The Rundown: Gundy on Dez Jackson, Player Health and TCU

Mike Gundy’s Cowboys are bowl eligible for the 15th straight season.

Gundy met with reporters over Zoom on Monday to discuss his team’s upcoming game against TCU and the fallout from a win against Texas Tech

Opening Statement

“[The Texas Tech game] was a good game for us. Made a lot of plays on offense, and some young guys got a little bit better. Obviously we were able to rally enough defensively late to make some plays. Had a good day yesterday and just back at it. Another week, day off today and back at practice tomorrow.”

On Chuba Hubbard’s and LD Brown’s health, and if Dez Jackson has earned more snaps regardless if Hubbard and Brown return

“Both of those guys will try to get into practice on Tuesday. Monday is their big day where they get examined. We always try to find out more about them. But as of now, Dez is our starter.”

On Spencer Sanders’ performance from Saturday

“He played very well. His composure was good and graded really high in his reads and took care of the football, so we were pleased with his game Saturday.”

On if he expects a similar performance from Sanders against TCU

“I hope so. He should get a little bit better each week, so hopefully he’ll play as consistent as he did in the last game.”

On what it would do for the program to get to the Big 12 Championship game

“Our goal every year is to win the conference championship, and you gotta get there to do that. Long term, I’m not sure. It’d be hard for me, I haven’t thought about that. But, that’s our goal anyway, to try to find a way to get in that game and try to find a way to win it.”

On if this season is a season of attrition

“I think we felt that way to start the season, but our medical people and our plan from June has been as good as anybody in the country. We’ve been very fortunate. We haven’t had issues with COVID. The majority of our guys have practiced and been consistent. Other than just uncertainty mentally with players, and I guess everybody, COVID hasn’t really been an issue with our football team.”

On if the shortened preseason is to blame for injuries happening during the season

“I don’t think there’s any question that some of the nagging injuries and even some of the more serious injuries for us, I can’t speak for other teams, are related not necessarily to the virus but related to the lack of preparation to start the season because of the virus. So, when we start in August our players are in tip top condition and up and running, and it wasn’t this way this year because we didn’t have any offseason training so there’s no question that affected us and I’m guessing probably affect everybody else in the country.”

On if Dezmon Jackson’s performance surprised him

“I’m surprised that he can carry the ball 36 times and the times five and six times in a row and play over 75 plays in the game, yes. That’s hard to do for anybody. And so he did impress me from that standpoint, his ability to stay in the game and compete.”

On TCU coach Gary Patterson

Well Gary’s one of the best football coaches in college football. There’s just no question about his durability, from a standpoint of years of service and the teams that he’s had. They don’t always get what some people consider four- and five-star players. They find a way to win. He and I, when we have conference functions we always buddy up. I tease him and he teases me but we get along have a really good relationship. I enjoy competing against them. They’re really good on defense again this year. They do a nice job. They run the ball, and he has a plan. So it’ll be a real challenge for us on Saturday.”

On Tylan Wallace

“We were talking about him last night before we went home. In my opinion, he’s made our football team much, much better from his competitive leadership standpoint. Our team has followed his willingness to perform at a high level. And personally for him, he’s made himself a lot of money this year. For example, late in the game against Oklahoma when we were down to the point where it’s difficult for us to even think about coming back to win, we tried to take him out of the game, and he wouldn’t go out of the game. He wanted to finish the game. So that’s the kind of young man that you’re dealing with. And he’s been a joy to be around and joy to coach particularly this year coming back from his injury.”

On how Jackson’s performance Saturday benefitted Wallace

“We’re not good enough offensively be one dimensional. We have to stay balanced, and we have to try to keep the other team off balance. It’s been that way here for a lot of years. Two or three years where we were good enough to where we could become one dimensional, but we’re not in that position right now. We have to be able to rush the football effectively to keep the defense off balance. That allows Tylan to make some plays.”

On what makes Wallace unique compared to the other great receivers Gundy has had

“Well he’s special when it comes to taking the ball at the highest point. He’s a great leaper, but he also has a gift of going up and rebound in a football that’s unlike many players we’ve ever had here in my 16 years as the head coach.”

