Mike Gundy News Conference 9/2/24

look at film look at tape what are your uh takeaways a couple days later not a lot different than what um we talked about after the game um we ran the ball okay not good enough defensively we had 50 49 plays and gave up 174 yards and then we had six plays and gave up 210 which is kind of what I thought afterwards so I was pretty close with my math we tackled um um better than we tackled last year early in the season but not good enough um as I had mentioned I was pleased with the discipline side of our team with turnovers penalties and such negative yardage plays um so not far off in the post game we kind of able to diagnose what led to those you know six or seven plays that those six or seven big plays that you're talking to about talking about well we've got to get our it's it's a it's a simple concept for what we do sometimes it's a little confusing public-wise but we got we have to our players need to have their eyes in the correct spots they did a couple things that were really good that's why I was had mentioned I didn't want to go into it too much without watching they did a couple things scheme wise that's that were really good um so four of the six we have to do be more disciplined with our eyes and the other couple um we need to adjust to what they what they did to us and that's going to happen I mean other team their coaches get a chance to coach players get a chance to play so but the majority of it is um we got to have our eyes in the right location going back to your uh going back to your run game obviously moving ahead into this week you look at at Arkansas and their defensive line might be the strength of that team in general you know I mentioned this to you guys in the summer and then out there in Vegas and again somebody brought it up preseason that and when you play a team in the SEC you're going to play girth you're going to play Massive guys that have a lot of size and they're physical in the box and um you know they have a a really good geographical location for producing bigger type bodies like that and so um that's where I mentioned that we we need to make good strides between last week and this week uh in order to block a completely different front than than what we saw last week what did you think of their front though I mean looking back on it I thought the the defensive tackle and that linebacker 32 especially the pretty good player they had uh in my opinion just being fair they had four guys I thought on defense that can play in this league um I mean I don't get paid to evaluate players from other teams but I'm just saying when I looked at it that's that's what I thought um you know they haven't gotten to the point to where they are are by having not having good players um good Concepts and the difference with um the team we played in the team we're playing now is the girth and the mass of what you're going to face up front that's the difference from a technique standpoint from a concept and fundamental standpoint the team we just played was excellent um they just they didn't have as much size is what we'll face Saturday so how did you feel about your offensive line after you looked at it I think I thought they played good because you know they didn't give up any sacks um Bowman did a better job in this game of sitting in the pocket and not running out for no reason at all which is 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 on one play and one or two on another so you always have to take that in consideration that's a big part of it okay sacks and negative yardage plays big part of a game um we have to get better and and continue to work to improve in some things in the running game that will help us I mean and and the things that we need to improve on this week are things that we've done and improved on in the past you mentioned that a little bit right there but after after going back and watching what you kind of think this game overall thought he played very well for what we ask our quarterbacks to do in this system and the Improvement that you guys see which I'm guessing um from what he did in in this game compared to the majority of the games he did last year was good and he distributed the ball in a manner that we asked him to in our system and he did a nice job of sitting in the pocket and relaxing and making some throws after he had really good protection Mike Sam Sam Pitman grew up in Grove has been coaching for a long time in a lot of places have you crossed paths with him at any not a lot um he's been at Oklahoma but I was I think think when he was at Oklahoma I was in Maryland or something I can't remember um I had seen him before um know people that know him more so than me um uh he's a lot older than me uh I say that jokingly but um um people that I know that know him speak very highly of him as a person and a football coach and um so uh I've just been more aware of him and not really known him so he must be out there right now I told uh Kenzie and ginger to bark if they saw coach Pitman or coach patrino so I know we kind of asked you about this after the game the other night but just kind of renewing this this series that has some historical roots and U you know a bunch of people in the area excited for this game what are your thoughts on it I think the series is good for the reasons you were there the other night right um the other day other night whatever but because um you you're going to want to play quality non-conference schedules now so the committee will have respect for that and this is a good matchup because it's 2 hours and 45 minutes away and you have a lot of crossover with people right there's a lot of Arkansas people that can live over here and there's a lot of Oklahoma people that have migrated over there with Walmart and all that stuff so I think it's good is that about as good a first game from a penalty standpoint as you had maybe in a long time one one defensive holding we played with discipline and you know it's interesting that the first scrimmage and the second scrimmage we had in August that was a concern of mine I thought we had way too many penalties and then we must have done a good job of instilling the discipline in our with our players because in that game we played really well in those areas that hidden yard area which would be your your your special teams production and your penalties talk about Trey Rucker too CU I mean what he did just coming up in run support the Gap control was pretty good up front he was just able to come up there and see ball get ball and make Tigers Trey loves to play football he always has um he's Reckless and will totally disregard his body to play the game which is what you have to do to be competitive at this level and um he likes football I mean Trey's a guy they play forever if you'd let him and um he's a a quiet leader he's not vocal but um players do enjoy watching