Sooners Postgame vs Temple

all right um good win uh for our guys um really proud of of all of their work and their effort over the last several um weeks and months to get to this this moment and uh got a chance to uh to to win 51 to3 and played really well uh in some spots had several uh superliges we played 84 uh players uh tonight and um really uh proud of uh the defense thought the defense from start to finish really played outstanding again um six sacks tackles for loss uh for you know six turnovers and scored a touchdown first time I think we've had six turnovers in the game since 2003 uh we only had four uh six fumble Force fumbles last year and we had four tonight so really I I loved uh how aggressive and confident our guys were moving around flying to the ball and being aggressive knocking the ball loose uh fantastic job uh by the defense coach Alli got a game ball in this in his debut it's pretty solid uh day right there if we don't have a penalty then you never know we might have got a shut out uh but really just liked our positioning overall the cleanliness uh and aggressiveness that we played with on defense um our offense again they scored six of the first eight drives they scored uh there's some you know we created a lot of short Fields you know the four turnovers in the first half they converted it to two touchdowns and two field goals so had a few um issues from a getting into a good Rhythm um at times on offense I thought Jackson played really efficiently again he was a 17 of 25 but he had four four drops got to make those plays and one of them uh would have went for a ways and uh but I thought he played efficient there's a few decisions whether give it or throw it uh that we got to get cleaned up um but uh thought he played uh efficiently it was good to um get uh Mike Hawkins uh in the game and that group of guys we're able to play a bunch of young guys both at the skill position and the guys up front thought that again they did some really good things again we we went in with a really simple clean game plan uh structurally and scheme wise we felt that's what we needed to do to in order to win and uh but got a lot to to clean up again had some substitution issues uh in some of our special teams unit units but Kelner was uh three out of three a 50 and 42 and a 24 yard field goal Luke punted the ball well averaged 43.8 I thought outside of one we probably could have fi fielded one punt uh that we let hit the ground but I thought Payton did a nice job uh as well our coverage units were pretty good and uh overall again thought it was a good win with plenty of things that we uh can do to get better on in all three phases and um so good to get some something on the tape uh you know so we have some video evidence of both good and bad and be able to learn and grow and get better as a team and improve and as we move you know here the next uh you know moving forward every every week things are uh going to get a little bit more challenging uh with our opponents in in front of us but uh playing tonight gives us an opportunity to get an extra day of of rest and recovery and uh uh preparation for Houston in a week so open it upj are those um again well I think Branson got a uh got a uh ankle sprain and so we'll we'll see uh where that is and and and then Jalel is GNA have surgery uh he ends up breaking his foot and uh so he'll get a screw put in that and that's a six to eight week recovery uh for him hate it for him had a great great camp and um but uh hopefully we'll get him back here in month month and a half or so is that the same foot in spring or yeah thing stood out to the def just yeah vertical active stayed on our feet and did a really nice job and blocked recognition squeezing and condensing gaps some of our movements that we did up front I thought they they play with great pad level uh and again you don't ever want to you know well that was so and so that we're playing you know it really doesn't have anything to do with them that were the things that I'm talking about it's it's us but I just thought we were're sure of what we were doing play with a really good pad level excellent with our hands we got a lot of knockback and we made it hard for them to to run the ball downhill they tried to run downhill they had some counters where they're pulling two people they got the ball outside on a Jet Sweep early but really other than that weren't able to get outside and we turned a corner route loose uh another time and there's plenty of things we had a guy wide open on Jaden Hardy's interception that uh we got a we're in a man call and we just don't cover him he goes vertical right down the middle of the field so there's some things we got away with um you so we're not beating our chest but I do think that we we' played for the most part we had really good POS positioning for the most part we we covered the guys we were supposed to cover uh played with pretty good technique all night but I thought I love the depth of what we were able to to to play in the game I don't know exact uh number count I think it was 42 is uh is what we played on defense 84 overall yeah again um I thought again we you know DeMarco he handles substitutions and what not but uh and knows who can do what type of runs the right way so I thought our guys were you know well schooled on that you know again