The Rundown: Gundy on Leadership, the Open Week and Chuba Hubbard

With the open week, Mike Gundy held his weekly news conference a few days later than usual.

Oklahoma State’s coach met with reporters Thursday morning via Zoom. Here is everything he touched on.

Opening Statement

“We’ve had a good week so far. Two days off, we practiced Tuesday and [Wednesday]. We’ll practice again [Thursday]. We got some really quality work in. We’ll take two days off, come back and practice Sunday night then get in a routine for Baylor.”

On Josh Sills becoming a leader in his short time at OSU

“Josh has a unique personality and players and coaches kind of migrate to that personality. He works hard. He’s got a little bit of a throwback, tough guy image. Players like him. He’s very personable and over a period of time you get a little bit better every day where the players are starting to respond to his enthusiasm.

“I would say that Stillwater is a lot like the community in West Virginia. We’re a population of 50,000 people. He enjoys hunting. He enjoys fishing. He likes the college town environment. I think he feels very comfortable here. He likes Coach [Charlie] Dickey. He likes Coach [Rob] Glass. He has a good relationship with the people on the staff and the players here, and I think he felt very comfortable and that allowed him to jump into a leadership role much quicker than what a player would be able to over a period of time early in their career.

On what he attributes to OSU tackling better than other teams in the open field

“We’re not sure. We’ve had the same discussions. That was a huge concern for us, and it’s still a concern. I think as we move forward, we’re gonna see more athletic players on the perimeter, which will be a challenge for us. Baylor has skill at the running back position, they have skill at returns and they have skill at the wide outs. They always have down there. Next week will be a real test for us.

“I wish I could give you an answer other than maturity and experience would be working to our advantage.”

On what he saw to get a sense a change was needed from Bill Young to Glenn Spencer then from Spencer to Jim Knowles

“Bill Young is a really good football coach. He’s had success. And Glenn Spencer is the same way. At times we make a change in a coordinator spot not because the coach is not capable, not because he’s not doing a good job. Both of those coaches fell victim to unbelievable offensive play of this league during their time and unbelievable quarterback play.

“Unfortunately there just gets to be a point where, in my opinion, which is not always right, but in my opinion, where you feel like everything has just kind of flattened out and we need a change. We need some new energy. Need a change in scheme. Those guys fell victim to that.

“The answer to your question would be it’s just a gut feeling you get sometimes. Ya know, when do you change a quarterback? A gut feeling. Might be right. Might be wrong. Same thing with the style of play of offense or defense or special teams.

“Those guys just got caught up in that, and I just had a gut feeling that we needed a change. I used the term back then when you asked me the question three years ago, we just needed some new blood. That’s why we brought Jim in.

On Knowles

“I really like how Jim’s adjusted to this league. Again, we’re gonna know a lot more this year, with this group, over the next three weeks because we’re gonna play teams that are really skilled on the perimeter. They have played well. We couldn’t ask for more than what they’re doing now. Covering eligible receivers is a big deal for us, the way that we play defense. We’ve covered well. Again, we’ve played teams that might not be as effective on the perimeter as what we’re gonna see over the next month. I think we’ll learn a lot more.

“I like how he’s adjusted to our staff. I think he’s comfortable in Stillwater now. I think he’s learned what his role is in the culture in our football program, for lack of a better term, to be on my staff, things that I expect. He’s changed a lot in the last six to nine months just in his everyday demeanor. He’s a highly intelligent guy, very, very intelligent. I think sometimes if you’re not careful, coaches who are really, really smart can outcoach themselves. He’s made some adjustments that fit in with our players, simplified systems which allows us to play fast.”

On what he’ll tell the team when giving them Friday and Saturday off in terms of staying away from COVID-19

“I think some will [stay in Stillwater]. I think some will go and be with their family. My concern is Sunday’s test and Wednesday’s test next week. There’s a lot of thought that goes into that in my chair.

