Oklahoma State University Athletics
Gundy, Cowboys Talk Win Over Jackrabbits, Meeting with Arkansas
September 02, 2024 | Cowboy Football
STILLWATER – Head coach Mike Gundy and several players met with the media Monday in Stillwater to discuss Oklahoma State's season-opening win over South Dakota State and next week's matchup with Arkansas. Here are some of their comments:
Head Coach Mike Gundy
On where he expects growth from week one to week two:
"Young players that were out there for the first time. So, a couple names would be Sesi (Vailahi), the running back, because he played last year some, but not a lot. Those guys will start to get better early in the year. Jeff Roberson, who played a number of snaps and hasn't really played before. That type of player that has a little experience, but now is asked to play a bigger role. That's where you'll see the most improvement."
On linebackers Collin Oliver and Kendal Daniels:
"Collin was excellent because he was playing a lot of the same location he did earlier in his career. Based on what they were doing and where he was located, that wasn't anything new to him. Kendal was good but has a lot of room for improvement because he's in an area that he's not as frequent with, or he hasn't been in as much. He should get better each week. Collin has had a lot of reps in the world he played in last Saturday."
On the offensive line's performance against SDSU:
"I thought they played good because they didn't give up any sacks. Bowman did a better job in this game of sitting in the pocket and not running out for no reason at all. That's what we have asked him to do and worked with him on that. We only had maybe one or two negative yardage plays; I think we lost three (yards) on one play and one or two on another. So, you always have to take that into consideration. That's a big part, sacks and negative yardage plays, a big part of the game."
On Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green:
"You've got to have a guy for him. When you are competing against a guy that has the ability to run, you have to take that into account in your structure of defense and style of play. So, we have plenty of ways to do that, because we see them quite a bit now. It's just a matter of being disciplined and making sure somebody has responsibility for the quarterback."
On Ring of Honor inductee Leslie O'Neal:
"I know Leslie was here in 1984 and I came in 1986, so really close. It's interesting though, we talk so much about Barry (Sanders) and Thurman (Thomas) because of the offensive position. But, as far as for players that were dominant here, he was as dominant defensively as Barry and Thurman were offensively. It's just not a position that people talk about a lot. Very moderately recruited from what I was told, he was a great player and had double-digit years in the NFL. Playing in the position he played in for double-digit years in the NFL is tough, but he's just a great player."
Wide Receiver Brennan Presley
On the win over South Dakota State:
"That was probably one of the most physical games I've been a part of. Just the way they play, you can see why they win so much. They all swarm to the ball, attack the ball and everybody on the team has great tackles. Just their hustle, pursuit and effort. Just how efficient they were in spots. Smart and really sound."
On the matchup with Arkansas:
"Big, physical, fast team. They're going to play hard, they're going to play sound. It's just going to be a dogfight. They got talent, we got talent, we got similar styles… I'm really excited. I love playing SEC teams, just getting out of conference. Just get that feel of something different."
Offensive Lineman Dalton Cooper
On Arkansas' defensive line:
"Their nose guards are very heavy. They're like 320 or 330 (pounds)… And then Landon Jackson, he's going to be a player to watch for because he's a projected first-round pick. We just got to treat them like we do every week. Just attack the day, don't get too far ahead in our minds and just stay humble and grounded."
On emphasizing the run game against Arkansas:
"We're just going to have to establish a run game early. Don't get me wrong, getting Rashod (Owens) and (De'Zhaun) Stribling and the rest of them to let us off the hook sometimes is nice, but we still need to establish a run game and get that going."
Defensive Lineman Iman Oates
On the defensive line's chemistry:
"We just got the chemistry, the brotherhood. It's easy for us to mesh. Everybody wants to see everybody be successful and do good. Just everybody being themselves, having a personality, loving each other and caring about each other, which Gundy preached a lot. Randolph preached it a lot. It's hard to beat a group of guys who want to play for each other."
On the defense's performance in the season opener:
"I feel like we played well. We had some mistakes, but that comes with the game. It's all about how you bounce back each play. Our coaches preach a lot about 'this play' mentality. Whether it's good or bad, you got to play the next play. Learning from mistakes we've made and keep building on that."
Linebacker Jeff Roberson
On his first career start:
"I couldn't have done it without my teammates. They did an excellent job. They executed well and they boxed the ball when they needed to. They simply did their job and everyone did their job as a team."
