Oklahoma State University Athletics
Photo by: Bruce Waterfield
Gundy, Cowboys Preview Matchup With Pitt
September 12, 2016 | Cowboy Football
STILLWATER – Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy and selected members of the Cowboy football team met with media Monday at Boone Pickens Stadium to preview OSU's upcoming matchup against Pitt. Some of their comments:
Mike Gundy
Opening statement:
"We're looking forward to getting back to work. We had a great practice last night. The players' attitudes were really good. We've got a good football team that will be in here Saturday. In preseason and as we've looked at them a little bit, we've felt like they're a team that should be ranked in the top 25 with what they have returning. They have two running backs, a quarterback, a number of defensive guys, several potential NFL players. Their kicker is back. They've got a good kicker. They have a good coaching staff, a very sound football team. They've played well so far this year, so it will be a real challenge for us in a lot of different areas. Obviously we're going to have to stop the run because they're going to want to run the football with their coach's history. We kind of know what our past is and the direction we're going, so we've got to have a good week of practice and play well on Saturday."
On if he thought the team wasn't ready to play last Saturday:
"No, we practiced well last week. The routine was the same. We were poor on third down defense, and we were terrible on third down offense. That's really what it came down to."
On what he did Saturday after the game:
"When it was over, it was an 11 a.m. kickoff so we had a lot of time which gave me the chance to go home and go over my 14-year-old's games. … Then we went out back and shot skeet, which took me to dark. That allowed me to get my mind off that part of it for a while. I felt like I would be able to go to bed, but I couldn't. I watched a little bit of the Arkansas game, and that got me to a point where I was able to lay down and go to sleep. There wasn't really anger or frustration, but a little bit more of disappointment because there were so many different variables involved that could have changed it and you get back into some decisions that you could have made. I have been pretty good at getting away from that and realizing there isn't really anything you can do and moving forward, but when I'm involved in a game like that, that is something that will come across my mind 500 times if I live long enough, whether I'm driving, sitting in the shower, sleeping, forever. Those games don't ever get away from you."
On Sunday's practice:
"One thing that we, as a staff, are most proud of is that we work 24/7 on education, character, control what you can control and all the life skills that they need so when they leave here they can take care of themselves, be normal, be productive in society. Yesterday, they came, they showed up. It was a hard day. Can you imagine watching the tape? The only thing I asked the staff to do was to watch and grade every play. It's hard to watch. Then, you have to do the same thing with the players. Issues don't fix themselves. You have to find a solution to them. They did it, they watched it. When it was over, I told them I put the press release out so I don't have to talk about it today. Most of it was so that when I go to practice I don't have to hear about it. It was my fault for making the call and not knowing that the rule was the way it was. You guys can't do anything about it, but we didn't play very well on third down, and you guys can do something about that. They accepted that."
On defensive tackle Motekiai Maile:
"He's played well, he's been a force. It's been tough to move him. It will be interesting when we have this conversation next week because he's going to go against some guys that can really push him, and they'll need to play well. He's given us good effort. We've used him a little bit on punt blocking, so he's been good for us."
Quarterback Mason Rudolph
On his feelings about the offense after Saturday's game:
"I think what I said after the game was true after I watched the film. I think we had a lot of explosive plays in the first half and then it was kind of a slow start and then we jumped on them. We just kind of sputtered here and there and weren't able to capitalize when we needed to. Towards the end we did and (Dillon) Stoner did a great job of making a play there on fourth and one from the goal line. I think there's always room for improvement. We're going to move forward and get better. We're excited for Pittsburgh this week."
On the running game:
"It's a week-by-week improvement. I think those guys have come a long way from last year and they continue to improve and we've got a couple of young guards in there. They're tremendous, physical guys and will continue to grow every week. There's an experience component there with those new guys. As a unit I think they've done great and will continue to improve and be just fine."
On his role as a team leader:
"I think with everything in life there's always going to be setbacks or adversity. That's when you find out who you are as a leader and who you are as a team. This team is experienced and has a lot of leadership so we'll be able to attack it full speed ahead and we'll be just fine. We can't wait to get back out there again on Saturday."
