Oklahoma State University Athletics
Gundy Previews Baylor
October 29, 2018 | Cowboy Football
STILLWATER – Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy met with members of the media Monday afternoon to discuss the Cowboys' upcoming visit to Waco, Texas, where OSU will square off with Baylor in a key Big 12 matchup. A look at some of his comments:
On the energy at Sunday's practice:
"It has been good. I've said this for a number of weeks – they've practiced really well from August on. They were a little fatigued, just like we all are. You play a night game and get home at two or three in the morning, and just like myself they go to bed at 2:30 in the morning and then get up in the morning, work all day. They're doing the same thing. There was a little more fatigue, and probably less energy than there has been over the last few weeks just based on being a night game. Coach (Rob) Glass stressed the importance of their hydration and nutrition and sleep over the next two days to get their bodies back on a normal schedule."
On Tylan Wallace:
"Here's the interesting thing about him at this point – he's really just a freshman. He didn't play hardly at all last year, but he did get quality reps in practice. We had him there on the shelf in case something happened to one of those guys. We were very fortunate that it didn't happen. He's got a good temperament. He's humble and a hard worker. If he continues to do that, he'll have a chance to be a really good player before his time is up here. But to specifically answer that question, it was the practice reps that he got last year that helped him as much as anything because he didn't get in the game much when it counted."
On defense's focusing on stopping Wallace:
"It's the same concept we've had here for a number of years with what we went through with James (Washington) and (Justin) Blackmon, and even Dez (Bryant) before that. It's pretty easy to tell in the first quarter of a game if they want to protect a receiver, and I'm guessing that they will probably try to protect him some. I'm not sure. If so, (Taylor Cornelius) has to do a good job of distributing the ball to other players that are getting – whether it's zone or man – basically single coverage and then run the football."
On the offensive line:
"We've played some musical chairs. Hopefully we can get Shane (Richards) back. We'll know a lot more on him tomorrow. I would like to get guys settled in. I felt like we blocked fairly well at Kansas. We actually blocked pretty well at Kansas State, and then they had maybe their best game against Texas just as far as the quality of the guys they were trying to block and protect. I wish we'd settle in a little on that. Obviously we can't control that, but we were able to get some quality snaps from Deionte (Noel).
On getting Justice Hill the ball more frequently:
"I could just tell that he wants the ball more. Now, he wanted out some Saturday night, too. He got the ball enough and got a little fatigued, but it was good. (Chuba Hubbard) came in and made some plays. (J.D. King) came in and made some plays. He's never come to us and said he wants to touch the ball more. Maybe that was just something going on in my brain that maybe he does need to touch the ball more, but not necessarily him."
On what he learned about Justice Hill in Waco two years ago:
"He was a freshman and he turned the ball over twice down there I think. We knew he was going to be a good player, but we just had discussions with him about the importance of protecting the ball. That could very well be the determining factor in most college games when talent is relatively the same. Since then he's done a nice job taking care of the ball. He took it serious."
On Baylor:
"I think if you look at what's going on in our league, Oklahoma – to this point – has played much better than other teams just based on looking at scores. And then West Virginia had an off day, but other than that they have played at a high level. You can take everybody else, in my opinion, and put them in the same category. Any Saturday, if you're not prepared and you don't take care of the ball, you're suspect to not play as well as you want to. Baylor is a much-improved team from a year ago. They play hard and it looks like they understand their concepts. They got caught in a firestorm and turning the football over I can't remember how many times in Morgantown. Most everybody in the country – if you turn the ball over continuously like that, especially on the road – it can snowball on you, and that's what happened to them, in my opinion as an outsider looking in. The other games they've played, they've been in most of the way up through the third quarter, with the exception of the Oklahoma game, who big-played them. Oklahoma hit them on – gosh, I quit counting after about six or seven big, big plays."
On Matt Rhule:
"I don't have a lot of friends in this profession. I don't talk to a lot of people. I don't text a lot of people. I enjoy spending time with Matt in the limited amount of time that I see him in the meetings, [which are] very seldom. I don't see these guys on the road recruiting anymore, because head coaches get one shot at each young man so we don't really cross over like we did years ago. He and I have always had a good relationship. I have a lot of respect for what he did when he was back northeast. They are a much better football team. They play hard and they have good concepts. Obviously, he is doing a good job."
On Chubba Hubbard:
"He is maturing and getting some experience and reps and showing signs that he is ready to be productive at this level against top-quality teams. We are pleased he is coming along. We feel good about where J.D. King is also, but there was a role for Hubbard in this game based on the schemes that Texas had. They run really well from side to side and so we could match him with him at times. He certainly is improving and just the number of reps that he is getting is allowing that to take place."
On issues recruiting Canadians:
"I'd say one is the distance, two is trying to evaluate talent with high school football that's further behind than where we are in this country. You can see guys like Chubba Hubbard, who are really, really fast and run around and make plays, but trying to evaluate other players is not very easy. It's just a matter of whether you can actually have them interested in coming this far away. I'm sure it'd be different if you were in the northwest or the Pac-12. We've had some success and I've been pleased with the players we've gotten from up there."