I thought sometimes we had some really um good runs called that we pulled it out of the belly and chose to throw it um that we uh we can learn from but uh I thought we were overall efficient you know uh not amazing but overall we were efficient and um what we I don't know what we average per Rush I don't see that anywhere here but uh we average just under six yards of play for the night so solid you can see uh his explosiveness and um he's got great power runs through trash and he got excellent top end speed really good Natural Instincts you know carrying the ball on burs obviously just one game here but what what could you foresee with this guy in your off yeah again first time ever sooner players caught three touchdowns in his in his debut and uh and again for for Jackson throwing him the ball that was four touchdowns for Jackson That's the most in a first career home start for Oklahoma player since 1999 uh but again Dion did fantastic Dion did exactly what he's done since he's been here he's he's explosive you know he makes things happen he knows how to to get open and uh is really really competitive and so it was good to get him going tonight Brent the the offense uh being kind of up and down at times tonight with so much newness whether it's the offensive line quarterback coordinators even is it safe to say that you kind of have to be patient with that group as they get going I think all of it yeah I mean um I think you know we went in with a really plain vanilla game plan uh from a strategy standpoint and again there's some things that we'll we'll be able to get better in some of our RPO world uh that can help us uh as well but uh then again you know we lost uh Branson early and I thought Garen came in and he did a really nice job and then uh you know guys picked up the slack you know for for Jalil as well but uh you know we did what we needed to do 151 to3 had great game control and uh again a lot that we can still improve I thought again I thought our tight ends played well Jake and Bower and uh Kade McIntyre Kaden Helms got in so that was really good could see uh as well Brent you uh you mentioned Tyler Kelner um and the three for three what was it in training camp that allowed him to separate or at least take a step forward just there's a body of work and not just the training camp there's summer there's spring it's it's a body of work and uh you know he has shown with his career you know he get into games he he made most of them and uh so had a good track record that way but Zach had a great Camp too and as I said it uh we went in just made a decision this is what we are going to do and and uh you know uh glad for Tyler stepping up and executing you know really nice job in his debut you said it was a vanilla offensive game plan is that more based on opponent or just getting a guy settled in opponent what did you think of Jackson's just decision making and things again like you said he uh his numbers again just easy pitches and catches he had four drops so you're looking at being 21 to 25 and and we threw the ball we only pushed the ball down the field just a couple of snaps um uh I think we threw two go balls on an couple of rpos and and we we hit a deep deep one beautiful shot you know to was that was that Farooq on the over route and uh had some really excellent throws tonight but we didn't uh push the ball down on the field uh tonight and um so again that was by uh design and uh to a certain degree and but again like I said earlier I think there's a couple of times where he could have put it in the belly uh in instead of throwing it and then there's a time or two that some of the things they were doing structurally on defense uh where he could have kept it uh as well so but overall I thought it was it was good how did the helmet communication work with the off and defense it good no no issues how good was it to see and get back that was good you know he's worked really hard and and uh and so that'll do a lot for him you know and his his confidence and you know usually it takes you about a year to get back to where you were you know from that that ACL and that's mentally and it's physically you certainly get the the green light uh usually around that you know 6 to 8 month uh period depends on if you had any setbacks and whatnot so was great to get him back going he's long super explosive and look forward to getting him you know into the uh the offense fulltime you got Michael Hawkins some run some runs that playing these first couple games maybe get his feet wet a little bit yeah yep yeah Mike Mike's done well and he's looked really good what you saw tonight is kind of how he looked in how he's looked in in practice as well so Mike's Mike's a really good player uh he's got a great future ahead of him and uh you know we really feel it's important that we we we get them some experience other way you got two really young quarterbacks uh at the one and the two and and uh we don't have a lot of experience there so uh we feel like we're we're going to need to be able to have both guys ready to play you need someone to step up for JAL and replace him or do you just going to spread out more more starters we'll see how it all works out when it's said and done but we do have you know a good group of young players uh there as well um got a good receiver room you know at some