Gundy and Captains Meet With Media Prior to Game Day to Discuss Guaranteed Rate Bowl

Oklahoma State Media Day Quotes

PHOENIX - Oklahoma State head football coach Mike Gundy and bowl game captains Braden Cassity, Tanner Brown, Brock Martin, John Paul Richardson and Jason Taylor II met with members of the media on Monday afternoon ahead of Tuesday's matchup against Wisconsin in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl.

"Once again, we're very excited to be here in the Valley of the Sun," Gundy said. "We've had a great week. Our players have really enjoyed the Yellow Jackets, and the hospitality and accommodations and everything have been fantastic; the people here, the food. So we're looking forward to tomorrow night's game against Wisconsin, and our players are excited. We've got our work in. So now we're looking forward to a visit to the stadium a little bit later today, and a good night's sleep, and find a way to kill a little time tomorrow, and get excited about playing tomorrow night."

The Cowboys arrived in Arizona on December 21 and have had multiple practices in the Phoenix area in preparation for the Guaranteed Rate Bowl. Amid signing day welcoming new players and the transfer portal departures, bowl practices are a valuable time for younger players to get practice reps and the entire team to bond in their last chance to be teammates this season.

"As always, bowl practice is very important for the culture on our team and progress," Gundy said. "Essentially, it's another spring ball. We had an opportunity to get 14 real practices in, which is -- 15 would be a spring practice. So we were able to get a lot of really good work in for our young players. And then obviously have periods to prepare for Wisconsin. It's very important to get a lot of really quality work, basic fundamentals, keep the guys together, good meeting time. It's also important for us to be on location at a bowl, for our guys to be able to spend six or seven days together and enjoy the work they put in from last year, a full year's work. I think it's very important for our group. So it's benefited us in a big way. Very similar to having another spring practice."

While the Cowboys main objective in Arizona is to return to Stillwater with another bowl win, they were able to take time away from the football field to spend time with each other and local kids for their community outreach event. Members of the Cowboys met up with children from the Muscular Dystrophy Association at Main Event for a morning filled with arcade games, bowling and quality time.

"I enjoyed the Main Event," Brown said. "We did it with the kids with muscular dystrophy. It was really fun with that, to see their faces light up."

making memories with the newest Cowboy fans ??#CowboysForACause pic.twitter.com/yfrSpiKmMB
— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) December 23, 2022

The Guaranteed Rate Bowl will provide a couple of different aspects for a football game than OSU is used to. Not only is it a late kickoff set at 9:15 p.m. CT, but the game will be played at Chase Field, home of the MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks.

I'm really looking forward to that," Cassity said. "I think they said they had turf, but now it's back on grass maybe? So I'm really looking forward to playing on the nice outfield grass."

Gundy stated the team's normal routine would be pushed back a couple hours to account for the later kickoff than the Pokes are used to. As for the players, being at the bowl location for nearly a week has helped the players adjust to the time and weather differences from a winter in Stillwater.

"I mean, it's important," Martin said. "You've got to adjust to the time. We are playing an extremely late game. Back home it would be 9:15. So kind of get this time adjustment, which is big for us. And adjust to the weather. It's almost freezing right now. So we're lucky that we have good weather here. So adjusting to the weather and the humidity and that type of stuff and the time is important for us."

The lone underclassmen voted by his teammates to be a bowl captain, John Paul Richardson is just a sophomore wide receiver, but has earned the respect of his teammates. Richardson is second on the Cowboys in receptions and receiving touchdowns and fourth in yards and has recorded multiple catches in every game this season.

"He's a guy who's going to show up to work every day," Cassity said. "That says a lot about his character. How captains work with us, the coaches will pick one each week -- or four of them each week -- and at the end of the year, the players vote on the people the coaches selected. So that says a lot about how he is with all the guys on the team, the leadership he brings. And just the work he puts in every day. So he's doing everything right. And you know, super proud of him. It's my first year of being a captain as well. So it's a big deal and I'm really happy to do it next to him."

For Richardson, the praise from his teammates is appreciated, but the focus is on closing out this season with a win over the Badgers.

I think it would obviously be good to end with a big win, of course, and kind of have a better taste in our mouth," Richardson said. "The season didn't really go how we wanted it to. But I think we'll be better next year because of it. And we got to deal with some adversity, and I definitely think we'll be better because of it.

While Richardson will have at least one more year in the orange and black, Jason Taylor II will have a decision to make on his future following the bow game. A first-team All-Big 12 selection at safety who led the conference in solo tackles and interceptions with six, which is also tied for second most nationally, Taylor is taking advantage of what could be his last game as a Cowboy.

"Definitely for me, I think it will be big for me. Whether I decide to leave this year or come back, I think Oklahoma State is going to be my home regardless, and I think I'm going to enjoy that in my later years."