him and it's valuable to have a player like him on your team because he's Relentless and he'll compete from start to finish there's been a uh thought during the preseason that you guys might try to red shirt Gavin Freeman I know he played a lot you can still still can but where do you stand on on that are you going to need to use him as as a number two slot you know because of the the four games and the postseason opportunities um I don't know that it's fair to say one way the other right now I will say that we're very pleased with what he's bringing to the table um he still has a ways to go learning our system but he's made really good strides and we'll just have to to play it by ear as we move along what do he he just came in Fall Camp wasn't even here in the spring what has he done so well to get on the field as early as he well he's fast and he's tough uh you know he's has always had success with the ball in his hands um he disregards his body at wide receiver he he takes hits all the time he tries to hurdle people he runs through people he's a returner uh you know he wrestled for 10 years he just has a a toughness about him competitive nature that you want guys like that on your team as a high schooler he was pretty under the radar what do you kind of remember about his well he really wasn't under the radar um and I can't remember exactly um the the players that we took in that class we watched him and watched him and liked him and watched him and um Gage actually my youngest told me that year you guys are Mak a mistake not taking him uh he'd cross pass with him in summer seven on seven and all that stuff and but we had a a reason for not I I think we were in a year that we didn't take a bunch um but we certainly were aware that he was good enough to play at this level Leslie O'Neal goes into the uh Ring of Honor that uh you would have been you came in year after he he finished well maybe a couple um I don't know what Lesley's last year I know lesie was here in 84 and I came in ' 86 but really close and you know was interesting um our former players uh we talked so much about Barry and Thurman and because of the offensive position and but you know as far as like former players that were dominant here I mean he was as dominant defensively as Barry and Thurman were offensively it's just not a position that people talk about a lot but I mean a great player um very moderately recruited is what I was told uh you know from Arkansas and um just a great player and had I don't know how many years in NFL 12 yeah I mean playing in the position he plays and to be multiple year double digit years in the NFL is tough but just a great player H how do you look at the concept of red shirting like is that something you think about about week to week or do you I don't know how do you sort of evaluate if if a guy once you've got a couple games if a should we play him and then he can't red shirt how do you look at that so you always first and foremost want to do what you think is best for the young man and what he wants to do now those two don't always Jive together okay if they if they did then we wouldn't have the questions that you're asking right now and so second we ask um in and think what's best for the team um years ago coaches made that determination over the last three or four or five years there's a mutual conversation between the player their family their representatives and the coaches As you move forward it's it's just one of the changes that we're going through that's part of the game I guess ultimately a coach could just say this is what you're doing one way or the other that's not what we do here because I think long term it'll be counterproductive in a free agency World last year with Leon right I mean you trying kind of trying to have him again this year but because of injuries he tried to R had injuries so Leon is a perfect example we'd love to have him back but at that point we were on a run and had a chance to um to get in a big 12 championship game and we would not have gotten in it without him but he also had to make a commitment to the team we talked to him we had the discussion at first he I think he still wanted a red shirt and then he finally said okay I'll play um and we wouldn't have gotten in that game without him you guys know in the last two or three games he had a couple big games made big plays so that was a difficult one um because we started him to red shirt because making the jump from where he was to our level was huge and he wasn't ready up through the middle of October and then all of a sudden he got continued to get better and better and we had injuries and we needed him where do you typically see the most growth from week one to week two typically see the most what growth within the team um meaning what Young Players what you mean collectively um on this category or with us now but I'm not sure 20 years from week one to week two typically where do you see the most growth young players that were out there for the first time so um a couple names would be uh Sassi the running back because he played last year some but not a lot um those guys will start to get better early in the year um Jeff Roberson who played a number of snaps that hasn't really played before um 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 Jal in that category Jalil should start to really get better over the next few weeks another dual threat quarterback this week how do youall approach him you know just the defensive line play and you know just you got to you got to have a guy for him um you know and you you uh are competing against a guy that has the ability to run um you have to take that into account in your structure of defense and the style of play so um we have plenty of ways to do that because we've we see them quite a bit now um you know it's just a matter of being disciplined make sure somebody has responsibility for the quarterback they didn't show much it looked pretty vanilla but he jumps off the page sure running back um uh and they've got you know I mean he's a a guy that can make plays um this this is uh I you know I've scanned through um them over the summer and they had four or five games they played last year that they could have won so I don't know what their record was last year but they could have it looked like to me they could have won eight games pretty easy in obviously a very difficult conference and they played against good teams and lost single digit points late in the fourth quarter so this team that we're playing Saturday regardless of what anybody in the country may think will be as talented as anybody we play all year in my opinion patrino I kind of read his Manifesto the other day he he puts something out I forget the name of but his theory is feed the studs FTS is what he goes by but doesn't he kind of do the same thing whether it was at A&M or Missouri C he has a system right