point you can't just keep taking hits that's two really good players you know that you you've lost there but we do feel good about a group of guys that will be able to take up the slack what is having Bower in the tight end passing game what what does that potentially add to your offense yeah I mean I think it just gives you balance and it allows you to do some things both in the run and the pass I mean the these are a group of guys they they're good at blocking and uh uh you know they can give us an advantage from that standpoint and then attack in the middle of the field uh Outlets things of that nature um these are really good athletes understand the passing game they understand spacing and uh so that'll again be a group of guys that's going to be able to help us have really good balance inside and outside run and pass performance yeah I mean I it's going to do a lot from a confident standpoint obviously trust uh getting more and more opportunity I think it'll probably even create Grayson's been great um he's really started to focus you know the last six months on what he wants to do with his with his career and his opportunity and and he's always been a great guy's just being serious about his his opportunity and uh putting the weight on knowing what to do being consistent showing up every day and you know we've said this he's one of our best pass rushers he's you incredibly uh disruptive um super athletic Twitchy if you will and uh plays with a lot of passion and so I'm anxious to to watch him and S for other guys to see you know if he was a complete player you know tonight both the run and the pass that that tip interception that Dolby made for walker uh was he doing that on purpose or was that just look no think was a pbu he's going for the ball and uh we we were showing a a mugged up look and and showing the quarterback one thing we had some real tight Windows uh you know I think if I can't remember but I think Dolby was on the outside like this and reach back in and and it just happened to pop up but it that definitely wasn't planned if Dolby had an opportunity to catch it he certainly would have he's not he's not that good of a teammate but he's active and disruptive uh it was great to see is Woody healthy 100% we held Woody could have gone you know he's a little a little bit sore and um same thing Eli Bowen um um could have played but it just wasn't a game that you need him to play and just if we we have a couple of guys like that that we decided to hold here at the last you know in the last day or so same with Gentry for the most part I mean yeah just again just why risk him you know he's and that was three weeks ago that he hurt his shoulder he's completely cleared um but we and his strength is uh excellent he's back but we um we've done a little bit of live U I say live a little bit of contact and practic in practice for Gentry uh tackling uh in controlled setting but not all the good on good stuff and some of the scrimmage stuff that we've done he's not done that so we've wanted to progress him back into it Jake Taylor in that same boat too yeah Jake was he's available we just he's missed a few practices and we wanted to work on his stamina if we could and felt like tonight we'd be able to do that so he'll be back and ready to roll next week who you work with uh J is that Kerney or excuse me who you work with with f being out who you work that again it's going to be a handful of guys um Iron you know we got some really good young uh receivers uh you know pway will will have a chance uh as well he can play inside and outside uh you know Reagan is a guy that can play outside and inside uh as well KJ Daniels Ivan Kion Kerney those are all guys that we they've been getting reps since the spring and have shown uh again nobody's been perfect uh no expectation of that but these are all guys that we feel like you know are going to have a real chance for so that group of guys what did you think about the Special Teams unit not giving up a long run and scoring on one special teams yes sir yeah as I said earlier did we had a few substitution you know Bower playing a lot you know and uh so so he forgot uh on a field goal extra point uh one time and then had a punt issue as well and um but outside of a couple of substitution uh things are going to happen when you're playing a lot of guys I thought overall it was pretty good you know and it was good to get some live stuff on tape against somebody else that we can coach and correct and and learn from Brent you mentioned Zach Alli got the the game B of the game just how maybe how important was it today to get him just further settled in I mean I I guess it would have been not as good if he would have gave up you know 38 points and uh you know no turnovers and stuff like that I don't know I mean it was great yeah it's good you know we're things went like we hoped it would go and uh but I I just love the aggressiveness uh forcing the turnovers a lot of hard-hitting and really getting overall uh excellent positioning and depth of guys that knew what what to do and so all the coaches done a really nice job at getting guys ready but it was great for Zach and you know moving forward with those guys had confidence going in to the game and certainly will take confidence out knowing again you got to start over and uh learn a new DNA a