On what he wants to improve on in his own game:
"I just want to continue to lead this offense. There were a few mistakes in my game personally, so I want to correct those and be more effective in the red zone. It's just little stuff, but it'll all come together and I'm just excited to get back out there with my teammates tomorrow at practice. I'm just trying to dive into this week's game plan and make sure I'm ready for this Saturday."
On Justice Hill:
"He's a great athlete. The first time I saw him, it was one of those 'wow' moments. He's just a really athletic guy and a really nice guy. He's a calm and confident dude. He did a great job of absorbing information and putting it to use in camp. I'm really excited about his development."
Linebacker Chad Whitener
On sitting in the end zone after Central Michigan scored on the last play:
"When I saw him reach the ball across, I saw it come out, so I just hustled and got on it just in case it was a fumble. When I didn't see them call a fumble, and I saw everyone running at me I didn't really know how to react, so I just sat there."
On his emotions the past 48 hours:
"As a unit on defense we didn't play terrible. We had a pretty decent day. I really just sat with my parents and hung out with them. I really just handled it like I would any other day. I'm just focusing on Pittsburgh now. Yesterday's practice came out and started looking at them. I talked to the team and talked to them about moving forward and having a great week of preparation this week."
On yesterday's practice and the mood:
"Everyone was sore. We played a lot more snaps than we did against Southeastern. Other than that everyone came out with a really good attitude and was ready to learn and get better for next week."
On what he said to the team about moving forward:
"Everything we want to accomplish is still on the table. We didn't lose a conference game, and we lost to a really good Central Michigan team. As far as the committee goes and everything, they'll see the kind of talent they have on their team. If we move forward and do what we have to do then we'll be in position to accomplish what we want to accomplish."
On what the defense learned from watching tape:
"They really make you think. They play assignment football and that's something that a lot of guys who are rotating in are learning. Just making sure everyone gets on the same page. It was a really good test for us as far as making sure we got all our checks in and were watching their motions. Moving forward, I think this game will help us a lot."
Mike Gundy
Opening statement:
"We're looking forward to getting back to work. We had a great practice last night. The players' attitudes were really good. We've got a good football team that will be in here Saturday. In preseason and as we've looked at them a little bit, we've felt like they're a team that should be ranked in the top 25 with what they have returning. They have two running backs, a quarterback, a number of defensive guys, several potential NFL players. Their kicker is back. They've got a good kicker. They have a good coaching staff, a very sound football team. They've played well so far this year, so it will be a real challenge for us in a lot of different areas. Obviously we're going to have to stop the run because they're going to want to run the football with their coach's history. We kind of know what our past is and the direction we're going, so we've got to have a good week of practice and play well on Saturday."
On if he thought the team wasn't ready to play last Saturday:
"No, we practiced well last week. The routine was the same. We were poor on third down defense, and we were terrible on third down offense. That's really what it came down to."
On what he did Saturday after the game:
"When it was over, it was an 11 a.m. kickoff so we had a lot of time which gave me the chance to go home and go over my 14-year-old's games. … Then we went out back and shot skeet, which took me to dark. That allowed me to get my mind off that part of it for a while. I felt like I would be able to go to bed, but I couldn't. I watched a little bit of the Arkansas game, and that got me to a point where I was able to lay down and go to sleep. There wasn't really anger or frustration, but a little bit more of disappointment because there were so many different variables involved that could have changed it and you get back into some decisions that you could have made. I have been pretty good at getting away from that and realizing there isn't really anything you can do and moving forward, but when I'm involved in a game like that, that is something that will come across my mind 500 times if I live long enough, whether I'm driving, sitting in the shower, sleeping, forever. Those games don't ever get away from you."
