Gundy Previews Camping World Bowl at Head Coaches Press Conference

Camping World Bowl Head Coaches Press Conference
Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy and Virginia Tech coach Justin Fuente
December 27, 2017

THE MODERATOR: So let me start with Mike, if you don't mind. I saw you yesterday taking it in, watching your team enjoy the experience at Andretti (at Day for Kids). There's been a Universal trip as well. Not a bad place to come for a bowl game when you think about all the bowls that are out there, huh?

COACH GUNDY: It's been a lot of fun for everybody involved. One thing we learned quick is there's a lot to do here. So the players have enjoyed their time in different theme parks and such, and Andretti's, but also the families and the kids, the group, the travel party. It's been a great week. And the staff with the Camping World (Bowl) has been tremendous, the facilities. So we've had a great week. It's been a lot of fun and (we're) looking forward to a great game tomorrow.

THE MODERATOR: Justin, one of the questions, building on that, yesterday we saw the kids being paired up with one player from Virginia Tech and one player from Oklahoma State, and it really put a lot of smiles on those kids' faces. They were really enjoying that day. Wonder what your players had to say about the experience of being paired with the Lift Orlando kids, which is near and dear to Florida Citrus sports, the neighborhood surrounding the stadium.

COACH FUENTE: Well, they had a great time. I mean, I think sometimes we forget -- because it's football, they wear a helmet and, you know, they're big guys -- that we're coaching kids as well. And they enjoy interacting with young people. We have a wonderful opportunity to influence other young kids in a positive manner, whether it's in our own community or, you know, when we get to get out and get in other people's community. So I think our kids had a good time. I heard them talking a lot in the hallways about it, and we had a couple discussions about just how special an opportunity we've had to influence other people.

THE MODERATOR: We'll stay with you for a moment. When we have friends who come down for conventions and business trips in Orlando, the common question is, 'Did you get any work done?' How did your week go?

COACH FUENTE: We found time to mix business and pleasure. You know, I think kind of like Oklahoma State, we've got a group of kids that have been through these been through bowl weeks before, and understand that when it's time to work, that it's time to work and be serious about that. But there's also an element of reward and enjoyment that comes with this opportunity, and we want to take full advantage of that as well. And I think between our staff and our kids, we have done a good job balancing both of those.

THE MODERATOR: So the other day I'm over at the Hilton and people are asking, 'Do you think the players work out in the gym and stuff?' I said, 'I think they're in pretty good shape when they get here. I think it is more about getting their game plans ready.' What is bowl preparation week like?

COACH FUENTE: Before we're at the bowl site, we have some practices back home, when we're wrapping up finals and those sorts of things that are focused on young player development, and we get a lot of work with our guys that are redshirted or maybe haven't played a lot of reps, while trying to keep the older guys fresh, get them healthy, but also trying to keep them sharp.
When we get to the bowl site, it's at least for us -- you're close enough to the game, (so) it's pretty much all game plan oriented, touching on special teams and offense and defense, trying to get things fine tuned, ready to play.

THE MODERATOR: Mike, it's great having you here. You know, we can cut out the middlemen and middlewomen, you can tell us your game plans for the game, and, you know, coach is right here ready to hear your preparation work and what you've got going on.

COACH GUNDY: Well, they've obviously watched tape for a month so they know a lot about us, but it's very similar with us. We do a lot of work back home, and players go to spend time with their family for a couple days. And then once we get here, they get a chance to enjoy Orlando, enjoy each other for the last week. It'll be the last time, obviously, that this group of 2017 will be together. So we'll get a chance to work out three or four days and then get ready to play in the game.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you. We've got a handheld mic? Okay. Please raise your hand high so we can see it at the desk, and let us know if you've got questions for either coach. I'm looking for hands. Right here in the second row.

Q. It would be kind of a similar question for each of you but I'll go ahead and start with Coach Gundy. Coach, when you look at the tape in particular, what would you say is different about ACC style football?

COACH GUNDY: Well, I don't see a lot of ACC. I obviously have seen a lot of Virginia Tech. But in the video I've seen, there's similarities with speed at the skill spots.
With Virginia Tech, you know, you see a defense that's given up 13.5 points a game over a 12 game season, so they've had tremendous success and very good inside. They're long at the corner position, safeties are good cover guys, and they've earned those statistics. And then, offensively, they're sound in what they do. They're smart. They make good decisions. They're very well coached.
And as we looked at some of the teams in the conference, there's a variety in the ACC, maybe more so than in our league. You have Georgia Tech that's run the option, and you get some different teams that look similar to what we have in the Big 12 but a little more variety.

