Oklahoma State University Athletics
Photo by: Bruce Waterfield
Cowboys Preview West Virginia Game
October 24, 2017 | Cowboy Football
STILLWATER – Oklahoma State coordinators and selected players met with media after practice Tuesday inside the Sherman E. Smith Training Center to preview this weekend's matchup against West Virginia. Some of their comments:
Offensive Coordinator Mike Yurcich
On West Virginia's defense:
"They have a three-down front and handle you pretty good in the running game. … They have a multitude of coverages, disguise them well and they get after the ball. They mix things up and they'll pressure you in timely fashion. That's the big thing - they don't always show their coverage, especially their blitz. They'll hold it and they have a nice technique of holding it until the last second and then bringing the blitz. Some teams show it, but I think they do a good job of disguising in. They do a good job in coverage too. They roll to you, strong and weak. They play two deep, drop eight. Their guys have a lot of heart and passion. It's the same thing we've seen from them the past few years. It's a hell of a challenge that we have in front of us."
On using snap counts to draw out the WVU defense:
"That's part of what we do. Any time you try to unfold the defense, that's what you're trying to do. Whether you snap on one, two or fake clap, or whatever, you have to try to do those sorts of things that we've done in the past. A lot of those things are a freedom with Mason Rudolph and the way he tries to time it up with things."
On WVU's unconventional 3-3-5 looks:
"Half of the teams in this conference are running three-down now, so it's not uncommon anymore. Back in the day, yeah, it was different. Not so much anymore."
Defensive Coordinator Glenn Spencer
On West Virginia's offense:
"I think I heard Coach Gundy say that Will Grier is the best quarterback we've faced all year, and he is. He's got touch, he sees the field well and you've seen him improve from the first game until now. He doesn't get flustered and throws a catchable ball, so I think they were fortunate to get him in there."
On the defense staying grounded after the win over Texas last week:
"We have to emphasize it. They have to be mature about it. Personally, on Sunday we showed them a lot of things on film that probably got them back to earth fast. I don't think that's a problem. They know it's just all about next week like we've always said. The last game means nothing. It's gone for eternity. It's about what's going to happen this Saturday in Morgantown."
On A.J. Green' and Rodarius Williams:
"I think it's just the game slowing down for them as they get more reps. They don't panic. The big thing for guys on the outside like that is that they have to play under control. They have to play very disciplined and very technique-oriented. When they're not, bad things happen. Sometimes, experience is the best thing that can happen to a guy and they've gotten experience and have been able to learn from it."
Quarterback Mason Rudolph
On Taylor Cornelius:
"The first moment he got here we kind of connected well and he is just a good dude and a fun guy to hang out with off the field just as much on.
On practicing to help out the defense this week:
"Had a great start to this week of practice and looking forward to tomorrow and really almost paying back [our defense] for what they did for us. It's just getting to that time of year where it's crunch time. We are excited. It's kind of that extra motivation, that urgency and couldn't be happier to be out here with all my buddies at practice."
On West Virginia's defense:
"It's a good coordinator, good team, the guys play hard and we are looking forward to the challenge and we feel like we have a good plan."
Wide Receiver James Washington
On playing in Morgantown:
"It's insane. I played there my sophomore year and it was crazy. The fans were going nuts and the fact that it was a night game that year just made it that much worse. But this year since it's an earlier game, I feel that if we come out enthusiastic at the beginning it should be pretty good."
On early game turnovers:
"It just comes back to fundamentals, just doing what the coaches have taught us. You know, carrying the ball tight; when guys are on you, cover it up. Just things like that will help us in improving in that aspect."
Offensive Lineman Zachary Crabtree:
On what it would mean to have a healthy offensive line again:
"It would obviously help, but at the same time we've got to get it right. We'll go back to the drawing board. We saw it on film. When you see it on film you learn that this is why we're doing it this way and it makes sense."
On the physicality of the Texas game:
"That was a physical game. They're good up front, give credit where credit is due. We always talk about that. It was physical. It was guys banging on each other and when you run 92 plays in a game, you come out of it, you're body definitely feels it."
Wide Receiver Dillon Stoner
On his fumble recovery at the 1-yard line at Texas which led to a field goal:
"I think it goes back to no one really knew what was going on. I just figured better safe than sorry, and I knew being that close to the goal line it meant a lot more to us that it did to them so I just tried to get on it as fast as I could."
On the importance of the fumble recovery:
"Any play could go like that. It's just awareness and luckily I was able to get my head up and see where the ball was and make a play on it."
On the Texas punter:
"The Texas punter was phenomenal. He could boot it. So that ball that high, considering all the conditions, the number one priority was ball security and so that was my main focus. If I felt like I had a chance to return then I was going to do it but the number one focus was ball security."
Defensive Tackle Darrion Daniels
On the Texas game:
"This past game I thought we played with a lot of passion and we made everything personal."
On the defense having a big impact:
"When the offense was struggling, we knew they needed us to keep showing out."
On what made the defense play so well:
"When we went out there we played with a lot of passion. We played with a lot of fun. It was just one of those days where I looked around and it was just positive vibes and just a whole bunch of energy."
Linebacker Justin Phillips
On watching film:
"We sit in there and watch film and talk about things we may see, talk about things we see in practice that will help us later on in the future."
