The Rundown: What Mike Gundy Said during His Pre-Bedlam Media Luncheon

STILLWATER — The Cowboys’ regular season finale comes down to a Bedlam matchup to keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive.

Oklahoma State hosts Oklahoma this weekend. Mike Gundy met with reporters Monday in Boone Pickens Stadium for his weekly media luncheon. Here is what he had to say.

Opening Statement

“Little bit on the (Texas) Tech game, obviously our defense was really good. Offensively we managed and played synchronized football I guess I should say, special teams, offense and defense. And so, we were able to get out of Tech with a win and put ourselves in a really good position. So, we’re back to work like every other week, practiced last night and players are off today. A little different this week, no school, and schedules change based on Thanksgiving. Other than that it’s a typical game week for us moving forward with the game plan as we get ready for Oklahoma.”

On challenges Oklahoma quarterback Caleb Williams presents

“He’s a special talent. You know, he can run around and throw the ball, you know, he’s kind of like Nolan Ryan in football, you know, he can fire down the field from about any release. He’s very agile and elusive, faster than what he looks because he takes big strides, and he’s willing to just chuck it down the field and try to make plays. He’s very athletic. We’ve faced some quarterbacks that have similar qualities this year. I’m not sure they all have the same package that he has and runs, but we faced some guys that move around well in the pocket and can throw it and can get out and cause some problems.”

On if Caleb Williams reminds him of any other previous Oklahoma quarterbacks

“Not really. I mean, you know, (Baker) Mayfield was, you know, obviously not as good a runner, and he was a 6-(foot)-1 guy. Kyler (Murray) was a fantastic runner and he was a shorter guy. I don’t really think any of those guys fit that any of those guys fit like the mold that he’s from.”

On if there is an advantage to having more film on Caleb Williams

“So, anytime you have video, I think it helps. I don’t spend as much time in the defensive room, so I think this would be their perspective when I listen to them. At times, it can be difficult to defend a player that you haven’t seen much, based on all the different areas that defensive coaches across the country break down to try and find what deficiencies certain players and quarterbacks have. So, we have some video. It’s interesting with him, the general public and the fans that watch the game can see what his strengths are. You don’t really have to be involved in the integral part of coaching to know what he does, which is, he’s tough to get off the ground. He can avoid and make people miss and he can take off and score. That’s what he can do. He’s proven that. And then he has a really strong arm. So, with him it’s a little different and you can kind of see what you get.”

On challenge of defending Oklahoma’s run game

“Well, they’re averaging over five yards of carry. So, I would consider that successful if that was us. Obviously I don’t know what they would consider successful for them, but they still rush the ball. They have speed at the skill positions, like always. Their running backs, their wide receivers and quarterbacks both of them are fast. And so when you have as many fast players on the field as they put on there, then it gives them a chance to move the ball effectively. And rushing the ball, they still run the football.”

On if he likes the way Oklahoma State’s defensive front matches up against Oklahoma’s offensive line

“Yeah, we’ve been, obviously we’ve been really good on defense, and I would have confidence that our guys will come up with a good plan and play hard. I don’t know that motivation from a coaching standpoint is going to be an issue Saturday night. So, they’re very good schemers. They know what they’re doing. Their coaching staff can scheme, they understand, they get it. I think Jim (Knowles) and our staff are pretty good at it and they know what they’re doing. So, the players will fight it out on the field and X’s and O’s with the coaches and how much of a factor that’ll play, some, but ultimately it’ll be in the players hands and the way they perform and execute based on the blueprints that we’ve given our guys and, or OU’s given their players.”

On having a lot of in-state prospects on the defensive line

“We’re going on five, six years, seven years of having tremendous success, maybe longer than that, the years go pretty quick for me now, with local in-state players that are within a two, three-hour drive. And, you know, they grow up, they recognize Oklahoma State football. A large majority of them were not recruited, very under recruited. They come here, it’s important to them, they’ve got something to them. They’re humble, they work hard. They’re loyal to the organization and they play good for us.”