Q. Likewise for you, Coach Fuente, what do you see in the Big 12 conference when you watch film?

COACH FUENTE: Well, I mean, I think I could probably speak a little bit more towards Oklahoma State in specifics as opposed to the conference as a whole.

Kind of like Coach, not quite as familiar with the entire league but the thing that stands out about Oklahoma State I think are their skill players. You look at wide receivers, running backs, a big NFL quarterback, push the tempo and, you know, scored points in bunches. That's not to say that they aren't good in the other phases of the game. They are. They're very sound and well prepared and have done a fantastic job. That's why they're in the situation they're in.

Q. Mike, what challenges does the Virginia Tech quarterback (Josh Jackson) pose, being kind of a dual threat type guy, something that you guys have kind of struggled with defensively this year?

COACH GUNDY: Well, just what you said. You know, he has the ability to make plays with his legs, (and) he looks like a completely different player now than early in the season. And I'm sure they're excited about his future, the years to come. So we have to be in the right spot. I mean, it's essentially every week for us in the style of offenses that we play, you know, you have to be in the right spot. You've got to be able to defend the run, but you also have to defend play-action pass and things that you see a lot in college football today. So you've got to be sound. You've got to be able to reach your keys and be in the right spot.

Q. Mike, from Mason Rudolph to Tre Flowers and guys in the defense, there's probably seven or eight seniors here who have been starting for three or four years now. How, I guess, important was this group in sort of sustaining the level of success obviously back to their freshman year in 2014 but they've kind of taken the program to a new level of consistency?

COACH GUNDY: Well, they're a special group. We have talked about it all year that these guys have been committed to each other and committed to the organization. We're very fortunate.
And you've heard me say this before but it's their team. We can only do the very best in putting them in position, but they have to play. They have to make the commitment in the offseason. They have to make the commitment to each other and work hard. And we have been very fortunate that we have great leaders, and they're willing to go in and pay the price every day. And that's all we can ever ask of them, to be committed to each other, to be committed to the organization, and then they go out and play hard on Saturdays. And we're very proud of the leadership that these guys have provided, as I've mentioned. You know, this group has got a 1,000 on the APR. And they have been successful on the field but also in the classroom and in the community, and they're a direct reflection of the reason that we're having success.

Q. Mike, I've got two, actually, for you, now one to follow up on that. Because of the importance of this class, and you mentioned on senior day that you're getting a little bit more emotional about these things as you get older. Have you tried to soak up the events of this week a little bit more with these guys, knowing that they're leaving?

COACH GUNDY: You know, as I age through my career, you learn to appreciate things more so than we used to, and personally, even I used to. When I was younger and going to bowls, I didn't really appreciate the time and the accomplishment. Justin and I were talking about this last night. It's not easy to win a game. And it's certainly not easy to win nine. And when you do, if you can't look back and appreciate the young men that have given you these opportunities and as we all know, we've got guys that have been very special to this organization. And so it's allowed me to enjoy the week with them, and also let them know at the same time that we're fortunate to be in the Camping World Bowl. We're fortunate to be in Orlando. These are things you'll remember for the rest of your life.

Q. With James Washington specifically, obviously, his talent speaks for itself but you've given us glimpses over the year of kind of what his personality is like. He's not your typical college athlete, particularly for someone as talented as he is. Do you see him come out of his shell? Is he typical James in these situations? And just what's it been like having a kid like him around for as long as you have?

COACH GUNDY: Well, he hasn't come out of his shell. I actually heard him talk once this week, which is more than you usually hear him talk in months. But he's a terrific young man, and he has a good mom and daddy that raised him the right way, and he's very humble. He loves his teammates. He loves to play the game, and he enjoys the atmosphere. I think some people can get the wrong impression of him because he just doesn't like to talk very much. He just loves to be in the environment. And what was special with him, when we got back the next morning after he had accepted the Biletnikoff in Atlanta, we had practiced that day I think around noon, and he comes running out there and gets in the drills like nothing happened -- gets in a blocking drill and goes to work and practices as hard as anybody on the field, and he didn't change at all. And that's just the type of young man he is. We're very fortunate that we have him in our program.

