Oklahoma State University Athletics
Photo by: Bruce Waterfield
Gundy, Cowboys Meet With Media After Practice
December 08, 2017 | Cowboy Football
STILLWATER – Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy and selected Cowboy players met with media following Friday's practice at the Sherman E. Smith Indoor Training Center. Some of their comments:
Mike Gundy
Opening Statement:
"We just finished up a good workout today. We're going to work out again tomorrow and then have a light practice on Sunday because we have our banquet. Then the players have finals, so the players are off for about four days. We'll start back up next Friday night and just continue on with bowl practice. We've had some good workouts and some pretty competitive practices. It's good to get the guys back here and get the coaches back from traveling around and recruiting. We're looking forward to another good week and getting some quality reps for younger plays. We'll mix in some varsity reps and then get those younger guys some work."
On the ESPN College Football Awards:
"That's a great setting. I've been a few times before, but that's the first time I've been to Atlanta and the College Football Hall of Fame. They do a really good job with that. It's all kind of the who's who of college football there. I was obviously excited for James (Washington) and Mason (Rudolph) for being there. It was a neat setting for all of us."
On adjusting to a new schedule with the early signing period:
"It's a lot of traveling for all of us, myself included. We just don't have a lot of time to hang out. I would still favor the early signing period, but it's definitely much more of a challenge for the coaches in trying to decipher what we're going to do with our time. We have game preparation and then spending time with the players that we plan on signing on the 20th."
On Virginia Tech:
"This is going to be a really good matchup. As I watch more, I'm not so sure that this isn't the best defense that we've played. They're only giving up 13 points a game, so obviously they've fared very well. They're really big inside and it's probably safe to say it's the best secondary we've faced this year. Offensively, they're going to run their quarterback some. Maybe they won't be as up-tempo as some of the other teams we play in our league. They're averaging 28 yards on kickoff returns, so they're a very good football team. There's a reason they won nine games and all of their losses were to quality football teams. It's a really good matchup."
On Mason Rudolph and James Washington's success:
"They're special. This is a really unique group, and I don't think there's any question the relationship they have and the time that they've spent together and the success that they've had both on and off the field. That's been very fun for all of us to watch. It kind of hit Coach (Kasey) Dunn and I coming home on the plane last night that for three-and-a-half years we've been able to rely on those guys making big plays. It'll be a challenge for us moving forward when we don't have those guys in our back pocket during game planning."
On Josh Henson's work with the offensive line this season:
"I think the transition for an offensive line coach is always difficult. He's got a lot of work ahead of him, but he understands the technique and fundamentals. I think one of his strengths is that he's able to take a young man and assess what his strengths are and can see where he needs some help. He plays to their strengths and I think that's the advantage we have in having him coach for us."
Wide Receiver James Washington
On the trip to Atlanta:
"It was a lot of fun to be down there in the presence of a lot of great players."
On what the award means to him:
"It shows that all the hard work and dedication pays off. For all the people back home who helped me get to this point, I thank them and this is for them. It's a lot of fun. I talked to Coach Dunn about this a long time ago and said it'd be cool to win this award. I never thought I would win this award just with where I came from and all the great receivers that played here with me. It was a lot of fun to go there and experience Atlanta and bring the hardware home."
On finishing the season and bowl preparation:
"It has started to get a little more emotional. On top of all the bowl preparation, it's busy as well because people have finals and we're out here for four or five hours. Then we have film and stuff. It's just a busy time for us right now so we have to be locked in."
On not taking these days for granted:
"I spend every second I have left with these younger guys just to give them as much advice as I can and to get them up to par so when me, Marcell and all the other seniors leave, they'll be ready."
On players skipping bowl games:
"I'm fully committed. Me and Marcell were talking about that the other day. It's just like a loyalty thing for us to finish the year off with our team. It just shows your character as well, so I'm going to finish the year off with my team."
Safety Ramon Richards
On preparing for the bowl game:
"We're excited. We're able to come out here and have fun playing."
On having something to prove:
"As far as proving anything to anyone outside of the organization, never. We trust in each other. We love each other. So we play for each other. Other than that, we don't have anything to prove to anyone else."
On Virginia Tech:
"I know Michael Vick came from there ... one of my favorite players growing up. They've got some athletes over there that we're going to have to prepare for, obviously, but with our offense we'll be ready for it."