On if this season projects well for the future of the Big 12

“One thing that I said when this started back whenever, in August I guess, I thought that — well I guess the first thing I said was I knew Oklahoma State would be okay. Beyond that I didn’t have any idea because I didn’t know what direction we would go with realignment, conferences and different things. Then we brought the other four teams in (BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, UCF) and I used the term that we really hit a home run back then and I wasn’t sure everybody agreed with me, but I think Houston’s 9 or 10-1. I mean, Dana (Holgorsen) is doing really good this year. Central Florida is the one everybody’s going to have to worry about, population of 70,000 students and you’re sitting within a three or four hour drive or 250 Division I players. And now they have a Big 12 logo on their shirts when they go walking in those high schools. So, they’re going to be an issue once they get going down there in my opinion. BYU is BYU, we know that, and then Cincinnati they could very easily be in the top-four (of the College Football Playoff rankings) right now, tomorrow night, whenever in the meeting that we walk about. I’m sure we’ll move up two spots. But they could very well be in, they could move into that group, in my opinion, and they’re in a large populated area. But to answer your question, I don’t think it could have gone any better for what we all thought was pretty doom and gloom back when all this took place.”

On if he anticipates the Oklahoma State offense to be healthier this week

We’re gonna try to get guys out tomorrow, like always. It’s just hard for me to say. I thought [Brennan Presley] would play some and he didn’t feel good. [Josh Sills] got out and did some stuff. I didn’t think he would get on the field at all and he did get on the field. So, we’re going to try to get as many of them as ready as we can. You know [Jaylen Warren] couldn’t do much. If you would have asked me and said I had to give you an answer, I would have said yes. I would have been wrong again. So, we just have to kind of wade our way through it, figure it out middle of the week.”

On if Oklahoma’s pass rush is a concern with the injuries Oklahoma State has on the offensive line

“Well, they have a good rush anyway. I mean, they’re active up front, you know, there’s a perception out there with certain teams every year, and if there’s not overwhelming wins, then people get a taste in their mouth, maybe not as good as what they want it to be. But, they’ve still played really well on defense, and they’re very active up front. They’re good pass rushers. [Nik Bonitto], [Isaiah Thomas] and [Isaiah Coe], and then their backers move and they’re fast and they’ve play good. You know, they’re playing a lot more, well I don’t know the percentages, they’re playing more man this year, obviously, tells you that they feel good about the rush up front. So, both sides of the ball, the physical ability for both teams on both sides of the ball up front will be an important part of this game.”

On possibility of playing Oklahoma twice in two weeks changes his approach in the game plan

“No. So, you know, we had to think about that. I guess I did. I had to think about that. But, so the decision that we made is just to completely consider the championship game irrelevant and a bonus. And we’re playing this game like it wasn’t even there, like years ago when we didn’t have a championship game. So, our approach as a staff with our team is that we’re playing this game like the other game is non-existent. That’s just the decision that we, and or, I made when I put myself in the player’s shoes, I think that’s what they want. I didn’t ask them, but I think that’s what they would want. So, we’re business as usual. We’re not changing anything this week other than our schedule a little bit because of Thanksgiving.”

On what he is most impressed with from quarterback Spencer Sanders

“When we’ve protected him decent and we’ve been able to rush the ball some, his decision making has been good. I think that would be consistent with pretty much every quarterback at any level, high school, college, NFL. We’re all aware of what causes issues with quarterbacks is when they’re under duress. Their biological clock is going faster, their feet aren’t set, their body position is not as athletic as it should be. So, when he’s been in that position, he’s not played as well, when he’s been in a position where we’ve protected him better and he doesn’t have to be perfect all the time, and that we’ve been able to have run schemes that allow us to rush the ball effectively, then his decision making, his throws, his performance has been better. And we’ve seen that over the last four, five, six weeks with him.”

On importance of having an athletic quarterback in college football

“So, in my opinion, it’s pretty much every quarterback that plays at this level. So, I said this early in the year, I said in the middle of the year and I don’t know who’s picked up on it, but the difference in college football now, over the last few years is more three-man front defenses, and preventative defense on first down. But the second thing is the trickle down effect of the athleticism of defensive guys that are rushing the quarterback at this level has turned into the NFL. So, the days of Jim Plunkett just sitting there and finding somewhere to throw that he can’t move, and I’m just going off of watching old film, I mean, I don’t know. Billy Kilmer, might have been a better one, okay. Those days are going to be hard now because the athletic pass rush of, not just Oklahoma or Oklahoma State, but pretty much everybody. If you don’t move around a little bit, it’s going to be difficult in my opinion.