Q. Coach Fuente, you talked going into this game about your admiration for Mike in his playing career and things like that, but you hadn't had a chance to spend much time with him. Has that changed this week, and what has been your impression of Coach Gundy?

COACH FUENTE: Has my opinion of him changed this week?

Q. What is your impression now that you've spent some time with him?

COACH FUENTE: Oh, I just enjoyed kind of catching up and getting a chance to visit about work a little bit, you know, and how to handle situations that come up and bounce a couple challenges that we have had off of Coach Gundy. I know he's been in it for a little bit longer than I have and has dealt with those same situations, so I've enjoyed that part of it. I've always just been appreciative of the way he's always treated me. You know, through my playing career up through coaching, it's just been a good example for everybody in how to handle young guys coming up that are trying to get into the business.

Q. And, Mike, have you had a chance to catch up at all with Coach Vice? Has the schedule put you guys together at all?

COACH GUNDY: Last night we got to visit Justin and I got to visit for about 30 minutes, and it was really good. You know, Kristi, my wife, had asked me when we go to the functions, she always wants a quick rundown of who's on the staff, because fortunately we have been in this business so long that we usually cross paths with guys that have coached either on our staff or that we've been with at some point in our career. And, you know, it was interesting that from a distance, you know, I had watched Justin but in our profession you don't get a chance to hang out a lot. I mean, you know, we work all the time. We recruit, and we spend time with our families. But it's been impressive in what he's been able to accomplish. And then because I know Vance Vice, I know (James) Shibest, I know (Brad) Cornelsen, they're quality people. And just in my history in being fortunate enough to do this for 14 years, or going into my 14th year, (I've learned) that if you have good quality people that are smart, that are loyal, and work hard, that you can be very successful. And that's what he's got on his staff. Bud Foster has been around for a hundred years. I visited with him for 20 minutes last night. Really the first time I have come across him because he has been on the East Coast forever, and we don't see them in recruiting much. But great visit with him. And so it was really fun to catch up with some of those guys last night. But what's interesting, there's a lot of similarities in the staffs. There's a lot of similarities in the job, I think, in the environments of the two universities, the thought process. So, you know, when it's over I heard a couple of our coaches last night talking with a couple of Justin's assistants and they said, 'When this game is over, I need to get with you guys to find out why you're doing certain things.' And that's a smart move because they know a lot about us now, and we should know a lot about them. And they're in a different league. They're on the other side of the country. And we've done this in the past. We did this with Washington when we played them in the Cactus Bowl a few years ago with Coach Petersen and his staff, where we got with them afterwards, and you find a lot of things out that make you feel like you're not very smart, because you should have already known it. So it's been good to spend time with the staff.

Q. For both of you guys, you know each other well. You've got a mutual respect for each other. That being said, what would a win tomorrow for both of you mean both personally and for your programs? Coach Fuente?

COACH FUENTE: Well, I think for me, it's about the players and their experience. We have a great senior class that we're going to say goodbye to after the game -- you know, just saying goodbye to them just in terms of playing. We're still going to stay involved in their lives. But for me it's about the player experience. One of the best things about being a head coach is getting to see your team celebrate or enjoy the fruits of their labor. And so, you know, for me, it's about that fulfillment, a chance to get to 10 victories, which is kind of a number that Virginia Tech had been synonymous with for many years, and a chance to send our seniors out the right way. And it's you know, I think that's been the biggest thing behind our preparation, is we have a genuine admiration for the older kids in our program that are there playing their last game for Virginia Tech, and they genuinely love and care about Virginia Tech and, you know, wearing the "VT" means something to them, and we want to send them out the right way.

COACH GUNDY: These are the questions that you don't want to go second. But for all the local media that followed me, you guys know I use the term fruits of labor, right? So I've used that multiple times. And what Justin's saying is right. We get asked the question, or I do, a lot about the personal part of it. It has nothing to do with me. It has nothing to do with the staff. It's all about the players. They're the ones that put in all the time and effort. This is a violent sport. It's a very demanding sport. These guys compete and play. They're hurt most of the time. They're tired. They learn to be resilient. That's what's so great about college football. And I think all of us want to win the last game. It's always fun to win the last game. You want to do it for your seniors. You want to do it for the team. You know, you hope that you've put in the right concepts and schemes and that you stay healthy in the game and play hard. But I will say this, that our guys understand that there's a process. And after this game, they go home for however many days it is till we come back for the spring semester. And when we come back, we get into January conditioning with Coach Glass and we get into the next season. We're going to roll regardless. But we've talked about doing everything that we can each week to be competitive because that's our responsibility. That's what we do. As an athlete, we learn to compete. And when we prepare for these games, that's our goal. We want to play hard. We want to be fun to watch. And we always try to find a way to win.