new opponent and uh but uh like I said he he got the game ball and they put him up top and he swag surfed all over the the uh I don't know I think I think that's what it's called but in the locker room so they had some fun it was good did he the whole game yeah one last question it's just one game but I mean it feels like defensively you guys have just made Leaps and Bounds from kind of where you first started as you know taking over this I think I I mean probably that's accurate to some degree we still got a long ways to go um you passed the first test I'm not trying to give Coach speak uh there's a lot stiffer challenges uh in the immediate future and um I think everybody in the locker room understands that but but that at the same time we're not apologizing for playing well tonight you know despite uh you know what we're playing against what they can do what they you know weren't good at things of that nature so uh you know mission accomplished if you will and again this this is going to be a season again that presents a lot of um you know you know stronger challenges and and we're going to figure out a lot about who we are and what we want to be but you know as I've said before you know things that we didn't do well last year we didn't play consistent we gave up way too many big plays and uh you know I think that we're better equipped to handle if we if we had some guys get banged up last year we had some guys get banged up at linebacker at safety at corner and uh you know I really like where we're at from a competitive depth standpoint and what we've seen up to this point time okay appreciate everybody yep [Music] serious oh yeah he did the through last the trail coach perfect well it was exciting you know to get out there for the first time back home um you know it's always really exciting always the first game of the year I know our players are really excited to get out there and you know felt like we started really well you um you know kind of took the first couple drives down got in good Rhythm Hit some nice shots um had some explosive plays and uh got the ball rolling a little bit and scored those uh early touchdowns pretty quickly and um you know I thought we managed the drive well and I thought we executed well which is the biggest thing and then um you know I think there's a lot of good things uh defense did a heck of a job tonight um really played unbelievable and gave us a lot of short Fields uh which uh which helped us you know um but at the same time I think we were six to six inside the Red Zone which was a positive and uh scored five of uh five touchdowns out of six Red Zone uh opportunities I think we scored seven out of our first 10 drives um so we did a lot of good things um but we have a lot to clean up you know uh felt like uh we kind of got out of rhythm at times uh especially there late in the first half and really in the second half uh kind of got out of rhythm and uh you know uh had some uh inopportune time penalties that set us back behind the chains has some uh had some drops that uh were really uh you know uh kind of kind of hurtful and um just didn't get back in Rhythm at times so overall um you know I know uh it was exciting how we started we just got to make sure we we maintain that same energy the first couple drives throughout the entire game something you guys had a vanilla game plan tonight by by Design how do you think Jackson played with what you asked him to do I think he managed the game well you look at I think he was 17 to 25 uh and he had four drops and so um you know I thought he managed it well we didn't push the ball downfield as much as we would have liked to maybe um but uh you know when you're up like that and just trying to manage and trying to play a lot of different guys and a lot of different Personnel groupings um you know to see what you have it's uh that's part of it but uh you know I thought he managed the game very well what you think about the offensive line especially yeah I mean uh you know Guy having to step up and again go in and play uh you know a different position that he's he's practiced a little bit but other than what he started and um you know I thought overall again it's probably a lot like most of the team we have a lot to grow on we have a lot a lot to get better at um you know but I thought you know as of right now solid you know but uh that's why we watch the tape it's hard for me to come off the field and haven't seen the game itself I I feel like it was uh 4 hours from quarter 1 to quarter 4 um but uh I think overall um you know those guys stepped up played a lot of different guys at a lot of different positions which was good to [Music] seej keep adjusting moving I think that's part of the game you know it's going to be all season long you know you're you're uh you know you're going to play a tough schedule and uh you know at different times different guys are going to have to step up and make plays when they're called upon uh whether that's uh at any position and so that's why you know um I think early in the season is important to play a lot of different guys and make sure that they especially with some of the young guys that we have in I think we have a lot of young special players and uh they need those game reps um in order to uh you know get that experience to where they they feel comfortable when