Oklahoma State University Athletics
Photo by: OSU Athletics
Gundy, Cowboys Meet with Media After Saturday’s Practice
August 10, 2024 | Cowboy Football
STILLWATER – Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy and several Cowboy student-athletes met with media following Saturday's football practice at Boone Pickens Stadium. Some of their comments:
Coach Mike Gundy
On Cameron Epps entering his second year:
"He's developing like he should. That's what guys do when they're freshman. Guys that have some talent, they're going to show up and make some plays, and then there's going to be times they get confused. There's so much more going on at this level than high school and at times they can hit a wall, which you've heard me mention that for years. Freshman can hit a wall where they're just not the same. … Very few players can go throughout an extended season when they're freshman and not hit that wall, but he's coming along now. He's seeing things better than what he did last year, just from an experience standpoint."
On the safeties:
"Well, the good news is that we'll play a considerable number of guys. That's what we want to be able to get accomplished to keep guys fresh. We're expecting that the depth we have allows us to grow and let guys stay healthy. Some of the issues that we deal with is that if a young player plays too much in his career early, then he gets tired and that works against him. Right now, we have some depth there, so guys can rotate through, but that should help us."
On Rashod Owens:
"He falls in the category with Ollie (Gordon II) and (Alan) Bowman and Brennan (Presley) and some of the veteran guys, Korie (Black), (Kody) Waltersheid, Nick (Martin), they have to train, practice and have a better attitude and work harder than they ever have in their career if they want this team to win this year, and he's done that. One thing about him, he competes. When he goes on the field, he competes. When he goes on the practice field, he competes. He doesn't shy away from anything. That's the most important thing that he can do for our team."
On working in younger players:
"Well, I'd love to do that. They're getting a lot of reps in practice. It's not the same but, you guys know, you've watched me forever, as soon as we get in a position, we're going to put other guys in and let them play. We don't leave guys in for statistics or to run the score up. We've never done that. We want other guys in so they can play. One, because they've earned it in practice. That's what they want to do is play in games. Their moms and dads deserve to see them play, and the experience they get being out there in a game is very important. That's not something we can replace."
On the versatility of Kendal Daniels and Collin Oliver:
"Yeah, there's times Kendal will play back and there's times he'll come down. We showed some of that in the bowl game, so it's the same depending on what personnel the offense is using and different formations and who we're playing will determine that side of it, and then Collin will move around and play second level some. We'll walk him up. We'll bring him some. We'll bring him from depth. (We're) moving those guys around and just trying to use all the skillset they have at this time. Most of it will depend on who we're playing."
Safety Cameron Epps
On the competition in the defensive back room:
"It's been good. It's been healthy. It's been really competitive for everybody going in and trying to get better every day. It's been good to see everyone out there with high energy and going out and making plays."
On his role this season:
"I feel like the position that I play, well, I'm playing the same position, but like my alignment, I feel like I'm a little closer, so that'll be better for my coverage skills and whatnot. I would say I feel way more confident. You know, last year I had just made the switch to safety from corner, I would say it's more natural for me now."
Cornerback Cam Smith
On being in year two in Coach Nardo's defense:
"It's fun, I mean it has not changed too much. He preaches a lot of the same things to us every day and they are the same things he preached last season for the most part. So, not too much."
On the changes he's seen in himself from year one to year two:
"I'm way more confident than I was this time last year. My confidence is much higher, and I feel much more comfortable out there."
On the defense growing in experience:
"I would say, personally, for me, we're more confident as a group but that's just how I feel, it could be different for somebody else. I feel like everybody out there who might have been young last year has come into their own a little bit more so far."
Wide Receiver Rashod Owens
On what he enjoys most about being a leader to younger guys:
"Leading by example. A lot of young guys look up to me, so I'll say being able to perform and show them how the work's done, how to perform here and how to get the coaches to like what they see about the younger guys and everything. So I feel like that's a big happy part of my life, and just my play style and teaching the young guys how to get things done the right way."
On If he's comfortable now knowing he's one of the go-to guys on the team:
"I wouldn't say I'm comfortable, but I'm always going to come out like I'm not up top, you know. I'm going to always come out and perform and try to fight, act like I'm fighting for a spot … I am basically fighting for a spot every day."
On playing alongside an elite offensive line:
"Having a line that's super experienced and that's really old, we know they're comfortable enough to get the job done. That gives time for the running back to create a hole, that gives time for receivers to run the routes, and quarterbacks time to read the defense, to find open spots. So, it's really good that we got a super experienced offensive line, and we're truly blessed that we got the guys coming back."
Offensive Lineman Cole Birmingham
On if the line can be coached more even with their veteran nature:
"I mean, like I said, there's always something to be learned. I'm learning something new every day. All of us are, so we don't want to be complacent. We want to learn new techniques or new skills every day."
On if the offensive line is further along than last year:
"I mean, we've seen a few things from the experience, but there's so many things that we haven't seen. So yeah, you could say we're further along, but we're never thinking that way."
On how the older guys help turnaround rough patches with the team such as the bad practice:
"We got to just address them when they happen, but things are going to happen. We're going to try and be a disciplined team, you know, so we're going to eliminate as many as we can, but just hold ourselves accountable on those."
