Oklahoma State University Athletics
Gundy Previews South Alabama
September 03, 2018 | Cowboy Football
STILLWATER – Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy met with members of the media Monday to discuss the Cowboys' upcoming clash with South Alabama this Saturday at Boone Pickens Stadium. Here's a look at some of what Gundy had to say:
Opening Statement:
"We're back at it for South Alabama. They're an athletic group. It's really interesting when you have to tune in to playing a team like this that has skilled kids and some good wideouts. I know they have a new coaching staff. Their defense runs around a little bit, the linebackers are active and so on, and so forth. We need to continue to get better this week. We'll work really hard this week and try to come out to play the best we can on Saturday."
On his familiarity with South Alabama head coach Steve Campbell:
"He's done very well in his career. This is a great opportunity for him and in the location he is, there's a number of very good players within a four-hour drive of their campus. He's done well and I'm sure he's still working hard to get things together. It's not always easy when you get into a new place. I've been told that he's finally gotten away from being the offensive coordinator and he's turned that over. Just from an outsider looking in, it looks like he's going through some adjustments, but he has done very well during his time."
On the offensive line's performance against Missouri State:
"I don't know if any of them played great. There were times they played well as a group, and then there were times where they turned people loose. Four or five times we turned people loose. A couple of times it was on a turn protection, which is a very basic protection. With the skill we have at the running back position, it's important that we cover guys up. I think we'll get a little bit better each week at it. I had mentioned that when you have some new guys working together, I felt like October 1 was a good mark for us to be able to look and say that these guys are really starting to play better. Like some of the other positions, hopefully they'll minimize some of those missed assignments in Saturday's game."
On the rotation of players at offensive guard:
"We feel like we have more than two guards that can play. We talked about this a week ago and we feel like it's an advantage to be able to keep guys fresh, and we haven't had that advantage. Hopefully, we can keep those seven guys rotating in as we move forward and try to keep some of those guys fresh."
On shuffling guys around on the line:
"The communication starts at a certain point, regardless of who is in there. One person is directing traffic. Now, there are times when guys who are with each other for a long time, they can almost communicate with a silent language, and they might say that matters. Some of the mistakes we made didn't really have anything to do with new guys being in there. We just weren't focused and doing our job."
On the recruitment of Chuba Hubbard:
"I flew in there (Canada), and visited with his coaches and all his people at the school, and his family is right there in the community. We got on him early. Marcus Arroyo has some connections up there. So we became interested in him, and he was interested in us more so than what I thought he would be for where he's located because he's way out west. Then it just kind of started and stuck. He said he wanted to come here, and I wasn't sure that it would happen in the end with the Oregons and Washingtons and UCLAs and people who are somewhat right there. But he stayed with us from day one, and we had a great relationship with his family, in fact they were here last weekend. I was pleased because they felt like this was by far the best choice for him, and they were glad that he did redshirt last year. We could've played him last year. It's not always easy if a young man is eager to play to tell them, 'You need to grow a little bit,' but it has worked out really well for us. I'm glad that he got as many opportunities as his did the other night."
On being a leader in recruiting from Canada:
"When we jumped on Chuba (Hubbard) it just kind of worked. Then (Amen Ogbongbemiga) and then we have big Shane (Richards). I actually forgot he was there because he's lived so many different places. They're working hard up there to try and improve their American style football for lack of a better term, but they're trying to get more young men pushed that way."
On getting Chuba Hubbard in open space:
"I think it's easy. Fast guys in space is a really good thing for the offense and for the team. Mike (Yurcich) and (the other offensive coaches) understand the importance of getting the ball into the hands of the players that can make big plays. There are only so many plays that are executed the right way in an offensive game. If you have really skilled players and then you add the really fast ones, you can be really successful."
