Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Discuss West Virginia And Senior Day
November 22, 2022 | Cowboy Football
Defensive End Ben Kopenski
On playing multiple positions due to injuries:
"It's been interesting, and it's been new. Actually, not new because in high school I played those spots. It's new for me here. With Tyler (Lacy) going down, he was a big part of our defense, so now we just need to find someone to rush, and they ended up putting me there. It's been fun."
On Nathan Latu's development:
"He's always been very talented and I'm happy to see him in there getting reps. I feel like we've been kind of in the same boat where there's a lot of experience in front of us and whenever we get the opportunity, we try to make the most of it. It's good seeing him in there doing good."
On how the defense was able to adjust after the first quarter against OU:
"I think we just need to play faster from the start, a lot of times in the past couple of weeks, teams have just jumped on to us and we need to start jumping on them. I'm not necessarily sure if there were different looks, they were giving us, I think it just came down to missing tackles and not playing sound football."
Defensive Tackle Sione Asi
On the competition in the Big IX this year:
"It's been way different than the last four or five years. Honestly, we see Kansas on the upcoming. I had to learn this myself, but the biggest thing is always respecting your opponents and respecting everybody, even if they're good or bad. You'll never know if you'll catch them on a really good day or bad day. I was excited to see how the league turned out, to see the ups and downs, and who is placed where."
On how he feels about playing his last home college game:
"It will probably settle in when I run out one last time and walk out one last time. Right now, I'm excited to get ready one last time for our last home game with my teammates. That's something you can't get back. Biggest thing is focusing on winning so that's the biggest goal right now for my last one is to go out with a win especially here in Boone Pickens."
On what he said to the team after the game against OU:
"We've gone through ups and downs this whole season. We've had our ups, had a lot of downs, so I think the biggest thing Coach Gundy pressed on it was that we're so used to winning, so when we lose everybody freaks out. He's not panicking and making sure everyone goes through the tape, find out where they messed up. I told them it's just finding mistakes, fix the ones that we made, then get back on our feet. We're going to be here in Boone Pickens Stadium, it's where we play the best. That's probably the biggest message is to look forward, not too far, but just for the next opportunity and that's this Saturday."
Wide Receiver Braydon Johnson
On defending the winning streak at Boone Pickens Stadium:
"It's definitely important, it's our household. We have to defend it by all means."
On competing in the Big IX this year:
"It was definitely crazy. We just had to come in and control what we could control, just go to work and play hard. We knew a lot of teams were battling this year. We just were controlling what we could control, having our attitudes right and limiting our mistakes."
On the emotions in his final year:
"It's been tough, up and down rollercoaster, but I feel like that's life. You have to love it when it's up and when it's down. You can't just be happy at the top, you have to find things to be grateful for when life takes you downhill too. That was the biggest thing for me, just keeping my head up when I'm in a slump knowing that I'm going to bounce back in the end."
Cowboy Back Braden Cassity
On how he feels about this weekend:
"I'm feeling fired up. It was a tough one last week, you could sit around and complain, or you can move on and that's what we've done, moved on. We had a great day of preparation today and last night. I'm excited, just super excited."
On how he's prepared for the for West Virginia:
"I give myself 24 hours to be upset about a loss and once 24 hours hit, you can either sit around or dwell on it or move on to the next one. That's something I've had to teach myself in football because you're going to make a mistake, but you can sit around and mope about it, keep worrying about the last play or move on to the next play. That's what we've done this week. Like I said, I think we had an awesome day of practice today and a great night last night. We have a good game plan and really looking forward to it."
On how he feels about playing his last home college game:
"It's something that didn't hit me until just yesterday actually. It gets you pretty sad because it doesn't feel like I've been here this many years. I remember getting on campus and moving into the dorms, but now it's coming to an end here in the near future. It's a surreal feeling that I fully haven't digested yet."
Long Snapper Matt Hembrough
On practicing at Boone Pickens Stadium:
"It's better to be in the stadium because that's where we kick in games. You get more real-life game experience on that turf. You get the feeling of being in the stadium, the wind's the same. Obviously, we're in a windy conference. Lots of wind, lots of open stadium. It's all about having the same routine."
On the difference between a good and average long snapper:
"The biggest difference between a good and average long snapper is being consistent. At this level, there are guys that can throw the ball really fast or really hard or they're athletic down the field. There's not a lot of guys that can do all that and be consistent. It's something that you have to work on, you have to be mentally strong because you can't be going out there worried. Can't be thinking about other things… You just have to have that strong mentality and be able to go out there and execute every time."
On being a semifinalist for the Patrick Mannelly Award:
"I'm super blessed and super lucky to be on the list. There's a ton of really good snappers on there. I hope that I will be there in Chicago as one of the finalists, and hopefully win it. But right now, I'm just focused on West Virginia and winning, and finishing my career here strong and with a win. Whatever happens, happens. If I'm fortunate enough to make it on the finalists list, I'll be very blessed and enjoy the process after that."
Kicker Tanner Brown
On plans after college:
"Once the season's done, I'm going to get ready for pro day and all that stuff and see where that takes me. The main thing is getting ready for pro day."
Reflecting on his time at OSU:
"I'm really grateful for the experience, I think I needed it in my life. I think after high school, kids need to get out of their hometown and get into a different situation and different setting. It's been the perfect spot for me and I'm super grateful, and I'll definitely be coming back."
On being semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award:
"It's nice. The main thing is just going out and performing on game day and making my kicks. But it's nice being recognized. It's been a goal of mine, that was the main thing coming in. Obviously, make every kick, but having accolades and awards at the end of the year is nice too."