Q. Coach Fuente, just to kind of piggyback on that question, you've talked about the importance of 10 wins in a season. I'm just wondering, is it equally important to win a fourth consecutive bowl game? I was surprised to find out that that's never been done at Tech.

COACH FUENTE: Well, me too. I did not know that. I don't know. Yeah. I mean, that would be nice to win another one, absolutely. I think we take pride and value in preparing for the bowl game. I think that's been the standard of Virginia Tech long before I got there. You always want to keep those things going, but it's not something that I brought up. I certainly haven't with our players. It's been mostly about, you know, the opportunity to get to that number 10. And I wish we could play a much worse opponent to get to 10, quite honestly. But that's also the fun part of it, is you get to play somebody that's really, really good, and it's going to be a tremendous challenge, you know, for our entire team to try and get this thing pulled off.

Q. Coach Fuente, what's been different about this year's bowl experience compared to last year's bowl experience in Charlotte in the Belk Bowl?

COACH FUENTE: Well, I mean, I would say the first thing that comes to mind are the similarities between our teams. You know, I think there was a genuine admiration for the senior class last year, and I feel the same way this year, in terms of our preparation for the game. I feel like that's been the central theme both years. We traveled a little farther south this year for a little bit warmer weather. We had a wonderful time in Charlotte last year. Obviously, it was a shorter drive for the Hokie Nation to make a couple hour trip from Blacksburg. Both experiences have been very positive for our kids, both unique experiences in terms of the activities that we got to do at both places. You know, obviously, it comes highly recommended from us for either spot.

Q. Both coaches, and I know you guys don't take anything for granted and I've been around Mike and his staff a lot more. But, Justin, you had a redshirt freshman quarterback this year. Mike, you had, obviously, Mason Rudolph. How is it different when you're dealing at that position with a very experienced guy versus a very youthful guy?

COACH FUENTE: Well, it's light years different. I don't know how Mike feels about it, but I've been really pleased with Josh. Much has been made that he's a coach's son. He's been around the game. He's got a great demeanor. He's highly intelligent, all those sorts of things. But when you trot a quarterback out there for the first time, no matter what you've done to train them, there's still a little bit of holding your breath. There's no substitute for real life experience. And I've been pleased with the way Josh has handled all of that. Coming into this season, our concern was more centered around the people around him. Were we going to be good enough around him to let him play at a high level because we still felt like he had some talent that we could let shine through if we could surround him with quality people? But when you've got a returning starter or you've got a guy that's played a bunch of snaps and has got some talent and has been in those situations before, I think it's a little bit more of a comforting feeling to know what you've got. And then you start worrying who his backup is going to be. At least that's been our experience.

COACH GUNDY: In our experience, we have been in every situation, fortunately, in bowl games. I think that when you have a veteran guy, you have to be careful about outcoaching yourself because you say, well, he can do so much. And if you're really skilled, we can do this, this, and this and then all of a sudden, you're not very good at anything. For example, when Mason was with us in the Cactus Bowl when he was a freshman, you try to say, 'OK, here's the things that we can do and/or he can do can based on our talents, and let's play in this world.' And as I watched the offensive staff and/or defensive staffs based on the maturity of that side of the ball, then you get to a point where you say, 'OK, well, here's all the things that he could accomplish, but what can we actually accomplish in the game that gives us the best chance for success?' So I think you kind of work the opposite way. And what Justin said is right. And then you start trying to get another guy ready because we have a lot of questions about this game. And for Oklahoma State, this game is very important. But, you know, this is a long haul for us. We worked hard in the season, in the bowl prep, to get another guy ready for next year to look forward to '18.

Q. Obviously, the Big 12 has a lot of bowls in Texas, and you've got a lot of Texas kids. They always talk about seeing the program in those bowls when they were growing up. You've talked this year about expanding your recruiting base and whatnot this year. How can this bowl, getting into Florida, potentially help the program, another state that's very heavy in good recruits?