On his teammates' awards:
"I'm proud of them. We go up against them every day. I lined up here with James my freshman year. Seeing him and Mason go all four years along with a couple other guys ... we've been here together since 2014. It feels good to see guys like that who put the work in and reap the benefits."
Linebacker Chad Whitener
On Virginia Tech:
"I remember watching them all the time with Tyrod Taylor. Actually, one of my high school's quarterbacks played there. There's a lot of history there with Frank Beamer and Mike Vick and it'll be fun to play them."
On the potential of winning 10 games for the third straight season:
"I never really thought about it like that. I think it'd be a great legacy to leave here. Three 10-win seasons in a row is just commendable to how our program is run and the way we come to work every day."
On if playing an offense with a slower tempo is an advantage:
"I think it is just because we're in such good shape and we go against our guys every day. The amount of plays that we play is going to be a lot less than what we're used to, so we're going to be a lot fresher."
On balancing school and football:
"You just have to wake up and follow your schedule. It's not doing anything hard, just make sure you are on top of all of your stuff, especially school. Next week we have a few days off just to study for finals and everything. They really take care of us at the academic center. This time of year for us is about making sure you stay on top of your stuff and finishing the semester right."
Offensive Lineman Zachary Crabtree
On his first game at OSU:
"I just remember I ran full speed at that (linebacker) because I didn't want to miss my first block ever. We played two very good (defensive) ends that year at Florida State. I just remember playing in the Cowboys stadium for my first start. I just remember all of those moments building up to it and jogging out. Jameis Winston was warming up not too far from me, so it was surreal. I had great seniors around me. It was a heck of a game, and a heck of a way to get introduced to college football."
On how he focuses on helping the younger guys:
"I don't know if you change how you spend your time. You really try to (help the younger players) all year. You never know when you're going to step in. You constantly try to groom the guys younger than you and have them ready to go because if they have to step in, you want to know that he's going to be prepared to play in a moment like that."
On if he's doing anything to get prepared for the next level:
"I've tried not to give too much thought to that. I've tried to focus on winning this game. I'll cherish my time here and go on from there, but Coach (Josh) Henson has helped me a lot with little technique things: hand things, footwork things, things that may not be normal to the normal person, like where you place your inside hand or where you point your toes when you engage a block. Just things like that."
Mike Gundy
Opening Statement:
"We just finished up a good workout today. We're going to work out again tomorrow and then have a light practice on Sunday because we have our banquet. Then the players have finals, so the players are off for about four days. We'll start back up next Friday night and just continue on with bowl practice. We've had some good workouts and some pretty competitive practices. It's good to get the guys back here and get the coaches back from traveling around and recruiting. We're looking forward to another good week and getting some quality reps for younger plays. We'll mix in some varsity reps and then get those younger guys some work."
On the ESPN College Football Awards:
"That's a great setting. I've been a few times before, but that's the first time I've been to Atlanta and the College Football Hall of Fame. They do a really good job with that. It's all kind of the who's who of college football there. I was obviously excited for James (Washington) and Mason (Rudolph) for being there. It was a neat setting for all of us."
On adjusting to a new schedule with the early signing period:
"It's a lot of traveling for all of us, myself included. We just don't have a lot of time to hang out. I would still favor the early signing period, but it's definitely much more of a challenge for the coaches in trying to decipher what we're going to do with our time. We have game preparation and then spending time with the players that we plan on signing on the 20th."
On Virginia Tech:
"This is going to be a really good matchup. As I watch more, I'm not so sure that this isn't the best defense that we've played. They're only giving up 13 points a game, so obviously they've fared very well. They're really big inside and it's probably safe to say it's the best secondary we've faced this year. Offensively, they're going to run their quarterback some. Maybe they won't be as up-tempo as some of the other teams we play in our league. They're averaging 28 yards on kickoff returns, so they're a very good football team. There's a reason they won nine games and all of their losses were to quality football teams. It's a really good matchup."
On Mason Rudolph and James Washington's success:
"They're special. This is a really unique group, and I don't think there's any question the relationship they have and the time that they've spent together and the success that they've had both on and off the field. That's been very fun for all of us to watch. It kind of hit Coach (Kasey) Dunn and I coming home on the plane last night that for three-and-a-half years we've been able to rely on those guys making big plays. It'll be a challenge for us moving forward when we don't have those guys in our back pocket during game planning."
