Oklahoma State University Athletics
Gundy and Cowboys Speak About Fourth Week of Spring Football
April 10, 2023 | Cowboy Football
STILLWATER – Mike Gundy and select OSU players met with media to commence its fourth week of spring practice on Monday. Here is some of what they had to say:
Head Coach Mike Gundy
Opening Statement:
"It's week four for us. Things are still going well. We're staying healthy. Guys are getting more reps. We're done with installs, so not putting anything else in, in any of the three phases. Now we're just trying to get as many reps as we can coming back into the individual period. More full-speed team periods, other than tackling, getting guys some quality work. So spring's been good. I enjoyed every day, watching the coach and players working at it. I couldn't ask for anything else."
On teaching schemes to a bunch of new faces:
"It's going good. I wish I could come here and give you some bad news or I could come here and say it's not going smooth, but the players are really eager. I'm going to go back to what I said a few weeks ago, one of the advantages of the portal is you have a large number of guys that chose to be here. So what happens is you have mature players that choose to be on the team so that kind of spreads among the other guys, because it's human nature for all of us when we get into a routine. It's the same old, 'I've been here two years, I've been here three years, been here four years it's the same thing. Maybe there's something else out there I want to do.' Well, these guys are choosing to be here, so the excitement level, the enthusiasm and their maturity has really helped."
On the secondary:
"Those guys are making strides in the spring. They're making mistakes. We went over it quite a bit this morning with the defensive staff but we've wanted to be in a position where they can make a mistake, be graded and corrected and see if we can get better at today's practice. That's what we're getting out of all these reps. The encouraging side of it is that we feel like we've done a good job at recruiting the type of athletes, the body, the character and the football awareness that we need to help us. Now we just got to get them a little bit of experience."
On defensive coordinator Bryan Nardo:
"There's two things that I've seen from him when I've gone to pry information from him. One, he's never been in a situation where he's had this many people coaching on one side of the ball with that many resources. Wherever he's coached there's been three coaches on the entire side of the defense. Now he has all the resources we have, with student assistants, quality control, all the different things that we have. He's pleased that he's able to distribute and spread the wealth amongst everybody with responsibilities. He's interested in watching video that he brings over to see where we're at. He can add to his package based on the athleticism that we have."
Cornerback Korie Black
On this spring:
"It's been fun! I feel like I've grown as a player but our whole position group has grown as well. This spring has been very interesting."
On which guys have stepped up:
"All of us have stepped up, the biggest thing is that we have all matured. It's been really good."
On the change between defensive coordinators:
"The change has been fine, we just have to keep working."
Offensive Lineman Jake Springfield
On the young offensive lineman:
"We're happy to have them, I can see that they're improving everyday. All the guys, myself, we're all trying to help them learn the plays, help them learn the technique and help them every single day. We're definitely seeing improvements in their development.
On having someone devoted to playing center:
"It's very good. It goes back to we have more depth now and everyone trusts each other. I know the guy next to me and the guy behind me will have my back and everyone else has my back. It is very good to have this going forward."
On playing more physical and nastier:
"That's a big factor of what we're doing this spring. Our main focus for offensive line specifically is to be more downhill, be nasty, get up on backers, double-teams, push guys back, and become more attitude players."
Defensive Tackle Xavier Ross
On his time at Oklahoma State thus far:
"I've really been trying to trust the process with coach (Rob) Glass and coach (Joe Bob) Clements. Just showing up every day, coming in ready to work. That's really all I'm trying to do, I wasn't pressing to get onto the field. I'm just trying to do what my coaches tell me to do to the best of my ability and it's paid off for me."
On the defense as a whole:
"This is one of the closest defenses I've been on. It takes me back to that Fiesta Bowl season. Everyone gets along with each other. There isn't a guy on the defense that I can't call or talk to, and likewise, they can all call and reach out to me if they need anything. That's good to have, it brings trust off the field and onto the field. It makes us more dominant together."
On the change in defensive schemes:
"I feel like this is showing my versatility, to be able to play three or two out of the five positions. It gives me a lot more room to show my athleticism, so I can move against a guy my size. I'm just ready to play on Saturdays and for the fans."
Wide Receiver Blaine Green
On switching positions:
"I'm just trying to fit my role on this team to the best of my ability. I dropped some weight, I feel a little bit faster. I definitely feel like it's a good position to have. I'm definitely doing a lot on this offense. Whatever I can do to contribute to this team and make plays so we can go get that Big 12 Championship, that's out main goal this season.
On earning more reps after an injury last season:
"I'm not a big watcher. Watching people play rather than playing puts a hole in my heart. Being off the field, it makes you realize how much you really miss the game of football. Every day, I'm not taking anything for granted. I'll come out here and put my work in and try to get better."
On finding a different role while recovering from injuries:
"I have family and really good teammates to support me. They know I like to play football, it's my first love. So, it's finding your identity and other things besides football, whether it be the classroom, my fraternity, or just your other teammates. Finding a different role on the team you might not have playing on the field, but be behind your teammates. Go in the film room and help them with little things off the field so that you can make your teammates better."
