Oklahoma State University Athletics
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Gundy, Cowboys Preview Homecoming Matchup with Cincinnati
October 23, 2023 | Cowboy Football
STILLWATER – Mike Gundy and several players met with the media Monday in Stillwater to discuss the Cowboys' win in Morgantown and their upcoming Homecoming matchup with Cincinnati. Here are some of their comments:
Head Coach Mike Gundy
On takeaways from the West Virginia victory:
"We blocked very well. You guys are so used to me coming in here and saying we need to block better and cover guys up and do that. We blocked very well. We played physical. Obviously, Ollie (Gordon) played physical and ran well. We covered guys up in crucial times to a point where in the last six minutes or so of the game, where you would think they knew we were running the ball, and we were still able to run the ball. It's what we used to do years ago, so that makes me feel better. Our guys played reckless with their bodies and were physical and it worked out for us. Defensively – well first off, we only missed three tackles, which is excellent. We had four mental errors in our alignments in our interior that cost us some yards, two of them on a quarterback run. For the most part, we played a really good first half, except for a few errors."
On Ollie Gordon:
"His durability has been impressive. In the last few games, he's become a little bit elusive, which I don't think any of us thought that was part of his package. We thought he was more of a Keith Toston, pound and bounce off guys, move forward. His vision in this last game, he made cuts when they needed to happen which was really good, so I think he's starting to develop. We made a good move five weeks ago by changing what we were doing offensively, particularly in the running game and how we were doing it, and it fits his style, so we guessed right. He's developed into a good college runner based on the style and structures we've put him in."
On the improved blocking by tight ends:
"Josiah [Johnson] and [Braden] Cassity have changed considerably in the last four weeks. In order to be a good player at this level, really high school, this level and the pros, you have to be reckless and disregard your body. That's just the way it is. You can't play this game if you're worried about your body. You can't play this game if you're worried about getting hurt. You have to disregard your (physicality), you just have to go play. That's what they've done. Both of them."
On offensive balance helping the pass protection:
"It's because we can run the ball. So, when I've told you guys we can't throw it because we can't run it, we're not a balanced football team. We can become one dimensional. So, their play caller, it's easier for him to dial up plays. When you can rush the football and create some balance, it gives you an opportunity. You can talk to a lot of coaches and they'll probably say the same thing I'm saying. It's extremely difficult to do one or the other, unless you're just better than the other team, so once we started rushing the ball more effectively, that allowed us to have some balance."
On Cincinnati's defense:
"This is the best defensive line we've played all year. This week, I was shocked watching Cincinnati's tape just based on what we all knew. I looked at the record and then I looked at the tape and went, 'that doesn't match up.' So, the challenge for the offensive line now is that Cincinnati, I'm guessing, could care less about what we've done up to this point with Ollie and the offensive line."
Offensive Lineman Jake Springfield
On continuing the improved blocking:
"I feel like just coming to work every day, being able to work out things. One thing our O-line coach says a lot is play like a fist – no weak links, just kind of stay together. Keep putting our work in every day at practice and then it keeps showing up on Saturdays."
On blocking for Ollie Gordon II:
"It's really nice, because there's a trust between him and us. Knowing that we're going to strain for the five or six seconds that we need to and he's going to hit the hole or he's going to make people miss, break a tackle and he can bust a long one. We got his back and I know that he's got our back."
Cornerback Korie Black
On OSU's strong special teams:
"People are willing to actually commit to the team and be willing to play special teams… A lot of us take a lot of pride in that. Also, we know that we can help the team win the game. It's really big for us and I think that's the biggest thing."
On being a leader for the defensive backs:
"I try to help everybody. That's the good thing about our room – we all communicate with each other. We can be like, 'hey, I saw this,' no matter how old we are. Anything that can help."
On the importance of a strong defensive front:
"It's really important. I think it's important for every defense. We're lucky to have a great defensive line, so we've got guys who are able to rush the quarterback really good… That makes our job easier, because that's less time we have to cover somebody. Instead of having to cover for four to five seconds, we have to do it for two to three seconds. It just makes our jobs easier."
Nose Tackle Collin Clay
On overcoming the early losses:
"It's great seeing everyone backing us up, because we were in a tough spot at one point. It felt like our backs were against the wall. We got to continue to keep fighting, losing is not fun. Nobody likes to lose, but you can't just put your head down and feel sorry for yourself. You got a 12-game season guaranteed, we have to keep working hard. Nobody's going to feel sorry for us. We are the ones who have to go out there and play. Everybody knows we have to fight for each other and we have to be one as a team, offense or defense. Regardless of that, we all have to be together."
On battling injury:
"Back then, I was quick to give up football after my second surgery. I didn't think it was going to be easy for me to come back from it mentally. I found myself putting my identity into football, so I didn't know what I was going to do without it. As bad as it was, unfortunately, it let me find out what I wanted to do. I plan on coaching. As unfortunate as it was, it was a good thing that I was able to figure out what I'm going to do outside of football."
Tight End Josiah Johnson
On playing reckless and physical:
"The coaches all week emphasized how physical of a game it was going to be. Telling us how much we got to bring it to them. That's what I tried to do. People always ask me, 'why do you just always run in there and try to hit people as hard as you can' and the best answer I can think of is because I see my brothers doing the same thing. If they are giving me all that effort, I'm going to try and give them even more. It's just for the love of not only my teammates, but also I love this game and I feel like it should be played that way. I try to go as hard as I can every time."
On turning the season around:
"That really comes down to some of the really known leaders on the team. They just reiterated that we can only go up as the season goes on and why not just play as hard as we can. We've taken a step forward with playing with a lot more reckless and really setting the tone. It really came down to some of those leaders really motivating us and Coach Gundy really made a big point of having a lot energy. All of us coming together and being excited and really wanting to win and not giving up."
