Mike Gundy Ahead of Texas: Dru Brown ‘Doing Better’, Cornelius Still Confident

STILLWATER — Mike Gundy’s weekly media luncheon started slowly on Monday, but about 20 minutes in, quarterbacks were brought up.

Gundy talked about four quarterbacks in Stillwater. Three of which are on his team, the other lives in his house.

Dru Brown Still OSU’s Backup, ‘Doing Better’

Gundy reiterated Monday that Dru Brown is OSU’s backup quarterback.

Brown arrived in OSU shortly before fall camp as a graduate transfer from Hawaii. Brown played in 25 games with the Rainbow Warriors where he completed 62 percent of his passes for 5,273 yards, 37 touchdowns and 15 interceptions.

Gundy gave an update on Brown’s progression in the system Monday.

“He’s doing better,” Gundy said. “He’s been here now 10 weeks. The issue we had with him was he showed up right at the start of practice. It’s a lot to digest in a short amount of time. He’s come a pretty good ways now. He has a pretty good feel for what we’re doing, in practices anyway.”

Gundy was also asked about how he saw Brown’s mental state after coming to OSU and being a backup after being a starter for the past few seasons.

“Seems to be doing good,” Gundy said. “His attitude is good. He practices hard. Up to this point, he’s been a very loyal guy. He’s worked hard.”

Gundy Says Cornelius Should Continue to Grow Mentally

It’s hard to say how much Taylor Cornelius can improve from his week off.

Gundy and offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich were as critical as they have been of Cornelius’ play after the Kansas State game. Cornelius was 17-for-35 with 184 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions against the Wildcats.

“I think he gets better mentally each week.” Gundy said. “I just didn’t think he threw the ball well in Manhattan. I don’t know that that would change a lot in five practices, especially since he’s been throwing a football for 19 years, so I’m going to guess that the mental aspect would get better each game.

“Most quarterbacks you talk to, they’ll tell you they feel completely different in game 15 than they did in game one. That was kinda the turning point for me was the middle of my sophomore year. It was game 12, 13, 14, somewhere in there. I felt like I knew what I was doing. Prior to that, I thought I was just winging it.”

Cornelius, a fifth-year senior, doesn’t have a sophomore year coming up. Through his opening seven starts, Cornelius has completed 59 percent of his passes for 2,014 yards, 16 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

“He’s really got a good demeanor and a good temperament,” Gundy said. “He practices well. He’s a confident player in my opinion, so I think that he’ll be fine. If we didn’t think that, we wouldn’t put him in there and start him.”

Gundy on Spencer Sanders’ Mother’s Tweet

During the Kansas State game, freshman quarterback Spencer Sanders’ mother, Carrie, tweeted out this:

Please give my boy a chance… Spence Sanders #okstate ?

— Carrie S…. (@BailcrazyCarrie) October 13, 2018

Gundy said Monday that the tweet was brought to his attention, joking “good news travels fast.” It also spurred a discussion on social media.

“I haven’t had a parent call me about a playing-time situation in … I can’t remember,” Gundy said. “Social media is an outlet for people to communicate, and as we know, not only in athletics, but in politics and in every walking part of life, it can be very dangerous.

“Every momma loves their boy, and they want them to play more or they want them to get more carries or they want them to get more catches or whatever it may be. The only difference in anything that’s happening in society today vs. what’s happened forever is now you have a way to make it public. Those things have gone on forever. It doesn’t mean anybody is right or wrong. It just means that people have a way to express an opinion so the world can see it.”

Gundy said while he hasn’t had to take any parents’ calls on their kids’ playing time, his position coaches might. He said takes every call he gets from a players’ parents because he feels it’s his responsibility after telling the parents he would take care of their children when they were being recruited.

Gundy also said Sanders’ parents haven’t called him.

“I would rather deal with the players directly,” Gundy said. “I know when I went to school, I didn’t call my mom and dad and ask them to call the coach because my dad woulda told me to stick it in my ass. ‘Take care of it yourself.’ I’m just guessing it’s best to deal with the players.”

The Undefeated Gundy

There is a Gundy who is undefeated heading into the week OSU plays Texas, but it’s Stillwater High quarterback Gunnar Gundy.

Gunnar, a junior, and the Stillwater Pioneers are 8-0 with two regular season games remaining and are ranked first in Oklahoma’s 6A-II.

“Every once in a while in a blue moon, I’d call over if I had a suggestion on punt team or something, but hell, I ain’t calling them now,” Mike Gundy said. “They’re undefeated. They oughta tell me to spend time with my own team. They do a great job of coaching over there, and they’ve got some good players.”

While, Mike Gundy can’t make every game, he said Gunnar doesn’t look forward to see him on Sunday nights to break down his performance from the previous Friday. Mike Gundy said he even keeps grade sheets on Gunnar.

Gunnar recently released these highlights from his opening five games.