On Jake Springfield’s wild journey from walk-on to starting left tackle

“His competitive nature, his willingness to give up his time, his effort, his body for our organization has been tremendous. He’s been bummed up the last few weeks with an ankle and having to push through. That is not easy. He’s played OK. But he’s managed. So, where he was thrown into the fire, for lack of a better term, he’s played really, really good. But if you’re grading him on a major-college level, and his consistency at the left tackle position, he’s managed. But that’s not necessarily his fault at this time. There’s only so much you can do in his situation, but he’s a little bit healthier today than he was last week. We appreciate what he’s given us, and we see him getting a little bit better each week.”

If Chuba Hubbard’s NFL future is still as secure as it was a year ago

“I don’t know what those guys look for. I think there are some players that are called no-brainers, they’re going to be a first round pick or an early round pick. I don’t have any idea how the NFL sees Chuba right now. I’m not on those phone calls. The NFL doesn’t talk to me. They talk to academics. They talk to Rob Glass. They talk to the operations people. I don’t have conversations with NFL scouts or coaches, so I’m not really in on that. It’d be unfair for me to say one way or the other of how they see him at this particular time.

“I mean you would think so. You know I just use that quote because when we have NFL people come in and visit with our team, I’m in the room there’s 130 of us in there, and the first thing they say is there’s not anything any coach or any person can do to convince us other than putting the video on and watch it you have success. I would think that that would carry some weight. But, I mean, I’m not for sure, you know, it’s just hard for me to tell I’ve never been in any of those meetings.”

On Tracin Wallace staying around even after his injuries

“Well those guys are inseparable. Tracin wants to get into coaching, and he’s off to a good start. Gives him a chance to still be a part of the team be a part of this brother, which is important. And he’s the guy that we trust on the sidelines and communication and has a really good clear communication with his brother during games. It’s been awesome that we could help him out with his injuries and be a part of his career.”

On if he has started discussing with seniors if they want to come back with the extra year of eligibility

“No, I guess we’ll have to have those discussions after our final game. And then there’s some uncertainty, based on how the NCAA is going to handle that situation. There’s a lot up in the air right now, based on total numbers, scholarships availability and roster numbers. Until the NCAA gives us some guidance, I know at Oklahoma State, our hands are tied somewhat.”

On Rodarius Williams’ health

“I think he’ll be back out Tuesday. He had a mild foot sprain just kind of nagging him a little bit. I believe in the middle of the first quarter when he went out. Hopefully he’ll be OK this week. It’s a big difference when he’s in the game and not in the game for our defense.”

On how good Williams has been this season

“Well, you know, I mentioned Tylan Wallace has made himself a lot of money this year, so has Rodarius. Rodarius is probably the hottest guy on our team right now when it when it comes to interest from the NFL. He’s been fabulous in coverage. He’s competed and played hard. His attitudes been great. What he’s putting on tape is exactly what those guys at that level want to see, in my opinion. So, you know, you take a guy that’s potentially moved himself up maybe three or four rounds of the draft by his play on tape this year, and obviously at Oklahoma State we don’t get a lot of guys that are going to go, maybe, high in the draft. So when he’s not in it doesn’t make a difference, but hopefully he’ll be OK in the next couple days and get out there and get some reps and play TCU.”

On guys coming back instead of declaring for the NFL Draft early

“Well I’m an advocate of players coming back that are going to be high-round picks. And again, I don’t know but I’m just gonna guess the product on the tape he might have been a after last year, a late-round pick, maybe sixth-round pick or something. And so, what advantage do you get, not coming back and going to school and trying to raise your stock and somewhat protect yourself financially before you go into to make a roster. For him, I would have to ask those guys at some point after the draft that he’s probably jumped himself three or four rounds. If we had first-round picks, or even guys that early second-round picks, who can financially make themselves and their family stable for a long period of time just with the stroke of the pen, I would always recommend that those guys come out. We’ve had guys come back. [Brandon] Weeden came back. [Justin] Blackmon came back. [Russell] Okung] came back. [Brandon] Pettigrew came back. We’ve had a number of guys that have come back, based on their decision. In most cases, it’s worked out well for him. Rodarius has put himself in a really good position. I mentioned earlier what he’s done for our team, but for himself individually, if he finishes this season strong, which there’s no reason that he shouldn’t if he’s healthy, he’s made himself a bunch of money just by his play that he’s putting on video.”

