Oklahoma State University Athletics
Gundy Meets WIth Media After Season Opener
September 05, 2022 | Cowboy Football
STILLWATER – Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy met with members of the media on Monday at his weekly luncheon to discuss the Cowboys' 58-44 victory over Central Michigan and preview Arizona State. Here is some of what Gundy had to say:
Opening Statement:
"Alright. Week two. I was pretty accurate in most of my comments after the first game and the way we played. I did a good job of watching from the sideline. As we move forward, obviously moving into a different type of athlete as we're playing another Power Five school. Arizona State manhandled Northern Arizona last week. So we'll have to really practice well and have good plans and try to improve in all areas and clean up some things that we had issues with. We need a good crowd. I watched a few games – I shouldn't even say a few games, I watched a few quarters of some games – I didn't get to watch very much football. It was pretty recognizable that the safety we got – I think – was credited to the students and the paddle people on that side of the stadium. It was really loud and disruptive and helped us. We really need a good home field advantage. I'm excited about the weather; it looks good for the crowd. It'll give everybody a chance to fill this place up and be really loud Saturday night. I'm excited about that: being a part of it and sharing it with the fans and watching our guys continue to grow and improve. We'll see if we can correct and come up with a good plan for some of the issues we had Thursday night and move forward."
On the positive takeaways from the young defensive players' performance against Central Michigan:
"First thing is: there is no substitute for experience and reps. On Friday, obviously I go and look at the tape. Then I have to sit down and get my opinion on what I think we did that was good, average or not so good as coaches, first. Then tie that in to what we feel like we got from the players and what we had actually prepared them for, thoroughly, or what we didn't. Some of the mistakes that we made – I'm going to say the ones that the general fan would see from watching it on TV – were made because of youth; it was the first time it had ever happened to a lot of those guys. We have to see it, we have to coach it, we have to correct it and then try to make it better. It will not be the last time some of that happens with young players. Period. That's just a fact. We were very, very mature a year ago at the two linebacker spots and the five safety spots – corners, safeties, whatever you want to call them. Very mature. We all know that. Two of those guys are playing in the pros, one's playing for Ohio State, one's playing for LSU, one's playing for the Washington [Commanders] and one's playing for us. The other one that's not here was an All-American. We're replacing those guys with some guys that don't have as much experience and that's what you run into. It's a simple solution that takes a little bit of time to evolve. As coaches, what we need to do is try to find how much we can correct in one week to get ready for the next game on Saturday."
On what he's learned since watching film and if it differed from what he thought immediately postgame:
"No, I thought I had a pretty good idea. Offensively, we were pretty good. We didn't run block as well as we needed to. I was pretty accurate with all that. We were not as good in special teams as I wanted to be. In the return game, we were fine. Obviously, in target punting we were fine. As far as protection and a couple other things, I didn't think we weren't very good and I was correct. Those are things we need to get cleaned up. We should be able to correct those a little quicker than some of the schemes on offense and defense. Defensively, some guys that were out there for the first time in their life saw some things they had never seen. It was new to them. Unfortunately, most of the time that's what you get.
On the running backs:
"I mean, Ollie (Gordon) didn't get a lot of time. He made a play now and then. I thought Jaden (Nixon) gave us about what we thought he would give us in his career. And then, Dom runs hard. We didn't run block very well."
On Langston Anderson:
"He played and did a few things well. And then he played like he hasn't played in three years, which he hasn't played in three years. Quite honestly, I was just excited that he made it to the game. Truthfully, he's been very unfortunate with the things that have happened to him. If it wasn't one thing, it was another. To just get him to the kickoff, to get him out there and let him make some mistakes and get a feel for it, he's no more than a true freshman. If you look at him for the most part. Yes, his body's different because he's been working out with us for years. But his knowledge, gameday experience and comfort zone are like a freshman's.
On Ollie Gordon:
"He didn't play enough to really evaluate him. He made a nice play. We've seen him make some plays in practice. And he'll learn and gather more information and concepts and schemes. So far, I feel good about their ability to protect, which is important for that position. Gives me a little more comfort. The running side of it just based on how many carries they get, they'll just learn on the run.
On the defensive staff:
Well as a group we weren't as clear on the headsets as we were last year because they're all new and there is a lot that goes on on gameday. There is communication within the defensive coaches and different areas, communication on blocking schemes, route concepts, they take it all in and they've got to get it communicated then get it to the players and get them back on the field. There is a lot that goes on and I don't have any way to make it happen smoothly without experience. They need experience to be here just like the players do, so the good news is 90 something precent of it is correctable and it is just based on communication and experience and everybody learning to work together
On the offense allowing Spencer Sanders to use his ability:
"When we're in those open sets, it allows Spencer to freelance a lot and make decisions on his own, do what he wants to do in our style of offense. He has a really good feel for our offense and a pretty good idea of what we're trying to accomplish. That allows him to make plays and use his ability, which is the main reason we are in those type of sets, and then some of that is dictated on personnel, the team we're playing and what we think gives us the best chance based on the style of defenses we see."
On Arizona State:
"They played well the other night. I think their defense was No. 1 in the Pac-12 last season. I'm not sure but I know they were ranked up there pretty high, they only gave up about 380 yards per game and didn't give up many points. I think they only gave up three or six Thursday night, so they were pretty good on defense. They really helped themselves with the quarterback they brought in from Florida. He's athletic, he can run and make plays with his legs and throws the deep ball well, so it'll be a good challenge for us. We're going to have a really good feel for where we are at as a football team after this game because we're going to play athletic guys who are big and physical. They have big, physical lineman. Their offensive line is good. We'll be challenged in those areas, so we'll get a good feel for where we're at."
