OSU vs. Missouri State Postgame Quotes

August 30, 2018 | Cowboy Football

Oklahoma State Head Coach Mike Gundy
Opening statement:
"It was a good win for us. We played good at times, we played sloppy at times. Obviously, our running backs run really well. Up front, I thought we were average at best. I thought that Taylor (Cornelius) was average at best. And we turned the ball over too much, I think we had two turnovers, both of them were close to inside the 30-yard line going in, we can't do that. Defensively we played pretty well. We got out of our gap twice and gave up two really long runs. Other than that we were pretty good overall defensively. So it was good for us. Too many penalties on special teams--got to get that cleaned up. We can't set ourselves back with penalty yards. Seven-for-55 is way too many. So it's good to get started, get out there, kind of get a feel for where we're at. Let them come in tomorrow, grade the tape and get ready for the next one. "

On Cornelius' accuracy:
"I just thought he missed too many throws. In my head I thought he missed six throws that normally he hits. His mentality I thought was good, he just missed some throws. Twice he threw the ball down the middle and it should've been picked off and he threw the ball down here and got it picked off. And then he just missed some throws."

On the play of Keondre Wudtee:
"It looked like he played well, looked like he ran well. He made a couple throws and he was in there with a lot of young guys so it's not easy to operate, but I thought he did a nice job of taking care of the football, pulling it down and running when he needed to."

On the decision to go with Wudtee:
"(It was) to get him some work. It's a complicated process, it would take a while to explain it but we felt at that time it's best to go with Wudtee."

On Cornelius' mindset:
"Everyone's going to have to be patient with him. I knew that he would have some jitters and fire the ball out there at times and miss some throws. I was fairly certain that would happen. That's why I said everyone's just going to have to be patient with him and let him work through some things. Early Mason (Rudolph) did too. His first year, he played in the bowl game and against OU and Baylor, he missed a lot of throws in the first few games. A lot of times that happens with young players. He should get better. "

Offensive Coordinator Mike Yurcich
On Taylor Cornelius:
"He made some clutch plays, he showed his mobility, but I think Taylor could have played without a little more hesitation. He was a little bit tentative today, but that is to be expected."

On Cornelius' hesitation:
"Well, I think you have to play to the quarterback's strengths. Whatever he does well, we have to continue to do and continue to build his confidence."

Defensive Coordinator Jim Knowles
On his first game:
"I had some nerves, I had some butterflies. I thought getting out and seeing the crowd, I thought that was really helpful to me because it was great to be in a place with all that support. It just makes you feel so much better and energized."

On any surprises in the first game:
"No. Definitely at the beginning, I thought it was going to plan. We were dominating the game...I thought it was going well. It was all going according to plan. I think they made some plays and I think our guys let up a little and I think their quarterback, he was gritty. He was the guy that made some plays against us, so give him some credit too."

On Taylor Cornelius:
"Corndog-he is a strong arm, confident, you can't fool him a whole lot. He reminds me a lot of Eli Manning when we used to go against him at Ole Miss. Every defense has a hole and Corndog is good at finding that hole. Eli was the same way."

Running Back Justice Hill
On getting a win to open the season:
"It just feels good to be out there. It's going to be a long season, but it was fun to be out there with a new team and in a new atmosphere. We have good chemistry and I feel like it's going to be a good season."

On his 92-yard run:
"It would've been nicer if I had gotten into the end zone, but I just wanted to go out there and make some plays and that's what I did."

On OSU's depth at running back:
"It's going to be fun and everybody is going to be fresh. Everybody can make plays, so whoever's name is called, they're going to go out there and make plays."

On moving forward to South Alabama next week:
"We just have to prepare the same way we always do. We have to stay focused each and every day and continue to go out there and give 100 percent."

Defensive Tackle Darrion Daniels
On how the defense performed tonight:
"I thought we did pretty well. Physically, we felt good. Today was a really good test just to see where we're at. We learned what we need to get better at and I think that's what's most important. Today was a great opportunity to learn."

On implementing defensive coordinator Jim Knowles' scheme into a live game:
"His scheme requires a lot of reacting on the fly. That's pretty much it. When you're out there, you just have to use common sense and use football common sense to adjust and what not."

On the defensive line creating pressure:
"We know that the guys behind us are a little bit younger, so to help take some pressure off them, we try our best to get after the quarterback and put him under as much pressure as possible. Our guys are great at covering, so when they have great coverage, and we have a great rush, we're able to get sacks and that showed today."

On switching gears toward South Alabama next week:
"There's always things to learn. That's our biggest takeaway from tonight. I came in here tonight with a lot of pride. I came in here thinking that we were probably the best team in the NCAA, which I still feel like we are, but I know now that we still have room to improve."

