Gundy addresses myriad issues during Tulsa appearance
Published: 7/31/2007 11:11 PM
Last Modified: 7/31/2007 11:11 PM
On Tuesday, Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy was in Tulsa to address a standing-room-only crowd of 800 at a Renaissance Hotel ballroom. Here are excerpts from his exchange with the fans:
* Gundy on the status of injured wide receiver Artrell Woods; ``What I was told is, he's three months away from knowing if there was permanent damage or not. That's just the way it is with a back injury. As far as he's come in a short amount of time, he looks great. He was back in Stillwater and was rehabbing in our treadmill whirlpool. He was walking and doing his rehab, and then he actually started to try and run. (OSU medical personnel) are going to have to hold him back a little bit. He's been walking with a walker 300 or 400 feet a day. The other day, he actually walked 50 feet without a walker, which is really good for having a major back surgery. He wanted me to tell the Oklahoma State people how thankful he was for all of the e-mails and notes and cards. It's been overwhelming. His attitude is tremendous. He thinks he's going to play again, and he's coming along so quickly. We want him back in the everyday flow. We want him in class, in study hall, in meetings and around our players. He can stay in a daily (routine) and not just sit around and think about what happened.''
* A fan said to Gundy, ``I just want to know if we're going to beat OU.'' The crowd erupted into cheers and applause. Gundy's response: ``That's what you want – expectations. Why would you want to coach at a place where people didn't have expectations? We enjoy that. Yes, (beating OU) is exactly what we plan on doing.''
* Fifteen minutes later, the same fan again had the microphone: ``I have a follow-up question to the first one I had,'' he said. ``How bad are we going to beat OU?'' Gundy paused before saying, ``Any other questions?''
* Gundy on OSU's defense in 2007: ``Football has changed dramatically, but it still comes down to whether you are a physical football team. You still have to hit people. Tougher teams usually win. I think you'll see our team become better hitters and better tacklers. When I talk to the defense, I tell them that I don't care who gets hit. I just want someone to get hit. You'll see much more of an attacking-style defense.''
* One fan said to Gundy, ``After a game (in 2005), you came by our (tailgate party). We were so shocked that I never had a chance to thank you. So, thank you.'' Gundy's response: ``(Wife) Kristen and I, after every home game, we go out into the parking lots and spend time with the tailgaters. We want to thank people for being part of Oklahoma State. This is what makes me proud about Oklahoma State -- when I go out and talk to these people, guess what? They graduated from Stillwater. They graduated from Oklahoma State. They say, `My grandfather graduated from here. I graduated from here. My kids have no choice – they're going to school here.' It's the same with my kids. Go to Oklahoma State, or go do something else.''
* A fan asked about the impact of the Independence Bowl triumph over Alabama, and whether OSU has learned how to win close games. Gundy's response: ``It worked out for the best. As a coach, you get concerned about the intangibles of learning how to win. We had lost so many close games; in the back of my mind, I was wondering if it would affect our team. We learned how to overcome in the national spotlight, in a big game, right before offseason. It's been really good for our players from that point on.''
* Gundy on whether OSU will regularly play two quarterbacks (Bobby Reid and Zac Robinson): ``Bobby and Zac have a relationship now where we're able to use both of them. Part of being a good football coach is being able to take what you have, and giving yourself a chance to win. As Zac has continued to progress, he can do some things to help us move the ball and score points. He'll play quarterback some in games. He'll play receiver some. We can put him at the running back position and move him around and do some different things. I hope Bobby stays healthy from start to finish, but in this league, a lot of quarterbacks get banged around. You want a guy to come in that has had a little experience.''
* Gundy on the opposition of other Big 12 teams to Oklahoma State's satellite teaching camps in Texas: ``A lot of the student-athletes don't have the opportunity financially to get to our camp in Stillwater, so we go to Texas and run five camps. We travel around the state, different locations. We spend three hours running a camp. It gives us a chance to spend time with those coaches and players. We coach. We teach. It's been termed a `recruiting camp,' but we coach and teach. There are schools that don't like us doing that. They don't want us going into Texas and running camps. They feel like it gives us opportunities to (develop) relationships with coaches and players there – giving us advantages that maybe we shouldn't have. I just look at it as free enterprise. They had a vote in the Big 12 to eliminate it, and it was 11-1 against it. The one school for it was Oklahoma State. They're fired up about us doing it, I guess.''
* Gundy on whether OSU might go with the orange jersey-orange pants look for all home games. The Cowboys wore the orange-orange combo for last year's Bedlam game: ``There are so many opinions on what we should do. We tried to go with a style that was (popular) with players. Believe it or not, it has an effect on recruiting. We're with Nike. Nike affects recruiting. Players want to go to a school that has Nike. Our uniforms (white jersey-orange pants at home, all white on the road) – at this point, we'll continue to do that.''
* On OSU's linebackers: ``Probably the deepest part of our football team. Experienced players. I look for them (to compensate) for some youth on the interior part of our defensive line. We're really excited about (the linebackers). We're really two-deep. We moved Donovan Woods to an outside 'backer position. Everybody knows how I feel about Donovan Woods. He's always been one of my favorites because he does everything right. He's 232 pounds and now he's playing closer to the line. I joked with him the other day in the weight room. I asked him how many tackles he had last year. He said 64. I said, `You need to get 90 tackles this year.' He said he'd get a hundred.''
* On the surgically repaired knee and overall status of sophomore linebacker Chris Collins, who has ongoing legal issues in Texarkana, Texas: ``He's quiet and works hard and has done everything he's supposed to do since he's been in Stillwater. I don't have a clue what's going to go on down there. I just know that our staff did a very thorough investigation before he came here. Do I think he'll be here? Yes. He's 228 pounds and he can run and hit. (Collins' knee) is doing good.
* On the status of freshman defensive end Richetti Jones, a nationally renowned recruit who missed half of his high school senior season because of a dislocated hip: ``He bench-pressed 350 pounds. That's pretty good for a freshman – especially for a defensive end that weighs only 247 pounds. The question is whether he can hold up through two-a-days. He hasn't done anything in 10 months. He might get right back into it and go, or it may take a little time.''
* On first-year freshman Jared Glover, a former Bixby All-State linebacker who is expected to play defensive end at O-State: ``He's tough. Physically, he's done very well. I think he understands what it takes to play at this level. He's been here all summer. He seems to be a guy that is mentally tough. Jared is a guy that should show up at some point in the season.''
-- Bill Haisten
Written by
Bill Haisten
Sports Writer
