smith Training Facility, with Boone Pickens on hand to watch practice and address the Cowboy football team. Pickens, coach Mike Gundy and several Cowboys also visited with media at the two-hour practice session. Their comments:
Boone Pickens
On his satisfaction with Mike Gundy:
"I'm satisfied with him. I would say Mike Gundy, if you look at his record, he's a winner. He's won more football games and had the best record of any coach we've ever had at Oklahoma State, so sure I'm satisfied with him."
On his outlook for the team:
"Everybody is together and ready to go. We're going to have a good year."
On his reaction to the Bedlam win:
"I loved it. It was great. I like to win, you all know that."
On the future of OSU football:
"I'm excited about it. Gundy tells me we have a good team and I really am looking forward to the season."
On if he's more excited than ever about OSU football:
"Yeah I am. I really am. I loved the end of the season."
On having several new coaches and early-enrollees:
"I'm very comfortable with our staff and our players. Our coaches have brought them in and they have done a great job together. I've enjoyed watching them over the last 10 practices. And I mentioned to the team the other day that it's been fun for me because their attitude is great. They like each other, get along very well with their coaches and, you know, I'm just a lucky guy. It's enjoyable for me to be out here and watch these guys and watch our coaches. I've spent some time in the offensive room listening to the new guys and I really like the direction we're going and they are working really well together. It's just an enjoyable experience."
On the team's improvement this spring:
"We've seen a lot this spring. We have some veteran players with Brandon Sheperd, Ryan Simmons, Jimmy Bean and some of those guys that we've seen a lot from. Those guys have over 2,500 reps here at our level so we will cut their reps down, but we're getting really quality work from those 30 players that were sophomores, freshmen and redshirt freshmen that played last season. And they've gotten a lot of reps and I couldn't be more proud of what we are getting out of those guys. More importantly than anything is that the attitude of the players has been tremendous, and if you watch them go from drill-to-drill, the enthusiasm and excitement and the learning that is taking place -- we are getting a lot of work done within the cohesiveness of the team that we need to win a Big 12 championship."
On the strong finish to last season improving the chemistry on the team:
"It made all the difference in the world. The year before we were essentially one play away from winning the Big 12 championship and then we lost in the last play of the game. And then we lost at the end of the game in the Cotton Bowl. We didn't really play as well this year, but we beat Oklahoma at Oklahoma and we beat a Washington team that was a 10-point favorite, so everybody is excited. So there is a bigger effect this year than there even was last year, and if I were an Oklahoma State fan I would be really excited about the season and I would go buy season tickets because these guys really like each other and there's a lot of momentum moving forward to next season and they are going to play really hard and they are going to play well."
On Mason Rudolph's improvement in the spring:
"Mason's done very well. In my opinion, he needs to continue to develop leadership. His attitude is good, his work habits are good and he has developed his body. He needs to learn to distribute the ball to the players that can make plays and take what the defense gives him. I've seen him improve considerably over the last six or seven practices and the one thing we all need to remember about Mason is that he's a long ways away from being the finished product. He's only played in three games. He's still very young in his career, but he's going to get better every day. He's eager, his attitude is good, his work ethic is good and those things will help him become a better quarterback and a better leader for our team, but he still has a ways to go."
On the team growing up against Baylor last season:
"I think the second half of Baylor we grew up a lot. On the road and in the rain against a team that was top-five in the country. We knew it was going to be difficult to keep them under 40 or 50 points. We were down 14 points and there was two minutes gone in the game. Our team kind of rallied, held our own, made some plays, scored some points. We lost our left tackle; put a freshman in. They fought and scored some points in the second half and I think we grew up some there as a team."
On the running back competition this spring:
"We challenged Rennie (Childs) to start the spring and up until this point he's met that challenge. What we needed him to do was that he needs to be physical, needs to get hit, needs to get up and when he is fatigued he needs to do it again. Good running backs can carry the ball 20 times in this league and they are stronger in the fourth quarter than they are in the first, but it takes a lot to do that. The good ones we've had here -- Kendall Hunter, Joseph Randle and Keith Toston -- those guys were all strong backs and they could take some punishment. Rennie has done better this spring and I'm excited about watching him in fall camp and seeing how he handles himself in the upcoming season and if he could take the practice and put it into the game because he hasn't done that to this point, but his attitude has been good. He hasn't given a look at all of being tired or being sore and that's important when you're a running back."
On Todd Mays adjusting to the college level:
"Todd's first four or five practices he looked lost and his last four or five practices he was a lot better because he was adjusting to the speed of what we do, being a full-time running back for the most part. He has a sprained knee so he's out right now and it really hurt me for him because his last three of four practices he got a lot better. He learned to take care of the ball and learned to be in a mobile offense, learned to get hit, learned to get up and the one thing that Todd Mays has done is his attitude has been tremendous. He's said, `Yes sir,' he's hustled from drill-to-drill and he's done a good job in the classroom. He started out slow. We tracked him and he's recovered in those areas. He's going to be fine. We may get him back out here sometime next week it just depends, but he's done a good job adjusting to being a player at this level."