On the defense's development:
"I felt like we were in position the majority of the time. Obviously we got out of position on quarterback power and quarterback draw, but for the most part, I felt that we were in the right spot. This week's game will challenge us a little more on the perimeter with maybe more skilled athletes that can go get the ball. It will be interesting to see how we play against those guys. I think the players bought in. I thought we tackled pretty well up front; we closed the gaps most of the time. It was a little bit like the offensive line; they were really good a lot and then when they were bad, they were bad for two big plays. We've had some issues over the years with that and we need to try to minimize that the best we can. There has to be a lot of focus and trust. We will continue to work at it. I thought for the first game, it went really smooth. As we all know, it's going to get better each week. [South Alabama] is more athletic than the team we just played, so it will be a better challenge."
On communicating with Jim Knowles:
"He and I basically talk about it. I kind of have my opinion. I don't know all the Xs and Os but I can tell if it's good or bad. So I wanted to ask him if I was in the ballpark of where we were (on defense), and for the most part I was. We agreed on some certain things. There were some younger players that got into the game that didn't play as well as we would have liked them to. But that's fairly common when young people get out there for the first time. He and I were on the same page there. I didn't go in and watch tape with him. I don't do that a lot for two reasons: One, I don't understand the ins and outs and schemes of defense he has going on there. There is probably a better chance I can disrupt than doing anything that can help them. Two, that would take time away from me being in there chewing on Yurcich and I really enjoy that."
On Jim Knowles' performance as a coach in his first game:
"Seems to be fine. [Missouri State] used a little bit more tempo than what we expected. They were playing faster than what we thought, they didn't play fast at all last year. So it was a good warmup for Coach. Knowing that as we progress through this year, it's going to get really fast. I thought he handled it well. I think he is prepared for those situations. In my opinion, being a sound defensive coordinator in this league, you have to think really fast and make really good adjustments and you have to be able to get the information to the players on the field in less than five seconds so they can be lined up. I thought he did pretty well so we will see how it goes Saturday."
-----
The Cowboys host South Alabama Saturday night at 7 p.m. at Boone Pickens Stadium, with kickoff set for 7 p.m. on FSN. Season tickets and single game tickets are available at www.okstate.com/tickets or by calling the OSU ticket office at 877-ALL-4-OSU.
Opening Statement:
"We're back at it for South Alabama. They're an athletic group. It's really interesting when you have to tune in to playing a team like this that has skilled kids and some good wideouts. I know they have a new coaching staff. Their defense runs around a little bit, the linebackers are active and so on, and so forth. We need to continue to get better this week. We'll work really hard this week and try to come out to play the best we can on Saturday."
On his familiarity with South Alabama head coach Steve Campbell:
"He's done very well in his career. This is a great opportunity for him and in the location he is, there's a number of very good players within a four-hour drive of their campus. He's done well and I'm sure he's still working hard to get things together. It's not always easy when you get into a new place. I've been told that he's finally gotten away from being the offensive coordinator and he's turned that over. Just from an outsider looking in, it looks like he's going through some adjustments, but he has done very well during his time."
On the offensive line's performance against Missouri State:
"I don't know if any of them played great. There were times they played well as a group, and then there were times where they turned people loose. Four or five times we turned people loose. A couple of times it was on a turn protection, which is a very basic protection. With the skill we have at the running back position, it's important that we cover guys up. I think we'll get a little bit better each week at it. I had mentioned that when you have some new guys working together, I felt like October 1 was a good mark for us to be able to look and say that these guys are really starting to play better. Like some of the other positions, hopefully they'll minimize some of those missed assignments in Saturday's game."
On the rotation of players at offensive guard:
"We feel like we have more than two guards that can play. We talked about this a week ago and we feel like it's an advantage to be able to keep guys fresh, and we haven't had that advantage. Hopefully, we can keep those seven guys rotating in as we move forward and try to keep some of those guys fresh."
On shuffling guys around on the line:
"The communication starts at a certain point, regardless of who is in there. One person is directing traffic. Now, there are times when guys who are with each other for a long time, they can almost communicate with a silent language, and they might say that matters. Some of the mistakes we made didn't really have anything to do with new guys being in there. We just weren't focused and doing our job."