“So, the teams that are still left in this league for the conference championship game are three correct? All three of those teams have quarterbacks that can move. The other team that was close in the race was Iowa State and their quarterback is elusive and runs better than you think. And then I guess the next one would be Kansas State, right? They were up there or whatever, I don’t know. I don’t keep track of it. But they have athletic quarterbacks. TCU’s quarterback is athletic. Texas Tech, the young man we played a couple nights ago is very athletic. So, to answer your question, I think it’s going to be difficult to play quarterback at this level successfully if you can’t move around and avoid and do a few things with your legs because of the athleticism on the fronts.”

On if he has any criticism on when Spencer Sanders decides to run instead of throw

“There’s two there’s two things on it. The first thing is, unfortunately, there’s some of that that’s not coached much. That’s just you’re born with that, in my opinion. I could be wrong. Secondly, the percentage of it that you are coaching into those guys, he’s done very well. But when you’re standing back at seven and a half or eight yards deep and there’s four or five guys that are coming full speed at you, it’s not an easy situation to be in and then when you try to get away and you’re running for your life and then try and decide where to run or throw, you’re talking about decisions that are made within a second or two and it takes experience to learn how to make quality decisions, in my opinion. And he’s getting better at that throughout his career.”

On if the success of Oklahoma State’s defense has influenced Spencer Sanders making smarter decisions

“I would have to say no. I think he’s trying to score on every play to be honest with you. It does for me, when I’m communicating on the headphones, but, you know, I have not asked him that. He’s been very efficient in things that we’re discussing right now, but I don’t know that that’s crossed his mind.”

On if his philosophy that it is okay to punt changes against Oklahoma

“I think you have to let the flow of the game go. That’s what we would do. Obviously I’m going to make that decision. So, I need to see the ebb and flow of the game and how things are going. How’s our defense playing? How are we rushing football? How’s the quarterback’s decision making? Same thing for them, you know, how are they playing on that side of the ball? Their decision making, where are they at? And I think if you let the game go, and you see what happens before, in my opinion, before you make a bold statement, or something you’re going to do that would go against something that would be normal statistically, in a decision making process.”

On if it is fair to say Oklahoma State has been cautious against Oklahoma

“No, we’ve been more open than we have been. Sometimes we’ve been cautious if we don’t feel like we can execute certain things. If we feel like it’s going to create negative plays. Negative plays on the offensive side of the ball are not good. You know, you hear people say ‘stay on the chains.’ So, that’s not — now if they’ve had teams that were overpowering to us and we couldn’t function, it may look that way. But, if you just think about, well, last year when we played them, in the second half I think we had three freshmen lineman playing. And they had a pretty good pass rush, last year, this year, pretty good pass rush. So, it may look conservative, but it didn’t do us or me or the team any good to put them in a situation where they’re working down-the-field pass routes that are 2.8 to three (seconds) to throw and somebody is in the backfield in 1.7 (seconds). It just didn’t make any sense. So, our approach to every game has probably been more wide open against them than would it be a normal opponent, during my time here as a head coach. Like the year Sam Bradford was here and they were scoring all those points, we went empty pretty much the whole game. We never went empty. We were just trying to manufacture — we ended up scoring about 38 points I think. So no, it’s not been that way. But we also, unfortunately at times, try to work with the ebb and flow of the game and manage the best we can.”

On who should be the All-Big 12 quarterback this season

“Oh gosh, I haven’t even thought about that. You know, it’s funny you mentioned that. I could give you some good stuff because you guys drive in cars and think about this stuff all the time like I do. So, who’s really the fifth-best team in the country, and who’s the 15th-best team? I mean, you could switch them and nobody would really care. That’s been that way pretty much all this year. It’s been pretty cool, in my opinion. We’re all in agreement that — it’d be interesting what they do, because you keep bringing this up and it’s gonna be interest what they do with No. 2 this week, in my opinion, based on what happened Saturday scores wise. So, I don’t know. Who’s gonna win the Heisman? Up until a week ago, I mean, nobody really knew, right? Usually when we get into Week 10, we all know who’s won the Heisman, because they start doing the advertisements on ESPN, and that’s the one they’re showing all the time. They’re not just showing him, they’re showing him because he’s gonna win the Heisman and it’s marketing. So, if you watch it, you haven’t seen that yet. That’s because nobody knows who’s going to win it.”

