Oklahoma State University Athletics
Photo by: OSU Athletics
Gundy, Players Meet with Media to Preview South Dakota State Game
August 22, 2024 | Cowboy Football
STILLWATER – Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy and several players met with media Thursday to preview the season opening game against South Dakota State. Some of their comments:
Coach Mike Gundy
On scheduling South Dakota State as a nonconference game:
"Those games are scheduled way further than a couple of years back, and this team has really come on over the last four or five years – particularly the head coach; he has never lost a game – and they won a bunch of games in a row. The point being is that this is a really good game for us, as I said months ago. Essentially, we're playing a high-level nonconference schedule and this team can compete with the power four schools, which they've proven to do."
On OSU's defensive line experience:
"I just think they're just better overall. They're experienced. I think they're in good condition. They practice hard. We've had very competitive practices up front on both sides of the ball, because they're working against each other. We've worked ones versus ones from the start, and it'll be interesting over the next month to see where we're at. It'll take three or four games to find out just how good we are, or where we're at, or what adjustments we need to make."
On Kendal Daniels playing at linebacker and safety:
"We thought this would happen based on his body, and he still has a way to go. There's times that we play him down there based on what concepts and schemes we're going against that week. He's come a long way, and again, it'll be really interesting. Then see how he develops the first month, the teams we're playing, non-conference games, and then even in-conference teams that play with a lot of heavy personnel, which we'll use in that position. It'll be interesting to watch and see how far we've developed him when we get to the first of October."
On linebacker Jeff Roberson:
"Jeff is a really good illustration of some of the guys that have been here for a long time, even back in my playing days, but specifically in 20 years with me as the head coach. (He was) really non-recruited, local guy, has a lot of pride in the state of Oklahoma, has a lot of pride in being from this area and playing for Oklahoma State and loves Oklahoma State. … I see him playing more reps in games this year, and we'll follow along to see how he picks up on that in live games, because it's much different, as you know, than practice. But he is much bigger; stronger. He is intelligent. He's developed some toughness and he does love Oklahoma State, so that gives him a real chance in fitting with our culture to compete here and finish his career here on the field."
On the South Dakota State defense:
"They're very sound, get lined up in the right spot, unless they've made changes, which I don't see that happening. I'm fairly certain their head coach is a defensive guy. I think he's been there since 2011 or 2012 in the defensive role, and they've been very, very good since he's been there, statistically and from a performance standpoint. So they don't have to change a lot in what they do and as I said earlier, it's the first game of the year. There's a lot of unknowns out there, but I just don't see them changing from what they do. They're playing four down and they split safeties most of the time and they're going to try to be in the right spot and keep things in front of them. They're going to play with contain. They're going to run to the ball and tackle."
On how Ollie Gordon's progress in the weight room can translate to the field:
"He looks good. He's a kid, he's growing. His thighs are pretty big, you don't know it though because he's so long and gangly. He's still four to five years away from fully developing. He does a decent job of eating, and he's been training with Coach (Rob) Glass. If he'll continue to work in the gym when he goes to the NFL, if he'll continue to take care of his body and training in the weight room how he has been with Coach Glass, then he's going to develop until he's 27-28 years old."
On how he plans to utilize Gavin Freeman and Da'Wain Lofton:
"Both of them will be in slot receiver roles and we'll find ways to get them the ball. Lofton is more of a pure receiver/return type guy. Gavin is a returner, but also a receiver/running back, Brennan Presley style-player, where they do a lot of things with the ball. Lofton's receiving skills at this point are a little further ahead. Gavin Freeman ran 22 miles-an-hour in a game last year, so his ability to get the ball and run really fast and make great plays, is pretty good."
On what it means to be entering his 20th season at Oklahoma State:
"Well, I've been very fortunate. It's extremely difficult to be in this profession for 20 years, even more difficult to be 20 years as a head coach and maybe even a little more difficult to be at the same place. You know, once you get past seven years, Mike Leach said that you make a lot of enemies in the same location. That's why you got to stay on the move. So I've been very fortunate to be here a long time, and a lot of good things have happened. We've had great people here and we've gotten very fortunate to have tough kids, really tough young men who love to play football who were willing to compete at a high level and play at Oklahoma State. So I've been very fortunate."
