Clint Chelf won’t talk for the rest of the year

“Ever since we have started the year, there has been nothing but media opinion on who should play quarterback. And there is not really anything they can say about themselves or each other that is productive for the overall chemistry of the team, and me neither.

There is not really anything I can say about it. So it’s better off just to let them go until the season is over and then let them have an opportunity to communicate with everybody.”

Is there not supposed to be “media opinion” on who the starting quarterback should be for Oklahoma State??

Chelf is done for the rest of his career which is going to make for this awkward exchange with a reporter and local business next year.

“Hi, yeah is this the Chesapeake public relations coordinator? Is there a Clint Chelf that works there? There is! Can I talk to him?”

It all seems a little bit silly, especially given that JW Walsh has been available all season. He’s mature enough to handle it but fifth-year senior Chelf isn’t?

To recap Gundy’s interview policy…

Not available — First-year players, freshmen, starting QB
Available — Everybody else

As Kelly Hines pointed out, Chelf hasn’t talked since before the Spring Game.

@pistolsguy Hasn't been offered up since before the spring game.

— Kelly Hines (@KellyHinesTW) November 4, 2013

For posterity, here’s the last on-camera interview Chelf will ever do as an OSU athlete.

Look, Gundy doesn’t have an obligation to anyone to make any players available and the added benefit of doing so is diminishing by the day for schools that have a monstrous web presence (they can just put out what they want) but his logic doesn’t add up.

“…there is not really anything they can say about themselves or each other that is productive for the overall chemistry of the team.” So why has Walsh been saying things about himself and Chelf for the entire season?

I get it from Gundy’s standpoint — I can’t promise you I’d let any of my players talk to the media if I was a head coach (though if somebody, Chelf would be in my top five) but here’s the problem for OSU.

When you don’t let your best players give quotes, you hamstring the local media and force them into writing about you (Gundy) and the intelligence of your decisions (who to start) and then it probably all ends with another variation of Gundy screaming about how he’s a 46-year-old man.

Maybe that’s what Gundy wants, maybe not, but you aren’t allowing a lot of wriggle room for the people whose job it is to cover your team.

I’m ok with Chelf not talking — I think it affects games as much as not naming a starting QB (which is, not at all) – but Gundy has one job, win football games. If he thinks shutting down Chelf’s interviews will help him do that, that’s great. If he’s doing it for any other reason though, pretty ridiculous.