Unfortunately, there were no funny meltdowns from Mike Gundy this time.
Grambling faces Oklahoma State, a title contender in the Big 12 South into November of last season, on Sept. 26 at Stillwater, Okla.
The Cowboys welcome back 16 starters from a 2008 squad that went 9-4 and made an appearance in the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl (see embedded highlights below). OSU has now appeared in three straight bowl games, and boasts a postseason appearance in six of the last seven seasons.
Among the returning standouts are quarterback Zac Robinson (more than 3,000 yards last season), wide receiver Dez Bryant (Top 3 in the nation in four major categories) and tailback Kendall Hunter (seventh in the nation in rushing). Hunter and Bryant alone combined to score 38 touchdowns in ’08. But OSU is also undergoing a defensive makeover with the arrival of new coordinator Bill Young, a homegrown hire brought in after OSU allowed more than 40 points in three of its final four games to fall out of the conference race — and all the way to 93rd in total defense. The Oklahoma State graduate led Kansas’ defense to a No. 4 national ranking in 2007, and Miami to No. 28 in ’08.
OSU head coach Mike Gundy met with the media as his team opened spring sessions. Here is a transcript:
On his outlook for the spring
“We’re excited about starting spring football. The players have had a great offseason of conditioning. Looking forward to getting out there today and getting started, letting some of the young players get a lot of work and let some of the redshirt freshmen that should fit into a role in the upcoming season, give them an opportunity to get in the mix and have some fun.”
On new coaches and coaching in the spring
“Our new coaches are very excited. I know (quarterbacks) Coach (Robert) Matthews, (running backs) Coach Robert Gillespie and Coach Young are real excited to get out there and know the players. I’ve always said the most enjoyable time of the year for us as coaches is when we’re out coaching football and we get to do it for the next five weeks and we’re very excited about it.”
On players that have impressed in their workouts
“The wide receiver group has done a nice job. Hubert Anyiam, Justin Blackmon, Josh Cooper, Isaiah Anderson and some of those younger players. Horton and Jamal Mosley have done a nice job. Swanson Miller, who played some last year, it’s time for him to step up. It will be interesting to see how Anthony Morgan does at the offensive line position. Just to fit them in and let them go, and see how things work out.”
On new coaches coaching together
“I think they’re familiar with the staff. We’ve spent a number of hours together in the last month or so. I think it’s more important to get to know the players. Especially Coach Young. Get to know the defense and their personality and who he feels like fits into his style of play and best position that we can put them in to give us an opportunity to win games next fall.”
On his own role during the spring
“I’ll still meet with the quarterbacks and be with the offense during the majority of the practice. I don’t know where my play-calling duties will be during the spring. The offensive staff will handle the majority of those. I’ll move around a little more during scrimmages and stuff. I’m not going to walk away from spending time with the quarterbacks in practice or in the meetings. That’s a part of the game I really enjoy, I want to continue to have the opportunity the develop relationships with those players and stay involved in the offense.”
On play-calling for the fall
“I don’t see any changes at this time. During the spring, we’ve got several guys in that room who are adequate to make play calls. It gives me a chance to move around and watch other players on both sides of the ball.”
On following the defense during the spring
“I see a lot of them every day on tape. When we’re watching tape, I see the other side of it. I see a lot more than what people realize. In the spring, we go against each other 90 percent of the time. I see both sides of the ball. At times, in the offensive meetings, I’m running the tape back. They’re wondering why and I’m actually watching the other side of the ball.”
On changes that have been made going into the spring
“One thing we’ve done this spring is we’ve changed some calls we make at the line on both sides, because we’re going into our fifth year. There are probably some teams in this league that have become familiar with calls on both sides of the ball. Those are discussions we’ve had as a staff and there are some changes that are going to be made in those areas. When you have a new coach on defense, there are terminology changes that will take place. There’s a lot of learning going on, but it’s good for players.”
On offensive changes
“There’s obviously more continuity on the offensive side of the ball right now. The majority of the staff has been together for a long time. We have a somewhat mature offense. There will be a certain part of what we do that will be new. Overall, we expect the players to grasp it and be able to execute it next fall.”
On (free safety) Lucien Antoine returning from injury
“Lucien’s doing very well. Our medical staff has done a tremendous job with him. We’re going to keep him out of contact. He’ll go through the drills and he’ll be involved in a considerable amount of what we’ll do this spring. I don’t see him getting any contact. There’s not any reason to put him into contact. One thing we did learn last year is that he’s not afraid of contact.”
On replacing (departed tight end) Brandon Pettigrew
“We’re very comfortable with Jamal Mosley, Justin Horton, Cooper Bassett and Wilson Youman. We feel like they are good, young tight ends. Obviously, they aren’t in the same position that Pettigrew was. You’re talking about a first-round pick. They’re good young prospects. We should have more depth there.”
Source: Oklahoma State sports information department.
ALSO ON ‘ENEMY LINES’:
Northwestern State, on Sept. 12 at Robinson Stadium.
No comments yet.