On Teven Jenkins

“I think Teven is deciding to go prepare for the NFL. I hate to speak for him, but that’s what I think is going on. So, I’m gonna let him, for lack of a better term, make that decision and then if he decides to do that publicly, I’ll let him do that. But that’s the direction I see him going. I’m not sure what his status would be medically because when you have a back, tweaked back, sometimes, well a lot of times, it won’t show up on an MRI or a CAT scan. But then you still have some pain. So, I’m gonna let him make that decision and how he communicates that to us and to you guys at some point.”

On the offensive line having a full week of practice being better despite on the injuries

“What it does is it lessens their missed assignments. The best illustration would be like you getting a study guide to take a test in college, and if you have a chance to review that study guide and put your time in, you have an opportunity to score good on the test. So, when we have five guys during the week that are practicing at their particular position, they’re using that study guide. And what’s happened to us is, if we’ve had a guy go down in most cases we’ve had to move at least two people. When you do that, the guide that you use during the week, the study guide, it gets thrown out the window. That’s a huge issue with offensive line play. What you’re saying is the same thing that I’ve been saying for the last eight weeks that we’ve gone through this is, I have faith in Charlie [Dickey], I have faith in Coach [Kasey] Dunn and our staff and what we’re trying to get accomplished. We at least kept the same five guys in the same positions in this last game. It allowed us to have less missed assignments and you guys that watch the game, we didn’t have as many guys get turned loose in the backfield. So, in most cases, if you’re running back can read and hit a crease and he’ll run hard, gives you a chance to have a little success.”

On if Hubbard is in the same situation as Jenkins in regards to getting an early start on NFL Draft preparation

“I think it’s a personal decision for all of them, and things have changed so much over the last three or four or five years. We had this discussion in the media day years ago when you started seeing players that chose to not play in the bowl game. If you guys remember one of my concerns with that was I said I’m afraid it will start and then this could just grow and grow and grow and grow, where if teams weren’t in the playoffs, or maybe a New Year’s bowl, I’m not sure I don’t know how to say one way or the other. If you have multiple players from multiple teams that are leaving to prepare for the NFL, then I worry about the long-term effects of bowl games. Organizations that are sponsoring and putting lots and lots of money into bowl games, how they’ll feel about teams that are playing that might be down to three four or five players, which we all know can dramatically change a football team. So, the question you asked me is, I think it’s a personal decision for each player based on one just how he feels, and then, in most cases they’re going to get information from some sort of representative, financially, or contractually, for them to move forward. So it would be unfair for me to say one way or the other for any player. I just know that it’s kind of the moving trend right now for players to, you know, stop playing and just start working on what might be next in their career.”

On if guys getting 36 carries, like Jackson got Saturday, could return to being normal at some point

These guys can do it. They’re just not conditioned to do it. So what happens is, we hope, and I speak for Oklahoma State I don’t know about other teams, but we hope that we have at least two running backs that we, for lack of a better term, trust to put in the game. Then if you have a third you’re really in a good situation. They will share reps during the week. Then if we spread the reps out, I think as coaches now we’re in the last six, eight, 10 years years, we say well we need to keep these guys fresh. In the old days, we didn’t worry about keeping them fresh. If we had a good player and he was running back he carried the ball 30 times a game. So, earlier in this interview I said I was a little surprised that he was able to perform like that because we haven’t given him that workload in practice. There were a number of times where, well more than number of times, that he ran was really really good effort. So, I think, young men can do that. I just don’t think as coaches we put them in a position to do that.”