Mike Gundy Previews Season Opener vs. Missouri State

STILLWATER – Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy met with media at Boone Pickens Stadium to preview the Cowboys' season opening matchup against Missouri State. Here's some of what he had to say:

Opening Statement:
"Well we're at it finally. Getting into somewhat of a game week routine. We'll have heavier practices the next two or three days. We're doing good. I don't have a lot of updates for you other than what I had a few days ago. We'll know a lot more about our football team in a month, but I'm excited about where we're at. I'm excited about where the team is from a competitive standpoint. We have a few young players that'll get a chance to get out and compete based on where we're at in the depth chart. We're just pushing forward. I'm glad we got a little heat here in the last few days at practice to open them up a bit from a cardio standpoint to get us ready for what I'm guessing is going to be a hot first few games. Guys are in good shape and moving forward."

On Blaine Green:
"He's very physical; he's 215 pounds. He picked the system up early and stayed healthy and that allows him to get a chance. Sometimes we have young players that will pick the system up and athletically put themselves in a position to compete, but if they get dinged up or get a little soft tissue injury and they're out for three or four days, that'll set them back considerably because of their youth."

On the position battle at left tackle between Caleb Etienne and Taylor Miterko:
"Well, we're working both guys. We feel good about them. At some point, somebody will take that role. In the first game, I would guess they're both going to play. We all know that some young men play differently in games than others, so I think both of them deserve a chance to get out there and compete."

On the running backs:
"We're very fortunate because we have a number of guys we trust who can carry the ball and be effective for us at the running back spot. I've never had the luxury of having this many backs. If we have 40 rushes a game, the perfect scenario would be 10s across the board. Will it happen that way? I doubt it. If somebody gets hot, they'll stay, but we do have the luxury of not letting one player get completely fatigued, and/or getting beat up throughout the season."

On Devin Harper and "super seniors:"
"The super seniors at, whatever school it may, is a huge advantage. I'll give you an example. We have six guys on our team, and we had, I'll throw four names out that maybe at one point thought about coming back and being a super senior: Amen (Ogbongbemiga), Cam Murray, (Dillon) Stoner and (Calvin) Bundage. If you took those four guys and put them on our team right now, how much better would we be with experience and depth? That's what super seniors do for you. That's 20-something percent if you have 22 starters and put four our five guys out there. That's what those guys can do. Devin has that experience and he's fast and he likes to play football. He's another player I'm excited about watching and I'm glad he stayed in our program and I'm glad he's on our team."

Oklahoma State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Caleb Etienne

Blaine Green

Devin Harper

Taylor Miterko

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