“I’m just not comfortable telling them that we have to contain them here for two days when they have free time. I go home and see my family. I see my kids. So they wanna see their family. I’ve asked them to be very protective. If they get in a car, they have to mask up. They have to try to stay away from people. Because if they get in a car with somebody that ends up positive, then they become a primary if they don’t. That’s just the CDC. That’s just the way it is.

“When they go home, just try to stay away from people. You can see people and all that, but you don’t get up close to people for more than, the guidelines say 15 minutes, I say I wouldn’t be up close to anybody for three or four. There’s no reason to. Stay away from people.

“You just hold your breath. It’s just like me. I’m shocked that I haven’t got it in the lifestyle I live. I’m at home in my house with 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 year old kids in and out of the house 24/7. I’m just holding my breath and trying to stay away from everybody.

“But I’m not gonna restrict them. I’m not gonna keep them here because they’ve worked hard. They’ve done what we’ve asked them to do, and I think they deserve a break. I just hope that they take care of themselves. And they know the outcome. If they don’t then they’re not gonna get to play. You gotta do the best you can to protect the organization, to protect the team.”

On how important offensive line leadership is with younger guys filling in

“That’s important. We were fortunate that we were able to keep five guys healthy over the last couple of weeks. The musical chairs is really what disrupts your offensive line play. There’s so much communication that takes place from a quarterback to a center and a center to the rest of the offensive line. We see so many different looks nowadays than we did even five years ago. Communication from tackles to guards and when you switch those positions, it’s just not the same.

“People outside of the organization might say, ‘Well, what’s the difference?’ It’s a big difference. Teven [Jenkins] has played the best that he’s played in his career here at Oklahoma State in games. Josh [Sills] has continued to get better and better each week. They have to continue to learn to push each other and push their unit in meetings and practice. With the in and out of players because of primary tracing and COVID, two things, one the simplicity, which is what we talked about eight weeks ago is important. And the other is being able to absorb and focus and take information in during the week and get ready for the game.

“It’s more important now because you have guys that can miss practice somewhat routinely based on the virus.”

On Spencer Sanders

Those guys, all three of those guys [Spencer Sanders, Shane Illinworth and Ethan Bullock] are practicing full speed. We’re keeping the routine the same. Rep-wise at quarterback, those guys [Sanders and Illingworth] are splitting it, and [Ethan] Bullock grabs the three reps.

“I don’t see any reason to change what we’re doing at this time. We’ve been very fortunate. We’re a pretty healthy football team at this point.”

On Cole Birmingham and Hunter Anthony

“They’re gonna be out a while. Those guys are out a while.”

On Amen Ogbongbemiga’s leadership

“He’s committed himself to practicing full speed. Other players follow, young players follow veteran players. If you have enough veteran players on any of the three phases of your team that practice full speed, then you’re gonna have good team chemistry and you’re gonna have a cohesive unit.

“These young people in society today will practice better when they have quality leadership. Coaches can do very little when it comes to practice. Doesn’t do any good to sit out there and scream and yell at them. If they’re not gonna practice hard, they’re not gonna practice hard. But Amen and Malcolm [Rodriguez] and Tyler Lacy and Rodarius [Williams] and Christian [Holmes], a number of guys, [Tanner] McCalister, on defense they practice hard. Then the young guys have to practice hard because the old guys practiced hard.

“You flip to the other side of the ball. You’ve got guys that are practicing hard on offense that are leading the way. The difference in coaching college football now versus even three or four years ago is if the quality of veteran players in all three phases, if they don’t practice hard you’re gonna struggle as a team. Amen is practicing hard, so the young guys follow.”

On how much of the defensive success goes to the players for buying in

“They have to work together. The coaches, Coach Knowles in charge, he has to get the information to the staff. That message that he gives to the staff, that he wants to give to the defense each particular week has to be the same. When they break up into their meeting, each defensive coach has to give the same message from Coach Knowles, and then they have to motivate their position group.