Safety Kenneth Edison-McGruder
On opening the season with a win:
"It felt good and it felt good to be back out there flying around with my guys. You know, it just felt good."

On adjusting to defensive coordinator Jim Knowles' scheme in a live-action setting:
"There wasn't much, but we still have some things to work on. We've been working in the scheme for a couple months with summer and fall camp. We've been getting reps, but there's still a few little things that we have to work at and continue to get better at moving on to the next game."

On what adjustments they have to make heading into next week's game:
"Playing the RPOs a little bit better. That was a little mess up for us as a secondary and we can't let anyone run through the middle of our defense. We don't want to let that happen, so that's something we know we have to work on."

On his fumble recovery:
"The quarterback ran a little option play, and one of my guys - if I'm not mistaken, I think it was Cole (Walterscheid) - had him up and we work everyday in that situation to come and strip the ball out. I saw that he was a bit lackadaisical with it and I just came and tried to strip it out and when I saw it pop out, I just fell on it as fast as I could."

Linebacker Justin Phillips
On the defense:
"I feel like we did well as a unit. There were a couple of mistakes. It's week one and everybody's adrenaline is going and things like that, but we'll get that cleaned up and I feel like it was a solid run for everybody today."

On seeing a new defensive scheme in a live game for the first time:
"We repped it well in practice and we've had a lot of live reps with it against our offense. We took what we learned in practice and brought it out to the field, so it really wasn't too much different."

On gearing up for South Alabama:
"We just need to learn from our mistakes and what we didn't do well on tonight, work on that, rep whatever we need to work on more and get it all cleaned up for the next game."

Quarterback Taylor Cornelius
On his first collegiate start at quarterback:
"It was a little different not coming in at the end of the game, but I've prepared for so long. It was alright."

On the offense's depth and talent:
"You've got all those guys at receiver that can make plays. Then you've got Justice Hill, who racked up over 100 yards in the first half and all those other running backs. LD (Brown), Chuba (Hubbard) - Chuba's touchdown was just incredible - and all those guys are incredible."

On seeing the Cowboys' offensive depth on full display:
"Everyone can make plays and we knew that all along. We had no doubt that we were going to be able to make plays out there."

Running Back Chuba Hubbard
On getting a win to open the season:
"It was an awesome feeling and it was an awesome team win. Everyone contributed to it. The defense, offense and everyone else looked good. I was just excited to finally get out there and be a part of the team."

On his excitement for his first collegiate game:
"It was an awesome feeling. This has been the longest I've gone without playing a game of football, but once I got on the field it was awesome. I missed it a lot."

On the Cowboys' depth at running back:
"We're a talented group and I've been saying that to everyone. Everyone has their own unique trait and we just got a blessed group that pushes each other. We've also got all the young guys that haven't played yet. They're special too and we're blessed to have such a great running back core."

Missouri State Head Coach Dave Steckel
On his thoughts after the game:
"We didn't play well enough to win obviously."

On what he liked from his team's performance:
"Well, I saw one thing that I liked and that was effort. Our defense played 92 plays and they were playing their butts off, which I think was really good. I think our trainers did a good job of keeping our kids hydrated and our kids did a good job of taking care of their bodies, especially having to play that many plays."

On playing against an up-tempo offense:
"We're used to playing hurry-up offenses, but we're not used to playing great up-tempo offenses like that. You've got to credit Oklahoma State. They've got a great offense it's why they're respected as much as they are."

Quarterback Peyton Huslig
On his overall game tonight:
"We just continued to believe in the game plan. I think we had a really good game plan coming into this game and I think it just came down to execution but we really executed each play. I thought we prepared really well for this game and I think we need to do that week in and week out."

On his takeaways from the game tonight:
"I think it shows on the drives whenever we executed, it shows that we can make plays against anybody, it doesn't matter who it is. When we stick to the game plan and execute we can play anybody."

Linebacker McNeece Egbim
On ever playing such a high tempo offense:
"We played Mizzou, but besides that I would say they are probably a little faster. It was very challenging."

On Missouri States defense overall:
"I mean we practiced for it so I think it was just our mistakes really."

Cornerback Zack Sanders
On their defense:
"There were a lot of things we practiced for and were prepared for."

On the season ahead:
"Obviously its a tough loss...you don't expect to come out and lose the first one but we have to park it and look at the next game."

Kicker Parker Lacina
On his experience with the team thus far:
"It has been awesome in the short time that I have been here. I have come to love all of the guys. It is an awesome team and an incredible atmosphere and I am excited to be here."