Tylan Talk: On That Throwback, His Development and Social Media

In a room full of bland quotes and “we’ll get ’em next week’s,” Tylan Wallace stood out. We spoke with him for a few minutes after OSU’s 35-31 loss to Baylor on Saturday, and he was thoughtful about a variety of topics and engaging about both the trick play he participated in and the 1,000-yard mark he surpassed for the season.

Here’s a collection of what he said.

What his teammates do better than him: “Tyron, he’s better off the line of scrimmage. He can make people miss better than I probably could. Dillon, he’s a tough physical guy. He’s up there with me with catching in traffic. He comes up with clutch third down catches.”

How Mike Yurcich has handled the receivers: “Going through all the games, coach has seen what everybody can do and what they’re good at. So I feel like he’s looking at different plays to draw up for us individually. Throughout the season he’s been seeing what people are able to do and comes up with different plays for us.”

Why he got the throwback pass play call: “Working out with Tracin and everything so I feel like [coach] felt like I could somewhat throw it a little bit. (I wanted to) make sure I catch it first and make sure it gets to him. It doesn’t matter if it’s spiraling or anything. I just have to make sure it gets to Corn. I’m just happy I was able to do that.”

His career development: “I’ve learned the speed of the game and the actual offense, the concept of the plays. Not just knowing what I have but knowing everybody else has and what we’re trying to execute on the field. That’s one thing I’ve really learned.”

On social media and trying to block things out: “That’s one thing people outside the locker room don’t really understand. To some of us this is more than just a game. All the social media and all that, people don’t realize what they say that we see that and how it affects us. That’s one thing about playing college football, you have to be strong mentally. You really do.”

The OU bounce back: “We have to come in every week in practice and come in strong and be ready for the next game. We can’t let what’s basically in the past now affect us for the next game. We have to come out and come strong for the next game.”

Getting (momentarily) tossed on his crackback block: “I was hoping that didn’t happen. I was kind of iffy about the block because I didn’t see the replay on it. I wasn’t 100 percent positive if I had gotten low enough on it. That’s what I try to do. I try to get low when I block. I try to hit with my shoulder and not lead with my head. Once I saw the replay I realized ‘ok that was fine.’ Really hoping I didn’t get thrown out.”