On the recruitment of Chuba Hubbard:
"I flew in there (Canada), and visited with his coaches and all his people at the school, and his family is right there in the community. We got on him early. Marcus Arroyo has some connections up there. So we became interested in him, and he was interested in us more so than what I thought he would be for where he's located because he's way out west. Then it just kind of started and stuck. He said he wanted to come here, and I wasn't sure that it would happen in the end with the Oregons and Washingtons and UCLAs and people who are somewhat right there. But he stayed with us from day one, and we had a great relationship with his family, in fact they were here last weekend. I was pleased because they felt like this was by far the best choice for him, and they were glad that he did redshirt last year. We could've played him last year. It's not always easy if a young man is eager to play to tell them, 'You need to grow a little bit,' but it has worked out really well for us. I'm glad that he got as many opportunities as his did the other night."
On being a leader in recruiting from Canada:
"When we jumped on Chuba (Hubbard) it just kind of worked. Then (Amen Ogbongbemiga) and then we have big Shane (Richards). I actually forgot he was there because he's lived so many different places. They're working hard up there to try and improve their American style football for lack of a better term, but they're trying to get more young men pushed that way."
On getting Chuba Hubbard in open space:
"I think it's easy. Fast guys in space is a really good thing for the offense and for the team. Mike (Yurcich) and (the other offensive coaches) understand the importance of getting the ball into the hands of the players that can make big plays. There are only so many plays that are executed the right way in an offensive game. If you have really skilled players and then you add the really fast ones, you can be really successful."
On the defense's development:
"I felt like we were in position the majority of the time. Obviously we got out of position on quarterback power and quarterback draw, but for the most part, I felt that we were in the right spot. This week's game will challenge us a little more on the perimeter with maybe more skilled athletes that can go get the ball. It will be interesting to see how we play against those guys. I think the players bought in. I thought we tackled pretty well up front; we closed the gaps most of the time. It was a little bit like the offensive line; they were really good a lot and then when they were bad, they were bad for two big plays. We've had some issues over the years with that and we need to try to minimize that the best we can. There has to be a lot of focus and trust. We will continue to work at it. I thought for the first game, it went really smooth. As we all know, it's going to get better each week. [South Alabama] is more athletic than the team we just played, so it will be a better challenge."
On communicating with Jim Knowles:
"He and I basically talk about it. I kind of have my opinion. I don't know all the Xs and Os but I can tell if it's good or bad. So I wanted to ask him if I was in the ballpark of where we were (on defense), and for the most part I was. We agreed on some certain things. There were some younger players that got into the game that didn't play as well as we would have liked them to. But that's fairly common when young people get out there for the first time. He and I were on the same page there. I didn't go in and watch tape with him. I don't do that a lot for two reasons: One, I don't understand the ins and outs and schemes of defense he has going on there. There is probably a better chance I can disrupt than doing anything that can help them. Two, that would take time away from me being in there chewing on Yurcich and I really enjoy that."
On Jim Knowles' performance as a coach in his first game:
"Seems to be fine. [Missouri State] used a little bit more tempo than what we expected. They were playing faster than what we thought, they didn't play fast at all last year. So it was a good warmup for Coach. Knowing that as we progress through this year, it's going to get really fast. I thought he handled it well. I think he is prepared for those situations. In my opinion, being a sound defensive coordinator in this league, you have to think really fast and make really good adjustments and you have to be able to get the information to the players on the field in less than five seconds so they can be lined up. I thought he did pretty well so we will see how it goes Saturday."
-----
The Cowboys host South Alabama Saturday night at 7 p.m. at Boone Pickens Stadium, with kickoff set for 7 p.m. on FSN. Season tickets and single game tickets are available at www.okstate.com/tickets or by calling the OSU ticket office at 877-ALL-4-OSU.
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