Oklahoma State University Athletics
Coach Spencer Talks About the First Week of Spring Practice
March 10, 2016 | Cowboy Football
STILLWATER – The Oklahoma State football team held its third practice of the spring Thursday at the Sherman E. Smith Training Center. The Cowboys practiced for approximately two hours wearing shorts and helmets. At the conclusion of the session, defensive coordinator Glenn Spencer talked about the practice and the Cowboy defense. His comments:
On how practice went:
"Good. It was our third day in shorts, so our third day in installation. We're trying to stay basic in a lot of things, but there's some nice stuff we're experimenting with from the offseason. I think it's going to be beneficial to us. The energy's high. There's a lot of juice. There's good leadership stepping up."
On what he's seen in the first week:
"You can't tell a whole lot because it's just been our three shorts days. They're running around fast like they should. Assignment-wise, we've got some guys that I think have made some strides since last year, which is encouraging. The more we put in, they've got to make sure they keep playing at a high level and get the [missed assignments] down. The first of the week we gave up too many plays and today was a lot better. Kids performed well."
On what the dynamic of the defense is like with players graduating:
"They're still trying to figure that out. They're going to have to go through some tough times and we're going to have to go through some long, scrimmage-type situations this spring and get tested a little bit. You can't really tell a lot when everything is going good. We're going to put them in some tough situations to try to find out what our character is and what we're made of; so right now that's an unknown, and I told them that. That's what we have to find out. This group has got to find its identity. They've got to find that heartbeat. That's going to allow them to accomplish good things and that's a work in process."
On what he wants to work on when the defense gets back from spring break:
"We're putting pads on that first Tuesday when we get back, so there will be a lot of emphasis on block disengagement and making tackles, so it will be a lot more physical-type practices, which is good. We can start playing some real football, and that will separate some guys too, guys who can naturally strike and get off blocks close to the ball and who can operate under a lot of stress and chaos. That's what we're trying to feed them when we get back."
On how practice went:
"Good. It was our third day in shorts, so our third day in installation. We're trying to stay basic in a lot of things, but there's some nice stuff we're experimenting with from the offseason. I think it's going to be beneficial to us. The energy's high. There's a lot of juice. There's good leadership stepping up."
On what he's seen in the first week:
"You can't tell a whole lot because it's just been our three shorts days. They're running around fast like they should. Assignment-wise, we've got some guys that I think have made some strides since last year, which is encouraging. The more we put in, they've got to make sure they keep playing at a high level and get the [missed assignments] down. The first of the week we gave up too many plays and today was a lot better. Kids performed well."
On what the dynamic of the defense is like with players graduating:
"They're still trying to figure that out. They're going to have to go through some tough times and we're going to have to go through some long, scrimmage-type situations this spring and get tested a little bit. You can't really tell a lot when everything is going good. We're going to put them in some tough situations to try to find out what our character is and what we're made of; so right now that's an unknown, and I told them that. That's what we have to find out. This group has got to find its identity. They've got to find that heartbeat. That's going to allow them to accomplish good things and that's a work in process."
On what he wants to work on when the defense gets back from spring break:
"We're putting pads on that first Tuesday when we get back, so there will be a lot of emphasis on block disengagement and making tackles, so it will be a lot more physical-type practices, which is good. We can start playing some real football, and that will separate some guys too, guys who can naturally strike and get off blocks close to the ball and who can operate under a lot of stress and chaos. That's what we're trying to feed them when we get back."
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