they do go in there and so um again it was awesome to play a lot of different guys and uh you you know I felt like a lot of guys uh you know when they got their opportunities played well um you know again little vanilla tonight um you know thought we could have done some better things thought we could have uh you know made some better opportunities um and some and you know making sure we extended drives better um but overall again uh did accomplish what we kind of went out to accomplish tonight Seth with so much newness in this offense whether it's you or Jackson different injuries and stuff is it to say that to be patient for this off to make click I'm not a very patient man myself and I don't and again I don't expect anybody else to uh at the end of the day it's our job to uh you know make sure as coaches we put the the players in the best situation to be successful and the players job is to go in there and execute and do their job uh when they're in there um in order to to help our team win and so it's a it's a two-way street and uh again we're going to continue to work and uh you know get a day better get a week better I love our group they work extremely hard um you know they've had a they've grinded through this fall Camp uh with uh and it's been a grind uh it's been a you know we put them through uh a pretty tough camp and um there's been a lot of ups and downs but I'll tell you what they're they're very uh they're very they're tough group uh they love ball they love each other uh and it's a cool group to be around so uh there's no doubt in my mind we'll continue to get a day better and continue to um you know keep moving forward and and helping this football team win games fac with J first now with out for amount of time how much you challenge those guys to really step up and be able to contribute even more especially those young players hey you have to I mean again uh it's going to happen and and we we talk about it all the time you know one one man goes down another man has to step up and make those plays and it's just not that guy coming in uh that has to do that the the offense has to the whole offense as a whole has to really step up around uh those injuries and so again I feel good about um the guys we have the toughness we have um you know we just got to execute a little bit better at times you know I think there's a couple opportunities in there that uh we really uh hurt ourselves uh that we can learn from that we have to grow from in order to uh be the team that we want to be um but uh you know I thought for the most part uh a lot of those young guys um did some really good things yeah Dion's very explosive um you know and obviously very talented as a receiver um being able to get the ball in his hand quick um you know just trying to find as many different ways to get in the ball you know with an explosive guy like that it's uh always trying to find different ways and along with all of all of our guys you know um just trying to find different touches and different ways to get our Playmakers the ball and I thought tonight uh we were trying to find some of those we did at times um and again Dion's playing a lot of different roles right now especially with some of the um guys that went down he's he's playing in all the different uh Personnel groupings uh tonight and so there was a lot on his plate especially game one uh in a new system um and did a lot of great things and so we got to continue Contin to grow he has to continue to grow in his role and again uh we have to continue to grow in a lot of roles offensively and you know that's that's the purpose of game one trying to put as many different Personnel groupings out there as we can to see exactly um you know how we feel about each each each one one and two uh trying to get as many reps as possible for guys to stay fresh um throughout the season you you didn't throw deep much is that by Design going in or is that just TR waiting for your offensive line to jail what was the no I thought uh we we didn't we we got pretty vanilla once our Drive started stalling at times uh we didn't get back in Rhythm uh some of that you know we're not obviously we're not going to show everything game one but at the same time uh I felt like we needed to be a little bit more exposive in the passing game uh and again uh some of that is the calls and some of that is the execution of the calls and so um again that's an definitely an area that we must improve Pro on um and something that uh uh that I truly believe in I do think you have to push the ball down the field and be explosive you know I don't uh I'm not one of those guys that feels like uh you know you have to have these 14 15 play drives you know four yards a cloud of dust we have to be an explosive offense um that's something I believe in but at the same time I thought we're efficient in what we did tonight um in order you know sometimes with the short Fields you're not able to go through some of the shots some of the extended shots down the field just because of the amount of grass you have as well and so some of that plays into it but overall again um you know I feel like we accomplished what we needed to today for one more question you did this in the AL but now it's your offense your calling plays what was it like to be back what you're doing as it's been great I've