“The players have to take it over when we get into the practice field. They all have to work together. There can only be one message. That message has to be the same, so we’re not thinking different thoughts each week.”

On how Kasey Dunn is doing with his transition to offensive coordinator

“Doing great. The first couple games were rough on him. You just try to limp your way out of the first one. You lose two starters, another starter on the offensive line can’t play, quarterback change, it’s a mess. Got a little bit better against West Virginia, but we’re a long ways off. Then we made some improvement.

“Kansas is having a difficult time right now. I’m not trying to say anything that I don’t think anybody knows, but we still played pretty good offensively, fundamentally. We were able to block, cover guys up, skill guys made plays.

“Again, the real challenge is gonna be the next three or four weeks, we’ll find out where we’re at. But I think he’s been a good leader for our staff. I think he’s been a good communicator for the players on offense. I think he’s a good playcaller, and his demeanor is really good on gameday.”

On what he will learn about his team in the next month

“It’s gonna answer a lot of questions. We’re gonna play some really skilled guys on offense. We’ll find out where we’re at defensively. We’re gonna see a variety of defenses, teams that can attack with the blitz, find out where we’re at offensively.

“Week to week it’s gonna be important that we can stay focused and practice, get really quality work during the week. I would guess that over each week you’ll have one or two guys potentially that are eventually gonna start catching the virus. You’re gonna lose some virus guys. They have to be ready for that. Simplicity is important when you discuss setbacks due to the virus.

“I just think we’re gonna find out a lot more about our team in three or four weeks in a variety of areas. We’ll find out really quick.”

On staying grounded despite high rankings

“Each coach in his meetings, it goes back to what I said a few minutes ago when you talk about how Coach Knowles is handling the defense or how Coach Dunn is handling the offense, that message in the meeting to the players is, ‘Guys if we don’t practice well today, don’t absorb information, then we’re one day short of our opponent.’

“We all know in a somewhat unusual season for a variety of reasons that if we can stay focused and get quality practices, if simplicity plays a roll, then whoever we have out there that’s healthy for the week and can practice and play, they can go play the game and have fun.

“As soon as you start listening to people tell you that you’re pretty good, we’re a pretty humble organization right now, if you forget about that, that’s the best way to get knocked off really quick. It’s been that way forever. You humble yourself every day or when you walk out the door, the world’s gonna humble you. That’s just the way it is.”

On Spencer Sanders’ injury

“We could’ve played him in the last game. If we needed to play him, he could’ve played really close to full speed. We know exactly where we’re at with him, but when you have an ankle injury, you’re always better letting it get 100 percent. You go back on it at 85 percent, you take a chance on setting it back, and then those things can become chronic for six weeks.

“For that reason we just held him out. Wasn’t any reason to put him in the game. He practiced yesterday and looked just like he did the first week in August.”

On Sione Asi

“The culture and the background, their family history of Polynesian is pretty special. They have the heritage, the pride, the respect that they bring to themselves and their family every day.

“We started in recruiting, going out west and recruiting a number of young men, gosh it’s maybe been eight or 10 years ago now, and they’re a great addition to your team because of the things that I mentioned earlier. Such a proud heritage, a very respectful heritage in life and themselves. They bring a lot to our team.

“Those guys might gain 100 pounds when they’re in your program for four years. They might come in at 220 and be 320 before they leave. They have a tendency to have a genetic trait to really develop later in life, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, they get bigger and stronger. They’re a very attractive group of people, and he falls in that category. They’re just fun to have in the organization.”

On if he has seen a difference in Chuba Hubbard

“Well he’s practiced more. I think he had gotten into a routine where he was in practice, wasn’t in as much contact as he was early in his career. Football is a very nonforgiving sport when it comes to practice. It’s extremely difficult to not practice full speed and then be effective on gameday.

“I think he felt in his opinion that he fell short the first few weeks of the season. Last week he worked extremely hard. He stayed in there, he was involved in the contact part of practice, and I think you saw the result last Saturday.”