On how to defend West Virginia's quarterback:
"Try to get him out of his comfort zone and cover things down on the back end to where he has to make a tough decision."
Offensive Coordinator Mike Yurcich
On West Virginia's defense:
"They have a three-down front and handle you pretty good in the running game. … They have a multitude of coverages, disguise them well and they get after the ball. They mix things up and they'll pressure you in timely fashion. That's the big thing - they don't always show their coverage, especially their blitz. They'll hold it and they have a nice technique of holding it until the last second and then bringing the blitz. Some teams show it, but I think they do a good job of disguising in. They do a good job in coverage too. They roll to you, strong and weak. They play two deep, drop eight. Their guys have a lot of heart and passion. It's the same thing we've seen from them the past few years. It's a hell of a challenge that we have in front of us."
On using snap counts to draw out the WVU defense:
"That's part of what we do. Any time you try to unfold the defense, that's what you're trying to do. Whether you snap on one, two or fake clap, or whatever, you have to try to do those sorts of things that we've done in the past. A lot of those things are a freedom with Mason Rudolph and the way he tries to time it up with things."
On WVU's unconventional 3-3-5 looks:
"Half of the teams in this conference are running three-down now, so it's not uncommon anymore. Back in the day, yeah, it was different. Not so much anymore."
Defensive Coordinator Glenn Spencer
On West Virginia's offense:
"I think I heard Coach Gundy say that Will Grier is the best quarterback we've faced all year, and he is. He's got touch, he sees the field well and you've seen him improve from the first game until now. He doesn't get flustered and throws a catchable ball, so I think they were fortunate to get him in there."
On the defense staying grounded after the win over Texas last week:
"We have to emphasize it. They have to be mature about it. Personally, on Sunday we showed them a lot of things on film that probably got them back to earth fast. I don't think that's a problem. They know it's just all about next week like we've always said. The last game means nothing. It's gone for eternity. It's about what's going to happen this Saturday in Morgantown."
On A.J. Green' and Rodarius Williams:
"I think it's just the game slowing down for them as they get more reps. They don't panic. The big thing for guys on the outside like that is that they have to play under control. They have to play very disciplined and very technique-oriented. When they're not, bad things happen. Sometimes, experience is the best thing that can happen to a guy and they've gotten experience and have been able to learn from it."
Quarterback Mason Rudolph
On Taylor Cornelius:
"The first moment he got here we kind of connected well and he is just a good dude and a fun guy to hang out with off the field just as much on.
On practicing to help out the defense this week:
"Had a great start to this week of practice and looking forward to tomorrow and really almost paying back [our defense] for what they did for us. It's just getting to that time of year where it's crunch time. We are excited. It's kind of that extra motivation, that urgency and couldn't be happier to be out here with all my buddies at practice."
On West Virginia's defense:
"It's a good coordinator, good team, the guys play hard and we are looking forward to the challenge and we feel like we have a good plan."
Wide Receiver James Washington
On playing in Morgantown:
"It's insane. I played there my sophomore year and it was crazy. The fans were going nuts and the fact that it was a night game that year just made it that much worse. But this year since it's an earlier game, I feel that if we come out enthusiastic at the beginning it should be pretty good."
On early game turnovers:
"It just comes back to fundamentals, just doing what the coaches have taught us. You know, carrying the ball tight; when guys are on you, cover it up. Just things like that will help us in improving in that aspect."
Offensive Lineman Zachary Crabtree:
On what it would mean to have a healthy offensive line again:
"It would obviously help, but at the same time we've got to get it right. We'll go back to the drawing board. We saw it on film. When you see it on film you learn that this is why we're doing it this way and it makes sense."
On the physicality of the Texas game:
"That was a physical game. They're good up front, give credit where credit is due. We always talk about that. It was physical. It was guys banging on each other and when you run 92 plays in a game, you come out of it, you're body definitely feels it."
Wide Receiver Dillon Stoner
On his fumble recovery at the 1-yard line at Texas which led to a field goal:
"I think it goes back to no one really knew what was going on. I just figured better safe than sorry, and I knew being that close to the goal line it meant a lot more to us that it did to them so I just tried to get on it as fast as I could."
On the importance of the fumble recovery:
"Any play could go like that. It's just awareness and luckily I was able to get my head up and see where the ball was and make a play on it."
On the Texas punter:
"The Texas punter was phenomenal. He could boot it. So that ball that high, considering all the conditions, the number one priority was ball security and so that was my main focus. If I felt like I had a chance to return then I was going to do it but the number one focus was ball security."
Defensive Tackle Darrion Daniels
On the Texas game:
"This past game I thought we played with a lot of passion and we made everything personal."
On the defense having a big impact:
"When the offense was struggling, we knew they needed us to keep showing out."
On what made the defense play so well:
"When we went out there we played with a lot of passion. We played with a lot of fun. It was just one of those days where I looked around and it was just positive vibes and just a whole bunch of energy."
Linebacker Justin Phillips
On watching film:
"We sit in there and watch film and talk about things we may see, talk about things we see in practice that will help us later on in the future."
On how to defend West Virginia's quarterback:
"Try to get him out of his comfort zone and cover things down on the back end to where he has to make a tough decision."
Players Mentioned
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WR
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WR
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CB
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