Quarterback Alan Bowman
On his biggest improvements since last year's season opener:
"Definitely just understanding the offense, going through progressions and understanding what the goal is as an offense and as a team. Tightening up a base. Feel like I kind of got wide sometimes and couldn't get through my throws, so really shortening up my base. And then, just confidence within the offense and being able to make some throws in later progressions."
On what he's seen from South Dakota State:
"Everyone's talking about it. Twenty-night (wins) in a row, back-to-back national champions. They have a winning culture for a reason… I think they're a really good team. They're disciplined, they know what to do. They're never in the wrong spot, so we're going to have to be extremely disciplined and take it to them."
Running Back Ollie Gordon II
On the team's versatility:
"Whatever Coach Dunn feels is right, whatever's working for us that day. We're a very versatile team. We can run it, we can throw it, so it'll be a bunch of stuff we put in there. I just feel having Coach Gundy and Coach Glass, they just push us towards the end of things. We get to the end of the practice, and they just push us even harder."
On increased comfortability in communication:
"You can just tell that they've been working together for a long time, that we've been a team for a minute. Same team from last year, so we communicate different. We're able to communicate without people feeling like we stepped on toes or anything. I feel that's a great thing for us."
Linebacker Nick Martin
On his takeaways from Kendal Daniels' move to linebacker:
"Just how natural he is. I remember back in the winter when me and him would get some work in. Getting down the fundamentals of linebacker and steps, keys, all that type of stuff. It came to him naturally. Coverage is not going to be a problem. He played safety, so that's a strong suit now."
On fall camp:
"This past fall camp has probably been the most physically challenging that I've been a part of, but it builds that endurance that you need throughout the whole season. I think it's going to pay off real well for us."
Linebacker Collin Oliver
On final preparation for the season opener:
"It feels good. We're preparing well. The practices leading up to the game are always most important. So, we're on the final stretch of camp right now. I think it's been going real well and the feeling's good."
On playing multiple positions:
"You know me by now. Anything for the team, I'm willing to do. The position I'm in, I love it. I'm on the edge some and I'm playing linebacker a little bit as well. It's a cool thing to have happen and I just love the defense we're in right now."
Coach Mike Gundy
On scheduling South Dakota State as a nonconference game:
"Those games are scheduled way further than a couple of years back, and this team has really come on over the last four or five years – particularly the head coach; he has never lost a game – and they won a bunch of games in a row. The point being is that this is a really good game for us, as I said months ago. Essentially, we're playing a high-level nonconference schedule and this team can compete with the power four schools, which they've proven to do."
On OSU's defensive line experience:
"I just think they're just better overall. They're experienced. I think they're in good condition. They practice hard. We've had very competitive practices up front on both sides of the ball, because they're working against each other. We've worked ones versus ones from the start, and it'll be interesting over the next month to see where we're at. It'll take three or four games to find out just how good we are, or where we're at, or what adjustments we need to make."
On Kendal Daniels playing at linebacker and safety:
"We thought this would happen based on his body, and he still has a way to go. There's times that we play him down there based on what concepts and schemes we're going against that week. He's come a long way, and again, it'll be really interesting. Then see how he develops the first month, the teams we're playing, non-conference games, and then even in-conference teams that play with a lot of heavy personnel, which we'll use in that position. It'll be interesting to watch and see how far we've developed him when we get to the first of October."
On linebacker Jeff Roberson:
"Jeff is a really good illustration of some of the guys that have been here for a long time, even back in my playing days, but specifically in 20 years with me as the head coach. (He was) really non-recruited, local guy, has a lot of pride in the state of Oklahoma, has a lot of pride in being from this area and playing for Oklahoma State and loves Oklahoma State. … I see him playing more reps in games this year, and we'll follow along to see how he picks up on that in live games, because it's much different, as you know, than practice. But he is much bigger; stronger. He is intelligent. He's developed some toughness and he does love Oklahoma State, so that gives him a real chance in fitting with our culture to compete here and finish his career here on the field."
