Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboy Football Report, Aug. 4
August 04, 2015 | Cowboy Football
STILLWATER – The Oklahoma State football team completed its first practice of the fall on Tuesday in preparation for the upcoming 2015 season, wearing helmets during a sunny afternoon in Stillwater.
Photo Gallery
Head coach Mike Gundy spoke with media following the practice session. His comments:
Opening statement:
"It was a good day today, obviously, when the players report. They'd been gone for about four or five days. The coaches are back from vacation, and everybody showed up. We had a teaching practice today. We toned it down a little bit and instructed our guys on what we expect in certain drills and the things that we do during practice. They'll have meetings tonight, and we'll get started with helmets tomorrow. We're looking forward to it. The attitude is great. It's an exciting time for all of us, and college football is back."
On today's style of practice:
"It's new. You get 29 opportunities before the first game, and we've never used more than 26. With the way our practices are set up now, we've condensed them considerably over the last few years. So, we decided to use a practice to teach, and we did that today. I like how it went. We'll talk as a staff in the morning and see what the coaches think. I was encouraged about the practice."
On the scholarships rewarded today:
"There are a lot of variables involved in being able to reward players with scholarships. Today was a special day. We had three guys in different categories. Blake Jarwin is a young man who has been in our program for more than two years, which qualifies him to be put on scholarship. Chad Whitener was at another school, transferred in and paid his own way. He said he would earn his scholarship, and we said that if everything worked out for him, we would reward him with a scholarship. Up to this point, he has done a great job, so we were able to give him a scholarship. Brad Lundblade is a young man who walked on and ended up playing, and he's a guy who is going to play a considerable amount of time this fall. We were able to give away three scholarships in three different categories, which is a little unusual. For a coach, though, it's one of the most fun things that we get to do. Walk-ons have always been special to us, and me in particular, at Oklahoma State. I think it's important for young men to love to play the game and do it the right way for the right reasons. Guys that have walked on here have done that. We've got a long list of guys that have been very successful, and a few of them have even gone on to the NFL after walking on. A scholarship is, give or take, around $100,000. So, for these guys to get their education paid for and receive all the benefits that come with it, it makes today a special day."
On which players have stood out early on as return specialists:
"We have the guys from last year. [Brandon] Sheperd will be back there. [Austin] Hays will be back there. [David] Glidden has been back there, but we also have to look at some of the incoming guys. We have to find out if [Jeff] Carr can do it. Ramon Richards has worked back there some. I'm really comfortable with where we're at on kickoff returns. We've got returning guys that have been back there and are experienced. That's considerably different that punt return, in my opinion, so we need to identify three players that we want to return punts, you know, by practice 14."
On if he is concerned about the shortened length of camp:
"Not really. Our schedule is more different than it has ever been before, but you still get the same number of practice opportunities. This is a more mature team than what we had last year. They've handled themselves well this summer, and I think the camp is just about right for this group. It gives us a chance to bring back the playbook and the X's and O's that we've used in the spring."
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Photo Gallery
Head coach Mike Gundy spoke with media following the practice session. His comments:
Opening statement:
"It was a good day today, obviously, when the players report. They'd been gone for about four or five days. The coaches are back from vacation, and everybody showed up. We had a teaching practice today. We toned it down a little bit and instructed our guys on what we expect in certain drills and the things that we do during practice. They'll have meetings tonight, and we'll get started with helmets tomorrow. We're looking forward to it. The attitude is great. It's an exciting time for all of us, and college football is back."
On today's style of practice:
"It's new. You get 29 opportunities before the first game, and we've never used more than 26. With the way our practices are set up now, we've condensed them considerably over the last few years. So, we decided to use a practice to teach, and we did that today. I like how it went. We'll talk as a staff in the morning and see what the coaches think. I was encouraged about the practice."
On the scholarships rewarded today:
"There are a lot of variables involved in being able to reward players with scholarships. Today was a special day. We had three guys in different categories. Blake Jarwin is a young man who has been in our program for more than two years, which qualifies him to be put on scholarship. Chad Whitener was at another school, transferred in and paid his own way. He said he would earn his scholarship, and we said that if everything worked out for him, we would reward him with a scholarship. Up to this point, he has done a great job, so we were able to give him a scholarship. Brad Lundblade is a young man who walked on and ended up playing, and he's a guy who is going to play a considerable amount of time this fall. We were able to give away three scholarships in three different categories, which is a little unusual. For a coach, though, it's one of the most fun things that we get to do. Walk-ons have always been special to us, and me in particular, at Oklahoma State. I think it's important for young men to love to play the game and do it the right way for the right reasons. Guys that have walked on here have done that. We've got a long list of guys that have been very successful, and a few of them have even gone on to the NFL after walking on. A scholarship is, give or take, around $100,000. So, for these guys to get their education paid for and receive all the benefits that come with it, it makes today a special day."
On which players have stood out early on as return specialists:
"We have the guys from last year. [Brandon] Sheperd will be back there. [Austin] Hays will be back there. [David] Glidden has been back there, but we also have to look at some of the incoming guys. We have to find out if [Jeff] Carr can do it. Ramon Richards has worked back there some. I'm really comfortable with where we're at on kickoff returns. We've got returning guys that have been back there and are experienced. That's considerably different that punt return, in my opinion, so we need to identify three players that we want to return punts, you know, by practice 14."
On if he is concerned about the shortened length of camp:
"Not really. Our schedule is more different than it has ever been before, but you still get the same number of practice opportunities. This is a more mature team than what we had last year. They've handled themselves well this summer, and I think the camp is just about right for this group. It gives us a chance to bring back the playbook and the X's and O's that we've used in the spring."
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Players Mentioned
CW
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