On Josh Henson's work with the offensive line this season:
"I think the transition for an offensive line coach is always difficult. He's got a lot of work ahead of him, but he understands the technique and fundamentals. I think one of his strengths is that he's able to take a young man and assess what his strengths are and can see where he needs some help. He plays to their strengths and I think that's the advantage we have in having him coach for us."
Wide Receiver James Washington
On the trip to Atlanta:
"It was a lot of fun to be down there in the presence of a lot of great players."
On what the award means to him:
"It shows that all the hard work and dedication pays off. For all the people back home who helped me get to this point, I thank them and this is for them. It's a lot of fun. I talked to Coach Dunn about this a long time ago and said it'd be cool to win this award. I never thought I would win this award just with where I came from and all the great receivers that played here with me. It was a lot of fun to go there and experience Atlanta and bring the hardware home."
On finishing the season and bowl preparation:
"It has started to get a little more emotional. On top of all the bowl preparation, it's busy as well because people have finals and we're out here for four or five hours. Then we have film and stuff. It's just a busy time for us right now so we have to be locked in."
On not taking these days for granted:
"I spend every second I have left with these younger guys just to give them as much advice as I can and to get them up to par so when me, Marcell and all the other seniors leave, they'll be ready."
On players skipping bowl games:
"I'm fully committed. Me and Marcell were talking about that the other day. It's just like a loyalty thing for us to finish the year off with our team. It just shows your character as well, so I'm going to finish the year off with my team."
Safety Ramon Richards
On preparing for the bowl game:
"We're excited. We're able to come out here and have fun playing."
On having something to prove:
"As far as proving anything to anyone outside of the organization, never. We trust in each other. We love each other. So we play for each other. Other than that, we don't have anything to prove to anyone else."
On Virginia Tech:
"I know Michael Vick came from there ... one of my favorite players growing up. They've got some athletes over there that we're going to have to prepare for, obviously, but with our offense we'll be ready for it."
On his teammates' awards:
"I'm proud of them. We go up against them every day. I lined up here with James my freshman year. Seeing him and Mason go all four years along with a couple other guys ... we've been here together since 2014. It feels good to see guys like that who put the work in and reap the benefits."
Linebacker Chad Whitener
On Virginia Tech:
"I remember watching them all the time with Tyrod Taylor. Actually, one of my high school's quarterbacks played there. There's a lot of history there with Frank Beamer and Mike Vick and it'll be fun to play them."
On the potential of winning 10 games for the third straight season:
"I never really thought about it like that. I think it'd be a great legacy to leave here. Three 10-win seasons in a row is just commendable to how our program is run and the way we come to work every day."
On if playing an offense with a slower tempo is an advantage:
"I think it is just because we're in such good shape and we go against our guys every day. The amount of plays that we play is going to be a lot less than what we're used to, so we're going to be a lot fresher."
On balancing school and football:
"You just have to wake up and follow your schedule. It's not doing anything hard, just make sure you are on top of all of your stuff, especially school. Next week we have a few days off just to study for finals and everything. They really take care of us at the academic center. This time of year for us is about making sure you stay on top of your stuff and finishing the semester right."
Offensive Lineman Zachary Crabtree
On his first game at OSU:
"I just remember I ran full speed at that (linebacker) because I didn't want to miss my first block ever. We played two very good (defensive) ends that year at Florida State. I just remember playing in the Cowboys stadium for my first start. I just remember all of those moments building up to it and jogging out. Jameis Winston was warming up not too far from me, so it was surreal. I had great seniors around me. It was a heck of a game, and a heck of a way to get introduced to college football."
On how he focuses on helping the younger guys:
"I don't know if you change how you spend your time. You really try to (help the younger players) all year. You never know when you're going to step in. You constantly try to groom the guys younger than you and have them ready to go because if they have to step in, you want to know that he's going to be prepared to play in a moment like that."
On if he's doing anything to get prepared for the next level:
"I've tried not to give too much thought to that. I've tried to focus on winning this game. I'll cherish my time here and go on from there, but Coach (Josh) Henson has helped me a lot with little technique things: hand things, footwork things, things that may not be normal to the normal person, like where you place your inside hand or where you point your toes when you engage a block. Just things like that."
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