enjoyed it again it's a it's a great staff it's a great group of men I love our players um you know again uh we have a lot of work on um but it's a tough group I'm excited about this group they come to work every single day looking to get a day better so uh but it's been a blessing to be back home and um I'm excited about the year thank y'all well there's no here got Zach Aly hey guys how are youall yeah fired out to be here yeah it's good how was it just your your first game being at Oklahoma how did it feel you know awesome I mean we were coming out of the com out of the tunnel right there and uh right before the team came out just getting a chance to be back at this level and uh the fan support the people I mean it was awesome just the energy everything about it and uh gave me goosebumps it it was incredible CH you know just proud of them uh we a lot of work goes into this first game I mean you you hit each other for eight months you know and you finally get to go out and play somebody and all the things you work on the things you preach whether it's the the turnovers the disguising the multiplicity the just the effort that it takes to win a game the toughness um just to get to see that on display tonight you know more than anything I I felt like we played a game where man no matter who it was that got in had an opportunity man they played hard they tried to play disciplined and and we did a really good job of of attacking the ball so almost the build up to the game is almost good that you lose a point toss and you to play defense first I always want to play defense first if anybody's ever asking me I'm I like to get it over with to get on the field like go set the tone right now let's go out there get a three and out uh you know let them know how the game's going to go and and move on from there said that you g the game ball the room afterwards what was that like for your first game that was pretty cool uh I got lifted off the ground afterward and thrown up about seven times about flipped on my head um but no just amazing uh I mean our players are just just incredible um everything that man they've been through the last uh the last eight months to grind of the summer and just getting ready for this moment um you know it really wasn't me doing anything special it was all them uh you know out on the field and they make the plays and I'm just there to help them along so it it was awesome to to get to experience that with them and and to get to celebrate we've talked to a lot of your players in the last eight months and they've told us a lot about you and the one thing that they always talk about is how much they relate to you and you relate to them because of your age can you talk about those relationships you've built with them during these last eight months yeah you know I I grew up in social media era I I had online classes uh so similar to to how they experienced things throughout you know their college career i' I've been a part of that more recently than a lot of guys have um so it just creates a natural bond and an understanding of kind of what they're going through and uh what it looks like so um man we just got what what a great room I've gotten the linebackers and the whole defense as a whole um to just get a chance to be around them is is awesome you talk about the defensive line just you guys Ed a ton of guys a lot of rotation just how confident you are whether it's the first second third man you coach Chavis and Coach Bates do an unbelievable job of getting those guys ready to play every week um man we're we're deep when it comes to to the defensive line we got a lot of guys that are really good players uh and we want to be able to roll them cuz man them the 300 Pounders are better when they're when they're fresh um so just the ability to to play a lot of guys and get them out there man we we want to do that as much as we can to you know just help them get off and then create sacks opportunities because fresh guys are usually better than tired guys said that uh you called the defense tonight wondering how much does he get involved we know he's a vocal guy loves to have his hand in the mix how much is he in your ear giv suggestions I mean that he's been the best def coordinator in the country for you know 20 plus years and so uh he's just sees the game you know slow for him he can see it all before it happens and so just the opportunity to to have him on the headset and talking to me the whole time you know just about hey this is what I'm thinking this where we are uh you know that's always a uh a benefit no no doubt about it and every now and then he'll be like that was a good call and I always feel good about that so that means that he agrees so it was it was good really enjoyed it after spending so you feel like you tackled look like when you your guys knocked them back quite a few times did you feel like you had a good tackling I did I felt like early we you know first time you're in real live game action we missed a couple easy ones couple layups in the first you know two three Series where I was like man we could have knocked that guy back for three and we kind of challenged him to that on the sideline and then the rest of the night man we we did a great job of of really striking we got a physical uh you know attacking type of mindset as a as just a defense as a