On playing multiple positions due to injuries:
"It's been interesting, and it's been new. Actually, not new because in high school I played those spots. It's new for me here. With Tyler (Lacy) going down, he was a big part of our defense, so now we just need to find someone to rush, and they ended up putting me there. It's been fun."
On Nathan Latu's development:
"He's always been very talented and I'm happy to see him in there getting reps. I feel like we've been kind of in the same boat where there's a lot of experience in front of us and whenever we get the opportunity, we try to make the most of it. It's good seeing him in there doing good."
On how the defense was able to adjust after the first quarter against OU:
"I think we just need to play faster from the start, a lot of times in the past couple of weeks, teams have just jumped on to us and we need to start jumping on them. I'm not necessarily sure if there were different looks, they were giving us, I think it just came down to missing tackles and not playing sound football."
Defensive Tackle Sione Asi
On the competition in the Big IX this year:
"It's been way different than the last four or five years. Honestly, we see Kansas on the upcoming. I had to learn this myself, but the biggest thing is always respecting your opponents and respecting everybody, even if they're good or bad. You'll never know if you'll catch them on a really good day or bad day. I was excited to see how the league turned out, to see the ups and downs, and who is placed where."
On how he feels about playing his last home college game:
"It will probably settle in when I run out one last time and walk out one last time. Right now, I'm excited to get ready one last time for our last home game with my teammates. That's something you can't get back. Biggest thing is focusing on winning so that's the biggest goal right now for my last one is to go out with a win especially here in Boone Pickens."
On what he said to the team after the game against OU:
"We've gone through ups and downs this whole season. We've had our ups, had a lot of downs, so I think the biggest thing Coach Gundy pressed on it was that we're so used to winning, so when we lose everybody freaks out. He's not panicking and making sure everyone goes through the tape, find out where they messed up. I told them it's just finding mistakes, fix the ones that we made, then get back on our feet. We're going to be here in Boone Pickens Stadium, it's where we play the best. That's probably the biggest message is to look forward, not too far, but just for the next opportunity and that's this Saturday."
Wide Receiver Braydon Johnson
On defending the winning streak at Boone Pickens Stadium:
"It's definitely important, it's our household. We have to defend it by all means."
On competing in the Big IX this year:
"It was definitely crazy. We just had to come in and control what we could control, just go to work and play hard. We knew a lot of teams were battling this year. We just were controlling what we could control, having our attitudes right and limiting our mistakes."
On the emotions in his final year:
"It's been tough, up and down rollercoaster, but I feel like that's life. You have to love it when it's up and when it's down. You can't just be happy at the top, you have to find things to be grateful for when life takes you downhill too. That was the biggest thing for me, just keeping my head up when I'm in a slump knowing that I'm going to bounce back in the end."
Cowboy Back Braden Cassity
On how he feels about this weekend:
"I'm feeling fired up. It was a tough one last week, you could sit around and complain, or you can move on and that's what we've done, moved on. We had a great day of preparation today and last night. I'm excited, just super excited."
On how he's prepared for the for West Virginia:
"I give myself 24 hours to be upset about a loss and once 24 hours hit, you can either sit around or dwell on it or move on to the next one. That's something I've had to teach myself in football because you're going to make a mistake, but you can sit around and mope about it, keep worrying about the last play or move on to the next play. That's what we've done this week. Like I said, I think we had an awesome day of practice today and a great night last night. We have a good game plan and really looking forward to it."
On how he feels about playing his last home college game:
"It's something that didn't hit me until just yesterday actually. It gets you pretty sad because it doesn't feel like I've been here this many years. I remember getting on campus and moving into the dorms, but now it's coming to an end here in the near future. It's a surreal feeling that I fully haven't digested yet."
Long Snapper Matt Hembrough
On practicing at Boone Pickens Stadium:
"It's better to be in the stadium because that's where we kick in games. You get more real-life game experience on that turf. You get the feeling of being in the stadium, the wind's the same. Obviously, we're in a windy conference. Lots of wind, lots of open stadium. It's all about having the same routine."
On the difference between a good and average long snapper:
"The biggest difference between a good and average long snapper is being consistent. At this level, there are guys that can throw the ball really fast or really hard or they're athletic down the field. There's not a lot of guys that can do all that and be consistent. It's something that you have to work on, you have to be mentally strong because you can't be going out there worried. Can't be thinking about other things… You just have to have that strong mentality and be able to go out there and execute every time."
On being a semifinalist for the Patrick Mannelly Award:
"I'm super blessed and super lucky to be on the list. There's a ton of really good snappers on there. I hope that I will be there in Chicago as one of the finalists, and hopefully win it. But right now, I'm just focused on West Virginia and winning, and finishing my career here strong and with a win. Whatever happens, happens. If I'm fortunate enough to make it on the finalists list, I'll be very blessed and enjoy the process after that."
Kicker Tanner Brown
On plans after college:
"Once the season's done, I'm going to get ready for pro day and all that stuff and see where that takes me. The main thing is getting ready for pro day."
Reflecting on his time at OSU:
"I'm really grateful for the experience, I think I needed it in my life. I think after high school, kids need to get out of their hometown and get into a different situation and different setting. It's been the perfect spot for me and I'm super grateful, and I'll definitely be coming back."
On being semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award:
"It's nice. The main thing is just going out and performing on game day and making my kicks. But it's nice being recognized. It's been a goal of mine, that was the main thing coming in. Obviously, make every kick, but having accolades and awards at the end of the year is nice too."
Players Mentioned
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DE
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