Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Arrive, Hold First Practice in Orlando
December 22, 2017 | Cowboy Football
Practice Photo Gallery | Player Hospitality Photo Gallery | Camping World Bowl Site
ORLANDO, Fla. – The Oklahoma State football team arrived in Orlando Friday afternoon, holding its first practice of the week for the Cowboys' upcoming Camping World Bowl clash with No. 22/22 Virginia Tech.
We've arrived in Orlando for the 2017 Camping World Bowl ! #okstate #GoPokes @CWBowl pic.twitter.com/6JVGTzczOA
— Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) December 22, 2017
Settling in to the the new digs. Time to get to work! #GoPokes #okstate #CowboyUp18 #CowboyUp19 pic.twitter.com/91DoEjBeXL
— Okla. State FB Recruiting (@CowboyFB_Elite) December 22, 2017
After arriving in the Sunshine State, the Cowboys checked into their hotel and immediately broke into team meetings ahead of practice. Prior to the start of practice, head coach Mike Gundy and running back Justice Hill spoke to members of the local media.
"The weather here is perfect and the setting - this is a beautiful stadium - so our guys are very excited to be here," Gundy said. "We're going to have not a light practice, but not a heavy one. We're going to be kind of middle-of-the-road. The weather's beautiful though and everybody's excited, so we're looking forward to being here for the next week."
"(Orlando) is a nice city and it's beautiful out here, so we're looking forward to having a good week and enjoying this beautiful weather and experiencing all of it," Hill said.
You hear stories about the power, about the way it dances against the wind. But nothing compares to seeing in person. Truly majestic. pic.twitter.com/CAsUQYShCS
— Camping World Bowl (@CWBowl) December 22, 2017
After their brief time talking to media, Gundy, Hill and the rest of the Cowboys began a two-hour practice at Camping World Stadium - their first action at the site of Thursday's Camping World Bowl. Hill summarized how the team is approaching the upcoming week.
"We've got so many events planned for the week, so it's going to be fun going out there and doing all of those things, but we know that there's a time to play and a time to be focused," Hill said. "Right now, we're about to be focused and get practice going and then we can relax later. We'll do that all week and when game time comes around, we'll be ready to play."
Along with preparing for Virginia Tech, a trip to Disney's Magic Kingdom, Universal Studios and other activities are on the docket for Oklahoma State this week.
"We bring them down here to have a good time," Gundy said. "A bowl game is a reward for them for a year of hard work. We want them to enjoy Orlando. For the next couple of days, we turn them loose and let them all enjoy Orlando and the people here. After that, we'll start to bring them back in with some curfews and such once we get to the fourth day out from the game."