Opening Statement:
"Alright. Week two. I was pretty accurate in most of my comments after the first game and the way we played. I did a good job of watching from the sideline. As we move forward, obviously moving into a different type of athlete as we're playing another Power Five school. Arizona State manhandled Northern Arizona last week. So we'll have to really practice well and have good plans and try to improve in all areas and clean up some things that we had issues with. We need a good crowd. I watched a few games – I shouldn't even say a few games, I watched a few quarters of some games – I didn't get to watch very much football. It was pretty recognizable that the safety we got – I think – was credited to the students and the paddle people on that side of the stadium. It was really loud and disruptive and helped us. We really need a good home field advantage. I'm excited about the weather; it looks good for the crowd. It'll give everybody a chance to fill this place up and be really loud Saturday night. I'm excited about that: being a part of it and sharing it with the fans and watching our guys continue to grow and improve. We'll see if we can correct and come up with a good plan for some of the issues we had Thursday night and move forward."
On the positive takeaways from the young defensive players' performance against Central Michigan:
"First thing is: there is no substitute for experience and reps. On Friday, obviously I go and look at the tape. Then I have to sit down and get my opinion on what I think we did that was good, average or not so good as coaches, first. Then tie that in to what we feel like we got from the players and what we had actually prepared them for, thoroughly, or what we didn't. Some of the mistakes that we made – I'm going to say the ones that the general fan would see from watching it on TV – were made because of youth; it was the first time it had ever happened to a lot of those guys. We have to see it, we have to coach it, we have to correct it and then try to make it better. It will not be the last time some of that happens with young players. Period. That's just a fact. We were very, very mature a year ago at the two linebacker spots and the five safety spots – corners, safeties, whatever you want to call them. Very mature. We all know that. Two of those guys are playing in the pros, one's playing for Ohio State, one's playing for LSU, one's playing for the Washington [Commanders] and one's playing for us. The other one that's not here was an All-American. We're replacing those guys with some guys that don't have as much experience and that's what you run into. It's a simple solution that takes a little bit of time to evolve. As coaches, what we need to do is try to find how much we can correct in one week to get ready for the next game on Saturday."
On what he's learned since watching film and if it differed from what he thought immediately postgame:
"No, I thought I had a pretty good idea. Offensively, we were pretty good. We didn't run block as well as we needed to. I was pretty accurate with all that. We were not as good in special teams as I wanted to be. In the return game, we were fine. Obviously, in target punting we were fine. As far as protection and a couple other things, I didn't think we weren't very good and I was correct. Those are things we need to get cleaned up. We should be able to correct those a little quicker than some of the schemes on offense and defense. Defensively, some guys that were out there for the first time in their life saw some things they had never seen. It was new to them. Unfortunately, most of the time that's what you get.
On the running backs:
"I mean, Ollie (Gordon) didn't get a lot of time. He made a play now and then. I thought Jaden (Nixon) gave us about what we thought he would give us in his career. And then, Dom runs hard. We didn't run block very well."
On Langston Anderson:
"He played and did a few things well. And then he played like he hasn't played in three years, which he hasn't played in three years. Quite honestly, I was just excited that he made it to the game. Truthfully, he's been very unfortunate with the things that have happened to him. If it wasn't one thing, it was another. To just get him to the kickoff, to get him out there and let him make some mistakes and get a feel for it, he's no more than a true freshman. If you look at him for the most part. Yes, his body's different because he's been working out with us for years. But his knowledge, gameday experience and comfort zone are like a freshman's.
On Ollie Gordon:
"He didn't play enough to really evaluate him. He made a nice play. We've seen him make some plays in practice. And he'll learn and gather more information and concepts and schemes. So far, I feel good about their ability to protect, which is important for that position. Gives me a little more comfort. The running side of it just based on how many carries they get, they'll just learn on the run.
On the defensive staff:
Well as a group we weren't as clear on the headsets as we were last year because they're all new and there is a lot that goes on on gameday. There is communication within the defensive coaches and different areas, communication on blocking schemes, route concepts, they take it all in and they've got to get it communicated then get it to the players and get them back on the field. There is a lot that goes on and I don't have any way to make it happen smoothly without experience. They need experience to be here just like the players do, so the good news is 90 something precent of it is correctable and it is just based on communication and experience and everybody learning to work together
On the offense allowing Spencer Sanders to use his ability:
"When we're in those open sets, it allows Spencer to freelance a lot and make decisions on his own, do what he wants to do in our style of offense. He has a really good feel for our offense and a pretty good idea of what we're trying to accomplish. That allows him to make plays and use his ability, which is the main reason we are in those type of sets, and then some of that is dictated on personnel, the team we're playing and what we think gives us the best chance based on the style of defenses we see."
On Arizona State:
"They played well the other night. I think their defense was No. 1 in the Pac-12 last season. I'm not sure but I know they were ranked up there pretty high, they only gave up about 380 yards per game and didn't give up many points. I think they only gave up three or six Thursday night, so they were pretty good on defense. They really helped themselves with the quarterback they brought in from Florida. He's athletic, he can run and make plays with his legs and throws the deep ball well, so it'll be a good challenge for us. We're going to have a really good feel for where we are at as a football team after this game because we're going to play athletic guys who are big and physical. They have big, physical lineman. Their offensive line is good. We'll be challenged in those areas, so we'll get a good feel for where we're at."
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