Coach Mike Gundy
On Cameron Epps entering his second year:
"He's developing like he should. That's what guys do when they're freshman. Guys that have some talent, they're going to show up and make some plays, and then there's going to be times they get confused. There's so much more going on at this level than high school and at times they can hit a wall, which you've heard me mention that for years. Freshman can hit a wall where they're just not the same. … Very few players can go throughout an extended season when they're freshman and not hit that wall, but he's coming along now. He's seeing things better than what he did last year, just from an experience standpoint."
On the safeties:
"Well, the good news is that we'll play a considerable number of guys. That's what we want to be able to get accomplished to keep guys fresh. We're expecting that the depth we have allows us to grow and let guys stay healthy. Some of the issues that we deal with is that if a young player plays too much in his career early, then he gets tired and that works against him. Right now, we have some depth there, so guys can rotate through, but that should help us."
On Rashod Owens:
"He falls in the category with Ollie (Gordon II) and (Alan) Bowman and Brennan (Presley) and some of the veteran guys, Korie (Black), (Kody) Waltersheid, Nick (Martin), they have to train, practice and have a better attitude and work harder than they ever have in their career if they want this team to win this year, and he's done that. One thing about him, he competes. When he goes on the field, he competes. When he goes on the practice field, he competes. He doesn't shy away from anything. That's the most important thing that he can do for our team."
On working in younger players:
"Well, I'd love to do that. They're getting a lot of reps in practice. It's not the same but, you guys know, you've watched me forever, as soon as we get in a position, we're going to put other guys in and let them play. We don't leave guys in for statistics or to run the score up. We've never done that. We want other guys in so they can play. One, because they've earned it in practice. That's what they want to do is play in games. Their moms and dads deserve to see them play, and the experience they get being out there in a game is very important. That's not something we can replace."
On the versatility of Kendal Daniels and Collin Oliver:
"Yeah, there's times Kendal will play back and there's times he'll come down. We showed some of that in the bowl game, so it's the same depending on what personnel the offense is using and different formations and who we're playing will determine that side of it, and then Collin will move around and play second level some. We'll walk him up. We'll bring him some. We'll bring him from depth. (We're) moving those guys around and just trying to use all the skillset they have at this time. Most of it will depend on who we're playing."
Safety Cameron Epps
On the competition in the defensive back room:
"It's been good. It's been healthy. It's been really competitive for everybody going in and trying to get better every day. It's been good to see everyone out there with high energy and going out and making plays."
On his role this season:
"I feel like the position that I play, well, I'm playing the same position, but like my alignment, I feel like I'm a little closer, so that'll be better for my coverage skills and whatnot. I would say I feel way more confident. You know, last year I had just made the switch to safety from corner, I would say it's more natural for me now."
Cornerback Cam Smith
On being in year two in Coach Nardo's defense:
"It's fun, I mean it has not changed too much. He preaches a lot of the same things to us every day and they are the same things he preached last season for the most part. So, not too much."
On the changes he's seen in himself from year one to year two:
"I'm way more confident than I was this time last year. My confidence is much higher, and I feel much more comfortable out there."
On the defense growing in experience:
"I would say, personally, for me, we're more confident as a group but that's just how I feel, it could be different for somebody else. I feel like everybody out there who might have been young last year has come into their own a little bit more so far."
Wide Receiver Rashod Owens
On what he enjoys most about being a leader to younger guys:
"Leading by example. A lot of young guys look up to me, so I'll say being able to perform and show them how the work's done, how to perform here and how to get the coaches to like what they see about the younger guys and everything. So I feel like that's a big happy part of my life, and just my play style and teaching the young guys how to get things done the right way."
On If he's comfortable now knowing he's one of the go-to guys on the team:
"I wouldn't say I'm comfortable, but I'm always going to come out like I'm not up top, you know. I'm going to always come out and perform and try to fight, act like I'm fighting for a spot … I am basically fighting for a spot every day."
On playing alongside an elite offensive line:
"Having a line that's super experienced and that's really old, we know they're comfortable enough to get the job done. That gives time for the running back to create a hole, that gives time for receivers to run the routes, and quarterbacks time to read the defense, to find open spots. So, it's really good that we got a super experienced offensive line, and we're truly blessed that we got the guys coming back."
Offensive Lineman Cole Birmingham
On if the line can be coached more even with their veteran nature:
"I mean, like I said, there's always something to be learned. I'm learning something new every day. All of us are, so we don't want to be complacent. We want to learn new techniques or new skills every day."
On if the offensive line is further along than last year:
"I mean, we've seen a few things from the experience, but there's so many things that we haven't seen. So yeah, you could say we're further along, but we're never thinking that way."
On how the older guys help turnaround rough patches with the team such as the bad practice:
"We got to just address them when they happen, but things are going to happen. We're going to try and be a disciplined team, you know, so we're going to eliminate as many as we can, but just hold ourselves accountable on those."
Players Mentioned
OL
/ Cowboy Football
S
/ Cowboy Football
S
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LB
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WR
/ Cowboy Football
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