Head Coach Mike Gundy
On takeaways from the West Virginia victory:
"We blocked very well. You guys are so used to me coming in here and saying we need to block better and cover guys up and do that. We blocked very well. We played physical. Obviously, Ollie (Gordon) played physical and ran well. We covered guys up in crucial times to a point where in the last six minutes or so of the game, where you would think they knew we were running the ball, and we were still able to run the ball. It's what we used to do years ago, so that makes me feel better. Our guys played reckless with their bodies and were physical and it worked out for us. Defensively – well first off, we only missed three tackles, which is excellent. We had four mental errors in our alignments in our interior that cost us some yards, two of them on a quarterback run. For the most part, we played a really good first half, except for a few errors."
On Ollie Gordon:
"His durability has been impressive. In the last few games, he's become a little bit elusive, which I don't think any of us thought that was part of his package. We thought he was more of a Keith Toston, pound and bounce off guys, move forward. His vision in this last game, he made cuts when they needed to happen which was really good, so I think he's starting to develop. We made a good move five weeks ago by changing what we were doing offensively, particularly in the running game and how we were doing it, and it fits his style, so we guessed right. He's developed into a good college runner based on the style and structures we've put him in."
On the improved blocking by tight ends:
"Josiah [Johnson] and [Braden] Cassity have changed considerably in the last four weeks. In order to be a good player at this level, really high school, this level and the pros, you have to be reckless and disregard your body. That's just the way it is. You can't play this game if you're worried about your body. You can't play this game if you're worried about getting hurt. You have to disregard your (physicality), you just have to go play. That's what they've done. Both of them."
On offensive balance helping the pass protection:
"It's because we can run the ball. So, when I've told you guys we can't throw it because we can't run it, we're not a balanced football team. We can become one dimensional. So, their play caller, it's easier for him to dial up plays. When you can rush the football and create some balance, it gives you an opportunity. You can talk to a lot of coaches and they'll probably say the same thing I'm saying. It's extremely difficult to do one or the other, unless you're just better than the other team, so once we started rushing the ball more effectively, that allowed us to have some balance."
On Cincinnati's defense:
"This is the best defensive line we've played all year. This week, I was shocked watching Cincinnati's tape just based on what we all knew. I looked at the record and then I looked at the tape and went, 'that doesn't match up.' So, the challenge for the offensive line now is that Cincinnati, I'm guessing, could care less about what we've done up to this point with Ollie and the offensive line."
Offensive Lineman Jake Springfield
On continuing the improved blocking:
"I feel like just coming to work every day, being able to work out things. One thing our O-line coach says a lot is play like a fist – no weak links, just kind of stay together. Keep putting our work in every day at practice and then it keeps showing up on Saturdays."
On blocking for Ollie Gordon II:
"It's really nice, because there's a trust between him and us. Knowing that we're going to strain for the five or six seconds that we need to and he's going to hit the hole or he's going to make people miss, break a tackle and he can bust a long one. We got his back and I know that he's got our back."
Cornerback Korie Black
On OSU's strong special teams:
"People are willing to actually commit to the team and be willing to play special teams… A lot of us take a lot of pride in that. Also, we know that we can help the team win the game. It's really big for us and I think that's the biggest thing."
On being a leader for the defensive backs:
"I try to help everybody. That's the good thing about our room – we all communicate with each other. We can be like, 'hey, I saw this,' no matter how old we are. Anything that can help."
On the importance of a strong defensive front:
"It's really important. I think it's important for every defense. We're lucky to have a great defensive line, so we've got guys who are able to rush the quarterback really good… That makes our job easier, because that's less time we have to cover somebody. Instead of having to cover for four to five seconds, we have to do it for two to three seconds. It just makes our jobs easier."
Nose Tackle Collin Clay
On overcoming the early losses:
"It's great seeing everyone backing us up, because we were in a tough spot at one point. It felt like our backs were against the wall. We got to continue to keep fighting, losing is not fun. Nobody likes to lose, but you can't just put your head down and feel sorry for yourself. You got a 12-game season guaranteed, we have to keep working hard. Nobody's going to feel sorry for us. We are the ones who have to go out there and play. Everybody knows we have to fight for each other and we have to be one as a team, offense or defense. Regardless of that, we all have to be together."
On battling injury:
"Back then, I was quick to give up football after my second surgery. I didn't think it was going to be easy for me to come back from it mentally. I found myself putting my identity into football, so I didn't know what I was going to do without it. As bad as it was, unfortunately, it let me find out what I wanted to do. I plan on coaching. As unfortunate as it was, it was a good thing that I was able to figure out what I'm going to do outside of football."
Tight End Josiah Johnson
On playing reckless and physical:
"The coaches all week emphasized how physical of a game it was going to be. Telling us how much we got to bring it to them. That's what I tried to do. People always ask me, 'why do you just always run in there and try to hit people as hard as you can' and the best answer I can think of is because I see my brothers doing the same thing. If they are giving me all that effort, I'm going to try and give them even more. It's just for the love of not only my teammates, but also I love this game and I feel like it should be played that way. I try to go as hard as I can every time."
On turning the season around:
"That really comes down to some of the really known leaders on the team. They just reiterated that we can only go up as the season goes on and why not just play as hard as we can. We've taken a step forward with playing with a lot more reckless and really setting the tone. It really came down to some of those leaders really motivating us and Coach Gundy really made a big point of having a lot energy. All of us coming together and being excited and really wanting to win and not giving up."
Players Mentioned
CB
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NT
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RB
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TE
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OL
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