On the South Dakota State defense:
"They're very sound, get lined up in the right spot, unless they've made changes, which I don't see that happening. I'm fairly certain their head coach is a defensive guy. I think he's been there since 2011 or 2012 in the defensive role, and they've been very, very good since he's been there, statistically and from a performance standpoint. So they don't have to change a lot in what they do and as I said earlier, it's the first game of the year. There's a lot of unknowns out there, but I just don't see them changing from what they do. They're playing four down and they split safeties most of the time and they're going to try to be in the right spot and keep things in front of them. They're going to play with contain. They're going to run to the ball and tackle."
On how Ollie Gordon's progress in the weight room can translate to the field:
"He looks good. He's a kid, he's growing. His thighs are pretty big, you don't know it though because he's so long and gangly. He's still four to five years away from fully developing. He does a decent job of eating, and he's been training with Coach (Rob) Glass. If he'll continue to work in the gym when he goes to the NFL, if he'll continue to take care of his body and training in the weight room how he has been with Coach Glass, then he's going to develop until he's 27-28 years old."
On how he plans to utilize Gavin Freeman and Da'Wain Lofton:
"Both of them will be in slot receiver roles and we'll find ways to get them the ball. Lofton is more of a pure receiver/return type guy. Gavin is a returner, but also a receiver/running back, Brennan Presley style-player, where they do a lot of things with the ball. Lofton's receiving skills at this point are a little further ahead. Gavin Freeman ran 22 miles-an-hour in a game last year, so his ability to get the ball and run really fast and make great plays, is pretty good."
On what it means to be entering his 20th season at Oklahoma State:
"Well, I've been very fortunate. It's extremely difficult to be in this profession for 20 years, even more difficult to be 20 years as a head coach and maybe even a little more difficult to be at the same place. You know, once you get past seven years, Mike Leach said that you make a lot of enemies in the same location. That's why you got to stay on the move. So I've been very fortunate to be here a long time, and a lot of good things have happened. We've had great people here and we've gotten very fortunate to have tough kids, really tough young men who love to play football who were willing to compete at a high level and play at Oklahoma State. So I've been very fortunate."
Quarterback Alan Bowman
On his biggest improvements since last year's season opener:
"Definitely just understanding the offense, going through progressions and understanding what the goal is as an offense and as a team. Tightening up a base. Feel like I kind of got wide sometimes and couldn't get through my throws, so really shortening up my base. And then, just confidence within the offense and being able to make some throws in later progressions."
On what he's seen from South Dakota State:
"Everyone's talking about it. Twenty-night (wins) in a row, back-to-back national champions. They have a winning culture for a reason… I think they're a really good team. They're disciplined, they know what to do. They're never in the wrong spot, so we're going to have to be extremely disciplined and take it to them."
Running Back Ollie Gordon II
On the team's versatility:
"Whatever Coach Dunn feels is right, whatever's working for us that day. We're a very versatile team. We can run it, we can throw it, so it'll be a bunch of stuff we put in there. I just feel having Coach Gundy and Coach Glass, they just push us towards the end of things. We get to the end of the practice, and they just push us even harder."
On increased comfortability in communication:
"You can just tell that they've been working together for a long time, that we've been a team for a minute. Same team from last year, so we communicate different. We're able to communicate without people feeling like we stepped on toes or anything. I feel that's a great thing for us."
Linebacker Nick Martin
On his takeaways from Kendal Daniels' move to linebacker:
"Just how natural he is. I remember back in the winter when me and him would get some work in. Getting down the fundamentals of linebacker and steps, keys, all that type of stuff. It came to him naturally. Coverage is not going to be a problem. He played safety, so that's a strong suit now."
On fall camp:
"This past fall camp has probably been the most physically challenging that I've been a part of, but it builds that endurance that you need throughout the whole season. I think it's going to pay off real well for us."
Linebacker Collin Oliver
On final preparation for the season opener:
"It feels good. We're preparing well. The practices leading up to the game are always most important. So, we're on the final stretch of camp right now. I think it's been going real well and the feeling's good."
On playing multiple positions:
"You know me by now. Anything for the team, I'm willing to do. The position I'm in, I love it. I'm on the edge some and I'm playing linebacker a little bit as well. It's a cool thing to have happen and I just love the defense we're in right now."
Players Mentioned
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RB
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WR
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LB
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LB
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WR
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LB
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