whole you know that shows up when they get on the field after many Feels Like Home you know I mean he's like my second dad and uh you know I I know everybody says I sound like him I don't know if I agree with that but you know hey uh I love him to death and and I am so appreciative of him um and just he just makes everybody around him better he's just one of those guys that man you you love him because of how he holds you to a standard and then loves you the same way uh and so it's just been a a phenomenal experience and and I'm just looking forward to the future what it like for you those few years just being able to kind of Branch out and you know learn on your own a little bit too yeah I mean just it builds confidence you know that that we were we were a really good team last year on defense where I was and you know getting to come into a a situation where they have turned things around man and just to get to take over and and enjoy the process of getting better uh I think it it gave me great perspective um and appreciation for the opportunity here at Oklahoma familiarity with Coach Bates coach JIS and just all the assistant coaches as well help you out getting up the speed and getting going right away a ton I mean you know we speak the same language fast they've been around me I've been around them I I know how they react on game day I know how they you know operate day-to-day in their in their practice sessions and their film sessions and um you know we got some really really good coaches on this staff and man I I rely on them as much as anybody else to come up with great ideas execute and get their players to play at a high level this is sort of a hey unfold question but take us back to when Brent called you and said hey you want to be my defensive coordinator what was that like for you it was awesome um obviously you know it's a kind of a dream come true type of type of idea you know I mean Oklahoma is one of the the the greatest historic programs in the country um you know and just the opportunity to come and to have a chance to just be part of that Legacy is is amazing and then to do it with somebody that's you know basically I owe my career to throughout the years that man gave me my first job gave me the start when you know he didn't even know me uh I'm such appreciative of that and it's kind of fun to to come full circle back to it always around unique personalities uh you get to work with one of the most unique personalities as a linebacker coach what's it like with Danny oh man I love Danny uh he's so funny um and just brings a great light-hearted spirit to the room um you know he's you can tell he's a Wy veteran because he'll cut you he'll cut a joke right at the right time and every laugh at coach allly and that's a good thing um you know keeps it light but man just a then you get on the field and he's just an absolute Alpha uh you know every sense of it man he's a leader he cares he holds everybody to a standard he's always trying to do the best for the team and not just himself and uh those are those are rare to find and when you got one man you got to love and and you got to help help grow and promote that as as a group Jaren getting that I know teams what can that do for him and some of those reps that can get oh everything you know I mean first off I was so excited I mean that was just awesome because jiren's such a such a great uh great player and a great kid and so it was fun to fun to watch him have success and man everybody everybody knows that you know at this level and the next level you got to play on special teams if you want to opportunity to make a team in the NFL and those things and so we promote that culture here you know on the staff man you know you going start on defense you better start on special team somewhere um so he just does a great job in all phases for us what is it about Dolby that you guys like so much clearly a guy that his stocks Rising seem like every day but what is it that you guys like about him you know he's just he's really physical um you know he he he might not be uh he might not be the tallest longest guy but man he's he's small But Mighty you know and he's trying to come in there and knock your head off and and an elite coverage guy out there in the slot and can can lock down anybody in the country and uh we get to play great competition obviously every day in practice and you you watch him just be consistent and he he does it and so I'm just proud of him and his development his growth you don't you don't have to adjust that cheet position just you talk about his size right he plays bigger than his size but a lot of most of the Isaiah Simmons as the Roy Williams type of Siz guys do you have to adjust kind of how you use that cheetah or you can you just use it as is you know I think that just no matter what position it is on the team you're always trying to play the guy's strengths you know and so whether it's the cheetah the Mike the will the defensive end whoever it is you know what they're good at is what we want them to do you know and so we'll we we don't have a necessarily a scheme where you say man we're gonna this is what works all the time we're going to do it no we're trying to base it around our players we going to put them in positions to be successful and to have an opportunity to do what they do well you know