he's got a system he believes in I think from a distance and um cross pass with him some and then seen crossover tape on him for years um he's got a system and he's going to stay in and then he's going to Vari it a little bit based on what the strengths are of his skill players which is what he's referring to would be my guess so um a comparison would be like what we've done here the last 15 years on offense we we we don't get away from our core system and what we do on offense but it varies based on who our quarterback is what kind of a threat we have outside and what our running back is so we look a little different now than we did when Mason Rudolph was playing here and that was because of Mason and the skill we had on the perimeter um compared to you know what we've had with oi right now so I would say that would be a pretty good illustration of what he's what his system is in my opinion I could be way off um and what he's trying to get accomplished have you and your staff talked yet about pros and cons from Saturday as far as the in helmet communication having the tablets on the sidelines what worked what didn't work yeah we we had that discussion yesterday and it was all pretty smooth and I'll be honest with you um much smoother than what I thought it would be with all the new technology during a game with so many other things going on the newness of it was a real concern to mine and it actually still is now but we didn't have many glitches and I was pleased with the way that it came through on the first game could could that be an advantage the especially the first couple games maybe staffs that pick up and have a better system for how to incorporate all that and While others maybe struggl I would you know I mean we we think that what we're doing gives us an advantage but maybe somebody else is doing something better um but we've had long discussions about it for months and so we had a plan going in there's not a lot we felt like we want to change there's a couple things that we would alter a little bit for this next game but we think that we have a productive way of using it and facilitating it to the best uh that we can for our players coach the thing that surprised me the most getting to see it down there you know Joe Bob and Timmer some of the coaches always had one when their guys were over there but there were a lot of times I looked over and it was just players with a pad together that kind of goes you've talked about and I know it's the way that way in my house younger people are better at that stuff than yeah were you able to uh go look and see if they were watching YouTube or actually watching they were watch they were watching plays from the last now these kids probably try to pull YouTube up and watch some goofy video uh smart players will go back and continue to watch the game it's it's like taking a cheat sheet into a test so you can go and look and see what all the answers are and then go back out and play just like I had a couple teachers in high school that had a really good approach in teaching they said here's the material that I want you to learn over the next two weeks I'm going to I'm going to lecture on this and I'm going to give you the material with the answers and then we're going to have a test two two weeks from now on Friday and that's probably the best teaching procedure there is in my opinion because whatever material he wanted us to learn he gave us the answers so who cares so he lectured on it gave us the answers you studied it you paid attention you made an a if you didn't you made whatever was accordingly and in the end you learn the information that he wanted you every two weeks well that's what those tablets do the information's right there in the in the in the tablet so you can look at it and get it it's a cheat sheet to go back out or you can not look at it not absorb the information and go out and figure out on your own based on proximity you and Arkansas recruit a lot of the same guys does this game mean anything in terms of recruiting the business side of what we're getting into I don't know anymore I think the business side based on um the same thing we talk about over and over if she signs off on what we think she's going to sign off on recruiting will be limited negotiating will be prominent we talked a lot about Colin Oliver the other day after the game what did you think specifically of how Kindle handled it and and are there things that because of you know playing a safety in the past are there things that maybe he can do that he's better at than a typical linebacker in that role so um Colin was excellent because he was playing a lot of the same location he did earlier in his career so like based on what they were doing and where he was located that wasn't anything new to him Kendall 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 hadn't been as much um and he should get better each week Colin has had a lot of reps in the world he played in last Saturday are there are there things skill sets he maybe brings from his previous positions that can maybe help him excel in ways that maybe guys who've always played linebacker can't so with Kendall you talking about yeah yeah so his ability to affect the throwing game in some type of Zone responsibilities or a pass coverage should be better than most of those guys because he lived in that world for a couple years you guys were able to sub defensively in between plays quite a bit the other day and I know that's probably what you want to be able to do but in was some of that because they were huddling and and taking some time that allowed you do that more than you probably might be able to against Big 12 teams it was more based on on they're not a Tempo team and they don't in a two-minute offense for for this league they're moderately speed even in a two-minute offense so there's a lot more substitution opportunities is it fair to say it's easier for your team to go fast than it is to slow things down when they need to just because like you said the other night had a multiple score lead we didn't want to go fast but they're they're better going fast than mediocre it's it's uh you know it's interesting over the years we've done it so many different ways but um you know if you lean toward being a Tempo team you're good at what you practice and then you try to present a a slower system almost mentally you struggle a little bit you become sluggish um the the defense for them into um stops on fourth down um and offensively we lined up in places we should have scored touchdowns in the fourth quarter and we were sluggish and there was nothing to us um so uh you know if you do it all over again you probably just go out and just go um just to maybe keep that Temple that was the one thing with the game that I wasn't pleased with the um the Finish offensively in the fourth quarter anything else good all right guys thanks than