Notes on Mike Gundy’s Central Arkansas Press Conference

Coach Gundy discusses the CMU game, thoughts on the pace of the offense, the O-line, special teams and a little about Central Arkansas.

Opening

• “Health-wise we’re pretty good. Looking forward to another week of practice. Guys are fresh and ready to get back at it with the extra day off.”

On Central Michigan

“We missed some plays – our communication’s not as good as we want it to be. Each week we’ll get a little better. That’s what good football teams do.”

• When asked to compare CMU to the Big XII: “Well, you’re talking about 10 teams compared to one. I will say this, there’s several teams in their conference, on the right day, right environment, could compete with anyone in this league.”

Darrion Daniels

• “He was 300 pounds when he walked in here. We don’t get too many 300-pounders. Haven’t got that many 300-pounders; most of the time we get guys 250-260 and we’re developing them into that position.”

• “He’s got a good background; he’s a little more mature than most. He’s got a baby-face; but, body-wise, we don’t’ get many guys like that.”

• This was interesting – when he was asked to compare Daniels to James Castleman: “He’s a little further along at this point.” (Kyle talked about Gundy’s comments in more detail here.)

Mason Coming Home

• Coach was asked about Mason playing his first home game and can he (Gundy) relate to how Mason must feel: “Well, mine was a little different. I came in at halftime. I wasn’t in any position or ready to play. It was a surprise. His is not.” I loved that response for some reason.

• “I think this is his first home game in like 8 games” (!!!??!!) “His high school playoffs and state championship games were all on the road. I’m sure he’s excited, but he doesn’t say a whole lot.”

On Special Teams

• “We were real pleased with the communication between Seales and Carr on kickoff returns. They stayed level-headed.”

• “84 (Jalen McCleskey – so Gundy!) went after punts trying to return them. That’s encouraging to us. We have a lot of confidence in his ability to catch the ball.”

• On Ben Grogan’s somewhat erratic performance: “We have complete confidence in Ben. He’ll improve. Don’t believe kickoffs factor into field goals. If we determine they do, we’ll have to make adjustments.”

• On Zach Sinor: “Zach played good. He had one punt that was poor, but for the most part, he played pretty well.” Then this on Sinor’s working out his biceps: “He doesn’t need to be cutting his sleeves off just yet. He looks ok for a punter.”

Chris Carson’s Debut

• “He had what I would call a ‘good game.’” Like he coined a new term there!![1. I laughed out loud while editing this part.] “He was a little hesitant at times, but he gave us something we haven’t had in the ability to get outside and get more yards than he should.”

• “There’s a considerable difference between junior college and this level of football so he’s still going to go through a little transition.”

On the Offense in General

• Offensive line is…“better, but not where we were up front when we were running up 40-45 points a game. They were better in the second half more so because I think we opened the game up a little more in the vertical passing game that allowed the offensive line more success.” By the way, Coach mentioned opening the game up on more than a couple occasions in the presser.

• The pace of the second half was…“better, but not as fast as I’d like to see us play on offense. We need a little more variation in what we do. We were pretty reserved in the first half, which I agreed with. We were playing smart. But, we didn’t get to the tempo I’d like us to be at.”

Central Arkansas

• “Played 105 plays Saturday” (!!) “They’ve done very well on offense. They have a good scheme and they know what they’re doing.”

• “Their quarterback is active enough to move around and make some plays. We need to get better on offense, play faster, more big plays. They’ve had a history of moving the ball and scoring points.”

Miscellaneous and Closing

• VERY COOL here on Larry Reece (@cowboyvoice): “He’s just a big part of Oklahoma State and Oklahoma State athletics.” Great story – and congrats and continued prayers for Larry!

• Finally, on No. 28 JW – not General Walshington – and his tennis prowess: “It helped us think he’s a really athletic. To run around and hit a little ball with a racquet and make it go in the right area can’t be as easy as people think it would be.” My personal favorite line of the week! “He’s a guy that makes some really fancy catches in practice.”

On to Central Arkansas at BPS then – and here’s to more fancy catches!