I tell them listen if you're a good rusher we're going to rush you if you can't cover in man we probably not going to play man you know we'll do something else so uh I think just as a whole we always try and put guys in the best situations possible you know for whatever their talents are this is another eight eight-month old question for you but what did you know about the Oklahoma football program other than obviously Brent and some of the guys on staff here but what did you know about just OU football you know I just I'd watched a couple games um you know over the years just when it was on TV had an opportunity and um you know I didn't know a whole lot about the most recent era uh I knew a lot about Coach V's time here because of being at Clemson and I mean we still got film from Rufus going out there and smoking guys at linebacker so I've seen a lot of that um but recently just watched a couple games and you know always thought man that uh you know if coach V ever had an opportunity he could he could really be come back and make a defensive stal walk out of out of Oklahoma and I think that's what he he wants to do and we believe we're we're working towards that you know every day just trying to get incrementally better what was your thoughts when he took the head coaching job here I was excited you know I mean he's just it' been a long time and um he just found the right fit you know coach V is definitely not somebody that that jumps at every opportunity that you know he's going to do things for the right reasons um all the time um that's just how he is as a man as a foundation of of who he is as a person and so uh when he got the opportunity to come here I was like man that's the right fit you know obviously being here for a long time and he knows the people the community all those things and uh so I was just really excited for him and and was happy to see him get a chance to to be a head coach because he's really good at it Zach do you remember the first time you met Brent and what your initial impressions of them were I do actually so I was a student assistant at Clemson um he had got there uh like three or four days after we got back to school that January and I walked in the room and and shook his hand and he probably thought I was a player at the time because I looked like it and said hey I'm a student assistant and I'm just volunteering I'll move chairs for you you know whatever you need and and he gave me an opportunity to to stay around and um obviously I don't know how many years later but here we are in Oklahoma did you feel like there's a possible chance for you to come over you know first go round back in 2022 I mean I thought that Coach V you know he was going to make the best decisions at the time to be successful you know and I believe everything happens in In God's Time does and you know I think that me being here now is exactly what my path was supposed to be and you know God had a plan that's always better than my own and and I'm just thankful for it now exactly guys said that after the you got the game ball tonight uh they wanted to lift you up in the air you were hesitant to do that but they did it anyway oh they got me up there I thought I was going to flip them my head about halfway through they were trying to lower me down and I was I was I was vertical backwards for a minute but uh I think bow sharp caught me uh lowered me back to the ground so it was it was good it was fun awesome done anything like that before no I I've never crowd surfed so that was a first time um my second life maybe if I become a concert you know go out there be a rock star I can I can try it one more time anything else that I ask you about grayon hon and how big some of the things that he did tonight could be for his development moving forward confidence absolutely I mean Grayson's a great player and and he's going to continue to improve every day um you know I think nobody's where they want to be ever I'm not I know that uh we all want to be improving all the time but uh just to see him go out there and execute it's what we thought would happen you know it wasn't like oh wow how it came out of nowhere no like that was a plan you know and and he's been tremendous in Camp and uh he's performed when it mattered and he did again today a lot of the players talked to they've said that you really kind of helped them understand the the Venable defense and everything do you do you see that from guys like kind of like an aha moment for them or kind of like light bulb going on like a lot of improvement from these guys this year you know I think from from when I got here to now obviously we're a lot better we're a veteran group so uh you know the guys that that have been playing here for a long time the Danny Suman Ethan DS Billy Bowman they were you know great players before I ever showed up you know they did a great job and I just try and help them every day to to understand it better and hopefully you know communicate maybe in a way that's different than maybe one of the other coaches or help them see it some way uh that helps them feel more confident you know and and remember it or execute better and you know always trying to find little things like that to to be right thank you thanks guys that's all for tonight thank you oh God 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