On Sunday's practice:
"One thing that we, as a staff, are most proud of is that we work 24/7 on education, character, control what you can control and all the life skills that they need so when they leave here they can take care of themselves, be normal, be productive in society. Yesterday, they came, they showed up. It was a hard day. Can you imagine watching the tape? The only thing I asked the staff to do was to watch and grade every play. It's hard to watch. Then, you have to do the same thing with the players. Issues don't fix themselves. You have to find a solution to them. They did it, they watched it. When it was over, I told them I put the press release out so I don't have to talk about it today. Most of it was so that when I go to practice I don't have to hear about it. It was my fault for making the call and not knowing that the rule was the way it was. You guys can't do anything about it, but we didn't play very well on third down, and you guys can do something about that. They accepted that."
On defensive tackle Motekiai Maile:
"He's played well, he's been a force. It's been tough to move him. It will be interesting when we have this conversation next week because he's going to go against some guys that can really push him, and they'll need to play well. He's given us good effort. We've used him a little bit on punt blocking, so he's been good for us."
Quarterback Mason Rudolph
On his feelings about the offense after Saturday's game:
"I think what I said after the game was true after I watched the film. I think we had a lot of explosive plays in the first half and then it was kind of a slow start and then we jumped on them. We just kind of sputtered here and there and weren't able to capitalize when we needed to. Towards the end we did and (Dillon) Stoner did a great job of making a play there on fourth and one from the goal line. I think there's always room for improvement. We're going to move forward and get better. We're excited for Pittsburgh this week."
On the running game:
"It's a week-by-week improvement. I think those guys have come a long way from last year and they continue to improve and we've got a couple of young guards in there. They're tremendous, physical guys and will continue to grow every week. There's an experience component there with those new guys. As a unit I think they've done great and will continue to improve and be just fine."
On his role as a team leader:
"I think with everything in life there's always going to be setbacks or adversity. That's when you find out who you are as a leader and who you are as a team. This team is experienced and has a lot of leadership so we'll be able to attack it full speed ahead and we'll be just fine. We can't wait to get back out there again on Saturday."
On what he wants to improve on in his own game:
"I just want to continue to lead this offense. There were a few mistakes in my game personally, so I want to correct those and be more effective in the red zone. It's just little stuff, but it'll all come together and I'm just excited to get back out there with my teammates tomorrow at practice. I'm just trying to dive into this week's game plan and make sure I'm ready for this Saturday."
On Justice Hill:
"He's a great athlete. The first time I saw him, it was one of those 'wow' moments. He's just a really athletic guy and a really nice guy. He's a calm and confident dude. He did a great job of absorbing information and putting it to use in camp. I'm really excited about his development."
Linebacker Chad Whitener
On sitting in the end zone after Central Michigan scored on the last play:
"When I saw him reach the ball across, I saw it come out, so I just hustled and got on it just in case it was a fumble. When I didn't see them call a fumble, and I saw everyone running at me I didn't really know how to react, so I just sat there."
On his emotions the past 48 hours:
"As a unit on defense we didn't play terrible. We had a pretty decent day. I really just sat with my parents and hung out with them. I really just handled it like I would any other day. I'm just focusing on Pittsburgh now. Yesterday's practice came out and started looking at them. I talked to the team and talked to them about moving forward and having a great week of preparation this week."
On yesterday's practice and the mood:
"Everyone was sore. We played a lot more snaps than we did against Southeastern. Other than that everyone came out with a really good attitude and was ready to learn and get better for next week."
On what he said to the team about moving forward:
"Everything we want to accomplish is still on the table. We didn't lose a conference game, and we lost to a really good Central Michigan team. As far as the committee goes and everything, they'll see the kind of talent they have on their team. If we move forward and do what we have to do then we'll be in position to accomplish what we want to accomplish."
On what the defense learned from watching tape:
"They really make you think. They play assignment football and that's something that a lot of guys who are rotating in are learning. Just making sure everyone gets on the same page. It was a really good test for us as far as making sure we got all our checks in and were watching their motions. Moving forward, I think this game will help us a lot."
Players Mentioned
RB
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DT
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QB
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LB
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