COACH GUNDY: We'll find out a lot more this spring. As you guys know, the recruiting calendar has changed drastically. We saw the impact of early signing day a few weeks ago. This spring we have early visits, official visits, for the first time. And I'll be honest with you. We've had a lot of discussions, from an administrative standpoint, as a staff, and I'm not really sure. We're going to have to feel our way through this. I know for Oklahoma State, we'll put a lot of thought into how the new calendar will impact us in recruiting because it is the most important thing we do. It's the lifeblood of what we do, bringing quality young men that we develop in our program. As you guys know that follow us, that's what we do. We have to bring young men in and develop them. So we'll find out in the latter part of the spring how this bowl game impacted us in this part of the country. There's a lot of players around here, but there's also a lot of schools that recruit here. So there's reasons to look at players all over the country. But then from a business standpoint, we have to make the best decisions on the young men that we're actually capable of signing and getting to our program because, as we all know, there is no second place trophy in recruiting. You either get them or you don't. And so it'll be interesting to see the impacts we have being in this bowl in a few months.

THE MODERATOR: And then the national television audience as well.

COACH GUNDY: Sure. Oh, yeah. Well, that's always a huge part of it. Anytime that you're in these games and you're on national television with technology and the young people that we recruit, their ability to get information on their phones and see everything is on pretty impressive.

Q. Coach Gundy, when you look at Virginia Tech's defense, that's kind of been the staple of this program. You're in and you're out. What impresses you when you look at Bud Foster's squad?

COACH GUNDY: It's interesting. The schemes look to be the same, you know, over the last 20 years or maybe even further back. They're physical up front. They have big guys that play up front. It's not easy to run the ball. But they're long in the secondary. They're athletic. Their safeties cover really well, in our opinion, for safeties. So I think it'll be an interesting challenge. And I said this once this game was announced after two or three days of watching some tape. I said that this could very well be the best defense that we've competed against. You know, there's different ways to make that opinion. Sometimes you do it on athleticism. Sometimes do you it on scheme. But when you look at what they've accomplished with the group that they have in the end, it comes down to do you keep them from scoring or not? And I'm going to go back to what I said when we started this conference today, this press conference, was over a 12 game season, they're only giving up 13.5 points. That's not easy to do. Sometimes when you're in the third or fourth game of the year and you're competing against a team and you look at some of the statistics that could be relevant to the game, you say, well, they've held their teams to 13 points and, you know, they've played just three or four games. So you're not sure, not over a 12 game season. So their continuity obviously, Coach knows what he's doing. He's been doing it forever, a system that he believes in. But what we see is a group of guys that believe in the system and they understand it and they're good at it. So I'll say it again. It's going to be a great challenge for our guys.

Q. Coach Fuente, being from Tulsa, going against a school that recruited you, a coach that you looked up to your time playing there, what is this matchup like for you personally?

COACH FUENTE: Well, it's enjoyable. Obviously, I have a lot of ties to the State of Oklahoma. Half my family went to Oklahoma State and half my family went to Oklahoma. So I never grew up, really, as a huge fan of only one of the two schools. I was kind of indifferent. But it's just a unique opportunity. That's kind of the fun part of this business. You get to go compete against sometimes people you have background with, sometimes people that you've never met before in our life. And through all the twists and turns of your career, you bump into or come across sometimes people from your past. And I'm excited about it. I'm going to go after the game. I'm going to go back to Tulsa and go hang out and see my folks and my sister and all that kind of stuff. I don't think anything will change much for me, but I obviously have a connection to Oklahoma State and Oklahoma, and it's kind of neat to see some similar faces from the past.

THE MODERATOR: All right. So I'll ask a final question. I don't see any more hands. For both coaches: You've got closed practice today. All of these people came down here and they'd love to know what's going on. You got anything you want to tell them on what's going to happen today, or should we keep them in suspense until tomorrow?

COACH GUNDY: I don't know that there's any secrets, to be honest with you. We do what we do. We don't change very much. Our general rule is if you start to change, you'll probably get into something you're not very good at. So we do what we do. But everybody's welcome to come to our practice in a couple days if they want to.

COACH FUENTE: We're not doing much, so the hay is kind of in the barn from a practice standpoint.

THE MODERATOR: Folks, thanks very much.

Oklahoma State University Athletics

Gundy Previews Camping World Bowl at Head Coaches Press Conference

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