Quarterback Mason Rudolph
On adjusting to college football:
"Obviously you get into a routine, but sometimes it's cool to sit back and reflect on how blessed you are and how far you've come."
On the team's off-season progression:
"We're trying to get better each and every day. Today is another day to enjoy being a college student and playing college football."
On last season's strong finish:
"We're feeling good and energetic. We've come together more as a team this offseason and the chemistry is where it needs to be, so we're excited for the upcoming fall."
Safety Jordan Sterns
On the defense's progression this spring:
"I feel good about it. We've got a long way to go before the first game, but everybody is working every day."
On his growth from the end of last season:
"I'm getting more of the game down, knowing what everybody is doing. This is my second spring, I feel more in control of things and more of a leader."
On the differences between this spring and last:
"It's a whole new dimension. Last spring I came in and I was nervous and messing up coverages, things that young guys do. This spring I just feel like everybody is together. We've played together. Pretty much everybody on our defense is coming back so I think we're just playing better as a whole."
Defensive Tackle Vili Leveni
On stepping into a bigger role on the defensive line:
"Of course it's always good when people want to start, get on the field or whatever they can, but by no means are we comfortable with that. Just because you're labelled as a starter doesn't mean you can't come into practice and not work each day. You've got to keep trying to get better."
On learning from last season's leaders:
"We learned a lot from James (Castleman) and Ofa (Hautau) last season about what to do. Ofa really helped me out last season when I came and first moved to defensive tackle. He taught me a lot of things, like what to do, how to read blocks or how to play it. Learning what they did carried to us and now we're trying to put it into action and even teach the guys under us all of it."
On his length as a defensive tackle:
"I had speed, but after putting on a couple pounds I've got to get strength and be tough inside. At the end of the day you've got to work hard and it will all show on the field."
Linebacker Ryan Simmons
On pitching Oklahoma State to recruits:
"I tell them that this is one of the places where you want to be. You have coaches around you who really care for you. You have a group of guys always there for you. From walk-ons to scholarship players, everybody has a great bond around here. Everybody in the city is all for this football program and for Oklahoma State. It's a great place to be. There's nothing better for me."
On last season's strong finish:
"It was all of the momentum that we needed. It's enough confidence to move forward. Going through a season like that, you want to end on a good note and you want to have that good feeling to where you can find something within you to push yourself a lot more."
On the number of San Antonio area players on the team:
"It's great. Everybody's reppin'. People know where we come from and that's something that you want to have. You always want to have a group of guys you know on the team, especially from our hometowns."
Safety Tre Flowers
On the safeties' performance this spring:
"I think we've been good. We come in and work every day. We're pushing each other and there's a lot of competition going on."
On becoming a team leader:
"I've always thought of myself as a leader, even though coaches were pushing me. I mean, that's kind of the job. They see potential in everybody, but I really do think last year helped me a lot."
On the depth of the safeties this season:
"I think we're pretty deep at first string and second string, but no one is a starter right now so we're all fighting."
Linebacker Kris Catlin
On being back to playing football:
"It feels great to be back. Missing a whole season and being on the scout team for the whole year makes this really mean a lot to come out here and get everything right."
On watching from the sidelines last season:
"It was tough. Guys were competing and I was proud of them, but it was tough just watching them and knowing that I could've been out there with them making plays for my team."
On this season's linebackers:
"We've got a lot of people out here that compete. Wherever Coach Spencer wants to put me is where I'll go. Jordan Burton has been coming in, competing and working his butt off. Seth Jacobs has been playing to start as well, so it's up in the air. Everyone is just out here competing."
On what he brings to the table:
"I bring some speed and some physicalness. I'm pretty smart when I'm dialed in, so I could put a good impact on the game."
Offensive Lineman Jesse Robinson
On the improvement of the offensive line:
"We've just been able to get out there and just play. It just felt right. It was just good to get it out there and let it loose."
On the offensive line's performance this spring:
"I think we're really starting to come together and gel, especially now that we're really getting into it and that Coach Adkins is here now. It's just a good deal having everyone out there together, especially now that we've got our coach."
On offensive line coach Greg Adkins:
"He just knows his stuff. He's a football genius and he knows what he's talking about. He makes it so much fun to get out there and just play for him. You look forward to getting into meetings with him. You don't know what he's going to bring every day. He's just going to shake it up on you. Every drill we do has a purpose. We see it in film. He just makes it so much fun to get out there and play."
Tight End Blake Jarwin
On offseason conditioning:
"I definitely tried to put on a couple more pounds of muscle and just push myself every day to be the best that I could. Credit to Coach (Rob) Glass, because he pushes all of us and makes us so much better. It's incredible."
On becoming a tight end at Oklahoma State:
"I'm definitely thankful that Coach Gundy gave me the opportunity to put myself in this position to become a tight end. I'm always thankful for that."
On his offseason progression:
"As a tight end group as a whole, I feel like altogether we've learned to play each position at a decent speed and pace."