On his areas of growth from his freshman year:
"I would say using my hands. I would also say the defensive playbook. That's one of the things coming in as a freshman that's a big step up, and the games are a lot faster, so you pick up on that… Getting an understanding of what you need to do and doing your job is the biggest thing."
Head Coach Mike Gundy
On where he expects growth from week one to week two:
"Young players that were out there for the first time. So, a couple names would be Sesi (Vailahi), the running back, because he played last year some, but not a lot. Those guys will start to get better early in the year. Jeff Roberson, who played a number of snaps and hasn't really played before. That type of player that has a little experience, but now is asked to play a bigger role. That's where you'll see the most improvement."
On linebackers Collin Oliver and Kendal Daniels:
"Collin was excellent because he was playing a lot of the same location he did earlier in his career. Based on what they were doing and where he was located, that wasn't anything new to him. Kendal was good but has a lot of room for improvement because he's in an area that he's not as frequent with, or he hasn't been in as much. He should get better each week. Collin has had a lot of reps in the world he played in last Saturday."
On the offensive line's performance against SDSU:
"I thought they played good because they didn't give up any sacks. Bowman did a better job in this game of sitting in the pocket and not running out for no reason at all. That's what we have asked him to do and worked with him on that. We only had maybe one or two negative yardage plays; I think we lost three (yards) on one play and one or two on another. So, you always have to take that into consideration. That's a big part, sacks and negative yardage plays, a big part of the game."
On Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green:
"You've got to have a guy for him. When you are competing against a guy that has the ability to run, you have to take that into account in your structure of defense and style of play. So, we have plenty of ways to do that, because we see them quite a bit now. It's just a matter of being disciplined and making sure somebody has responsibility for the quarterback."
On Ring of Honor inductee Leslie O'Neal:
"I know Leslie was here in 1984 and I came in 1986, so really close. It's interesting though, we talk so much about Barry (Sanders) and Thurman (Thomas) because of the offensive position. But, as far as for players that were dominant here, he was as dominant defensively as Barry and Thurman were offensively. It's just not a position that people talk about a lot. Very moderately recruited from what I was told, he was a great player and had double-digit years in the NFL. Playing in the position he played in for double-digit years in the NFL is tough, but he's just a great player."
Wide Receiver Brennan Presley
On the win over South Dakota State:
"That was probably one of the most physical games I've been a part of. Just the way they play, you can see why they win so much. They all swarm to the ball, attack the ball and everybody on the team has great tackles. Just their hustle, pursuit and effort. Just how efficient they were in spots. Smart and really sound."
On the matchup with Arkansas:
"Big, physical, fast team. They're going to play hard, they're going to play sound. It's just going to be a dogfight. They got talent, we got talent, we got similar styles… I'm really excited. I love playing SEC teams, just getting out of conference. Just get that feel of something different."
Offensive Lineman Dalton Cooper
On Arkansas' defensive line:
"Their nose guards are very heavy. They're like 320 or 330 (pounds)… And then Landon Jackson, he's going to be a player to watch for because he's a projected first-round pick. We just got to treat them like we do every week. Just attack the day, don't get too far ahead in our minds and just stay humble and grounded."
On emphasizing the run game against Arkansas:
"We're just going to have to establish a run game early. Don't get me wrong, getting Rashod (Owens) and (De'Zhaun) Stribling and the rest of them to let us off the hook sometimes is nice, but we still need to establish a run game and get that going."
Defensive Lineman Iman Oates
On the defensive line's chemistry:
"We just got the chemistry, the brotherhood. It's easy for us to mesh. Everybody wants to see everybody be successful and do good. Just everybody being themselves, having a personality, loving each other and caring about each other, which Gundy preached a lot. Randolph preached it a lot. It's hard to beat a group of guys who want to play for each other."
On the defense's performance in the season opener:
"I feel like we played well. We had some mistakes, but that comes with the game. It's all about how you bounce back each play. Our coaches preach a lot about 'this play' mentality. Whether it's good or bad, you got to play the next play. Learning from mistakes we've made and keep building on that."
Linebacker Jeff Roberson
On his first career start:
"I couldn't have done it without my teammates. They did an excellent job. They executed well and they boxed the ball when they needed to. They simply did their job and everyone did their job as a team."
On his areas of growth from his freshman year:
"I would say using my hands. I would also say the defensive playbook. That's one of the things coming in as a freshman that's a big step up, and the games are a lot faster, so you pick up on that… Getting an understanding of what you need to do and doing your job is the biggest thing."
Players Mentioned
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