Head Coach Mike Gundy
Opening Statement:
"It's week four for us. Things are still going well. We're staying healthy. Guys are getting more reps. We're done with installs, so not putting anything else in, in any of the three phases. Now we're just trying to get as many reps as we can coming back into the individual period. More full-speed team periods, other than tackling, getting guys some quality work. So spring's been good. I enjoyed every day, watching the coach and players working at it. I couldn't ask for anything else."
On teaching schemes to a bunch of new faces:
"It's going good. I wish I could come here and give you some bad news or I could come here and say it's not going smooth, but the players are really eager. I'm going to go back to what I said a few weeks ago, one of the advantages of the portal is you have a large number of guys that chose to be here. So what happens is you have mature players that choose to be on the team so that kind of spreads among the other guys, because it's human nature for all of us when we get into a routine. It's the same old, 'I've been here two years, I've been here three years, been here four years it's the same thing. Maybe there's something else out there I want to do.' Well, these guys are choosing to be here, so the excitement level, the enthusiasm and their maturity has really helped."
On the secondary:
"Those guys are making strides in the spring. They're making mistakes. We went over it quite a bit this morning with the defensive staff but we've wanted to be in a position where they can make a mistake, be graded and corrected and see if we can get better at today's practice. That's what we're getting out of all these reps. The encouraging side of it is that we feel like we've done a good job at recruiting the type of athletes, the body, the character and the football awareness that we need to help us. Now we just got to get them a little bit of experience."
On defensive coordinator Bryan Nardo:
"There's two things that I've seen from him when I've gone to pry information from him. One, he's never been in a situation where he's had this many people coaching on one side of the ball with that many resources. Wherever he's coached there's been three coaches on the entire side of the defense. Now he has all the resources we have, with student assistants, quality control, all the different things that we have. He's pleased that he's able to distribute and spread the wealth amongst everybody with responsibilities. He's interested in watching video that he brings over to see where we're at. He can add to his package based on the athleticism that we have."
Cornerback Korie Black
On this spring:
"It's been fun! I feel like I've grown as a player but our whole position group has grown as well. This spring has been very interesting."
On which guys have stepped up:
"All of us have stepped up, the biggest thing is that we have all matured. It's been really good."
On the change between defensive coordinators:
"The change has been fine, we just have to keep working."
Offensive Lineman Jake Springfield
On the young offensive lineman:
"We're happy to have them, I can see that they're improving everyday. All the guys, myself, we're all trying to help them learn the plays, help them learn the technique and help them every single day. We're definitely seeing improvements in their development.
On having someone devoted to playing center:
"It's very good. It goes back to we have more depth now and everyone trusts each other. I know the guy next to me and the guy behind me will have my back and everyone else has my back. It is very good to have this going forward."
On playing more physical and nastier:
"That's a big factor of what we're doing this spring. Our main focus for offensive line specifically is to be more downhill, be nasty, get up on backers, double-teams, push guys back, and become more attitude players."
Defensive Tackle Xavier Ross
On his time at Oklahoma State thus far:
"I've really been trying to trust the process with coach (Rob) Glass and coach (Joe Bob) Clements. Just showing up every day, coming in ready to work. That's really all I'm trying to do, I wasn't pressing to get onto the field. I'm just trying to do what my coaches tell me to do to the best of my ability and it's paid off for me."
On the defense as a whole:
"This is one of the closest defenses I've been on. It takes me back to that Fiesta Bowl season. Everyone gets along with each other. There isn't a guy on the defense that I can't call or talk to, and likewise, they can all call and reach out to me if they need anything. That's good to have, it brings trust off the field and onto the field. It makes us more dominant together."
On the change in defensive schemes:
"I feel like this is showing my versatility, to be able to play three or two out of the five positions. It gives me a lot more room to show my athleticism, so I can move against a guy my size. I'm just ready to play on Saturdays and for the fans."
Wide Receiver Blaine Green
On switching positions:
"I'm just trying to fit my role on this team to the best of my ability. I dropped some weight, I feel a little bit faster. I definitely feel like it's a good position to have. I'm definitely doing a lot on this offense. Whatever I can do to contribute to this team and make plays so we can go get that Big 12 Championship, that's out main goal this season.
On earning more reps after an injury last season:
"I'm not a big watcher. Watching people play rather than playing puts a hole in my heart. Being off the field, it makes you realize how much you really miss the game of football. Every day, I'm not taking anything for granted. I'll come out here and put my work in and try to get better."
On finding a different role while recovering from injuries:
"I have family and really good teammates to support me. They know I like to play football, it's my first love. So, it's finding your identity and other things besides football, whether it be the classroom, my fraternity, or just your other teammates. Finding a different role on the team you might not have playing on the field, but be behind your teammates. Go in the film room and help them with little things off the field so that you can make your teammates better."
Players Mentioned
CB
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WR
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DE
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OL
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