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Mike Gundy Week Two Press Conference Review

Gundy had his press conference on Monday, here's a quick wrap up so you don't need to watch the long video.

Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

Gundy Press Conference.9.7.15

Coach Gundy discusses the CMU game, thoughts on the pace of the offense, the O-line, special teams and a little about Central Arkansas.

  • "Health-wise we're pretty good. Looking forward to another week of practice. Guys are fresh and ready to get back at it with the extra day off."

On Central Michigan

  • "We missed some plays - our communication's not as good as we want it to be. Each week we'll get a little better. That's what good football teams do."
  • When asked to compare CMU to the Big 12 "Well, you're talking about 10 teams compared to 1. I will say this, there's several teams in their conference, on the right day, right environment, could compete with anyone in this league."

Darrion Daniels

  • "He was 300 pounds when he walked in here. We don't get too many 300-pounders. Haven't got that many 300-pounders; most of the time we get guys 250-260 and we're developing them into that position."
  • "He's got a good background; he's a little more mature than most. He's got a baby-face; but, body-wise, we don't' get many guys like that."
  • This was interesting - when he was asked to compare Daniels to James Castleman: "He's a little further along at this point."

Mason Coming Home

  • Coach was asked about Mason playing his first home game and can he (Gundy) relate to how Mason must feel: "Well, mine was a little different. I came in at halftime. I wasn't in any position or ready to play. It was a surprise. His is not." I loved that response for some reason.
  • "I think this is his first home game in like 8 games" (!!!??!!) "His high school playoffs and state championship games were all on the road. I'm sure he's excited, but he doesn't say a whole lot."

On Special Teams

  • "We were real pleased with the communication between Seales and Carr on kickoff returns. They stayed level-headed."
  • "84 (Jalen McCleskey - so Gundy!) went after punts trying to return them. That's encouraging to us. We have a lot of confidence in his ability to catch the ball."
  • On Ben Grogan's somewhat erratic performance: "We have complete confidence in Ben. He'll improve. Don't believe kickoffs factor into field goals. If we determine they do, we'll have to make adjustments."
  • On Zach Sinor: "Zach played good. He had one punt that was poor, but for the most part, he played pretty well." Then this on Sinor's working out his biceps: "He doesn't need to be cutting his sleeves off just yet. He looks ok for a punter."

Chris Carson's Debut

  • "He had what I would call a ‘good game.'" Like he coined a new term there!! "He was a little hesitant at times, but he gave us something we haven't had in the ability to get outside and get more yards than he should."
  • "There's a considerable difference between junior college and this level of football so he's still going to go through a little transition."

On the Offense in General

  • Offensive line is..."better, but not where we were up front when we were running up 40-45 points a game. They were better in the 2nd half more so because I think we opened the game up a little more in the vertical passing game that allowed the offensive line more success." By the way, Coach mentioned opening the game up on more than a couple occasions in the presser.
  • The pace of the 2nd half was..."better, but not as fast as I'd like to see us play on offense. We need a little more variation in what we do. We were pretty reserved in the 1st half, which I agreed with. We were playing smart. But, we didn't get to the tempo I'd like us to be at."

Central Arkansas

  • "Played 105 plays Saturday" (!!) "They've done very well on offense. They have a good scheme and they know what they're doing."
  • "Their quarterback is active enough to move around and make some plays. We need to get better on offense, play faster, more big plays. They've had a history of moving the ball and scoring points."

Miscellaneous and Closing

  • VERY COOL here on Larry Reece (@cowboyvoice): "He's just a big part of Oklahoma State and Oklahoma State athletics." Great story - and congrats and continued prayers for Larry!
  • Finally, on JW - not General Walshington - #28 and his tennis prowess: "It helped us think he's a really athletic. To run around and hit a little ball with a racquet and make it go in the right area can't be as easy as people think it would be." My personal favorite line of the week! "He's a guy that makes some really fancy catches in practice." On to Central Arkansas at BPS then - and here's to more fancy catches!