On A.J. Green:
"He played very well. He competed. [Our corners] competed against really quality, tall, long and athletic receivers. That was a concern of mine two weeks ago. They are going to make some plays because they are good players. Where we improved in this game is even when they made plays in the passing game, we were within arm's length of covering him."
On the energy at Sunday's practice:
"It has been good. I've said this for a number of weeks – they've practiced really well from August on. They were a little fatigued, just like we all are. You play a night game and get home at two or three in the morning, and just like myself they go to bed at 2:30 in the morning and then get up in the morning, work all day. They're doing the same thing. There was a little more fatigue, and probably less energy than there has been over the last few weeks just based on being a night game. Coach (Rob) Glass stressed the importance of their hydration and nutrition and sleep over the next two days to get their bodies back on a normal schedule."
On Tylan Wallace:
"Here's the interesting thing about him at this point – he's really just a freshman. He didn't play hardly at all last year, but he did get quality reps in practice. We had him there on the shelf in case something happened to one of those guys. We were very fortunate that it didn't happen. He's got a good temperament. He's humble and a hard worker. If he continues to do that, he'll have a chance to be a really good player before his time is up here. But to specifically answer that question, it was the practice reps that he got last year that helped him as much as anything because he didn't get in the game much when it counted."
On defense's focusing on stopping Wallace:
"It's the same concept we've had here for a number of years with what we went through with James (Washington) and (Justin) Blackmon, and even Dez (Bryant) before that. It's pretty easy to tell in the first quarter of a game if they want to protect a receiver, and I'm guessing that they will probably try to protect him some. I'm not sure. If so, (Taylor Cornelius) has to do a good job of distributing the ball to other players that are getting – whether it's zone or man – basically single coverage and then run the football."
On the offensive line:
"We've played some musical chairs. Hopefully we can get Shane (Richards) back. We'll know a lot more on him tomorrow. I would like to get guys settled in. I felt like we blocked fairly well at Kansas. We actually blocked pretty well at Kansas State, and then they had maybe their best game against Texas just as far as the quality of the guys they were trying to block and protect. I wish we'd settle in a little on that. Obviously we can't control that, but we were able to get some quality snaps from Deionte (Noel).
On getting Justice Hill the ball more frequently:
"I could just tell that he wants the ball more. Now, he wanted out some Saturday night, too. He got the ball enough and got a little fatigued, but it was good. (Chuba Hubbard) came in and made some plays. (J.D. King) came in and made some plays. He's never come to us and said he wants to touch the ball more. Maybe that was just something going on in my brain that maybe he does need to touch the ball more, but not necessarily him."
On what he learned about Justice Hill in Waco two years ago:
"He was a freshman and he turned the ball over twice down there I think. We knew he was going to be a good player, but we just had discussions with him about the importance of protecting the ball. That could very well be the determining factor in most college games when talent is relatively the same. Since then he's done a nice job taking care of the ball. He took it serious."
On Baylor:
"I think if you look at what's going on in our league, Oklahoma – to this point – has played much better than other teams just based on looking at scores. And then West Virginia had an off day, but other than that they have played at a high level. You can take everybody else, in my opinion, and put them in the same category. Any Saturday, if you're not prepared and you don't take care of the ball, you're suspect to not play as well as you want to. Baylor is a much-improved team from a year ago. They play hard and it looks like they understand their concepts. They got caught in a firestorm and turning the football over I can't remember how many times in Morgantown. Most everybody in the country – if you turn the ball over continuously like that, especially on the road – it can snowball on you, and that's what happened to them, in my opinion as an outsider looking in. The other games they've played, they've been in most of the way up through the third quarter, with the exception of the Oklahoma game, who big-played them. Oklahoma hit them on – gosh, I quit counting after about six or seven big, big plays."
On Matt Rhule:
"I don't have a lot of friends in this profession. I don't talk to a lot of people. I don't text a lot of people. I enjoy spending time with Matt in the limited amount of time that I see him in the meetings, [which are] very seldom. I don't see these guys on the road recruiting anymore, because head coaches get one shot at each young man so we don't really cross over like we did years ago. He and I have always had a good relationship. I have a lot of respect for what he did when he was back northeast. They are a much better football team. They play hard and they have good concepts. Obviously, he is doing a good job."
On Chubba Hubbard:
"He is maturing and getting some experience and reps and showing signs that he is ready to be productive at this level against top-quality teams. We are pleased he is coming along. We feel good about where J.D. King is also, but there was a role for Hubbard in this game based on the schemes that Texas had. They run really well from side to side and so we could match him with him at times. He certainly is improving and just the number of reps that he is getting is allowing that to take place."
On issues recruiting Canadians:
"I'd say one is the distance, two is trying to evaluate talent with high school football that's further behind than where we are in this country. You can see guys like Chubba Hubbard, who are really, really fast and run around and make plays, but trying to evaluate other players is not very easy. It's just a matter of whether you can actually have them interested in coming this far away. I'm sure it'd be different if you were in the northwest or the Pac-12. We've had some success and I've been pleased with the players we've gotten from up there."
On A.J. Green:
"He played very well. He competed. [Our corners] competed against really quality, tall, long and athletic receivers. That was a concern of mine two weeks ago. They are going to make some plays because they are good players. Where we improved in this game is even when they made plays in the passing game, we were within arm's length of covering him."
Players Mentioned
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