On if he is going to politic some publicly for getting into the College Football Playoff

“Not really. You know, it just goes against my nature. The culture that we’ve tried to create with our players is not that. And so I don’t feel like me being the guy in charge that I can do that. And I’ll be honest with you, I don’t think anybody would listen to me. I really don’t think they will. I’m not against anybody on the committee, I don’t even know who’s on the committee. But, I don’t think they’re going to concern themselves with me telling them how good we are. That’s just my opinion.”

On if it is better to be dominant offensively or defensively to impress the committee

“Defensively.”

On if he prefers the committee or the computers

“If I was up here running for governor, I’d hate to say anything to make the committee mad right now. If somebody asked me about immigration or abortion or taxes, I start talking about how nice the state looks in the summer. … The reason I will avoid it is because I don’t know who they’ll vote. Let’s put it this way, I don’t think anybody’s just taking it over. But here’s what I’d say … humans are partial, right? I mean, at some point when the people here get tired of me and run me off and bring a new coach in and I’ll be watching the game somewhere, I’ll be hoping OSU wins. You know what I mean? That’s going to always be me. But one thing that I’ve said that I think is very important everybody understands is college football has a really, really, really good thing going on right now. Everybody’s watching all the games. So we got to be careful we don’t alter that. 

“Before the season, we all agreed to sign up to the four-team playoff, and that playoff is chosen by the committee. So in my opinion, I’m buying into the committee the way it is because we signed up for that, and until they change it, if we want to partake and be a part of it, then I think that we stay the course. What we’re doing right now is pretty good. Is it perfect? No. Can they fix it? Sure, we go to an eight-team playoff. That fixes it. That’s it. You will never hear any more issues. That would fix it.”

On how he feels about so many freshmen playing major roles

“I’m not real comfortable with it. We had five freshmen playing at once out there on offense Saturday night. It’s not the most comforting feeling, but JP (Richardson) has had a lot of reps in practice, but he hasn’t had the mental and physical strain in games. So, he’s doing OK. The Greens have had more of that, and it beats up on them a little bit. [Jaden Bray], he’s had not as many game reps but a lot of practice reps. We’ve got some guys that have gone through it, but we’re in a better position than we have in the past. Collin Oliver is a different guy because I don’t know how he’s holding up the way he is, but it’s not bothering him at all. He’s playing as hard now as he was from day one. It’s pretty amazing at his age with his inexperience to compete like he is with a lot of reps. But they do rotate through a lot on defense, which helps.”

On a tackle Collin Oliver made against Tech

“Joe Bob (Clements) and Greg Richmond did a good job of coaching him on that. That’s a nice job coaching. Seeing up the field out of his eye, turn back, dive and catch him right there, that’s good coaching.”

On the freshmen receivers playing more

“Well, I’m never comfortable with freshmen being on the field because they don’t play like veterans because of several reasons. I mean, that’s proven. But, we don’t have that luxury right now on offense. We’re gonna be playing a lot of young players. That’s just the way it is. Now the good news is that they’ve been practicing for three months, so that helps. There’s just different things we can do with [Blaine Green] throwing the ball then we can the other guys in certain positions. He can be more of a slot, he can do some blocking, he can loop around and block, can release in the middle of the field, release in the flat. There’s other things we can do with him, based on him being 218 pounds.”

On it potentially being the last Bedlam game in Stillwater for a while

“Somebody asked me that yesterday, I don’t remember who it was, but I would say it is. I mean, I don’t know, but just from hearing what you guys hear, I would say it probably is the last one.”

On Logan Carter

“Oh, he’s beat up. He managed. He’s playing, but he’s not full speed. It’s not a secret. Anybody can watch the game, watch the TV, our opponents can. They can see that. He’s still productive in certain things, but he’s not remotely where he was last year — not right now.”

On Malcolm Rodriguez not being a Butkus Award finalist

“I don’t think there’s any question if you would look at how much he’s produced and what he’s done and look at his numbers and just watching him on video, that he would have been there. He should be there. I don’t know who votes on that, but he’s a pretty productive player.”

On Jim Knowles being nominated for the Broyles Award

“I would think he would be a pretty good candidate. I don’t know who else is out there. I don’t pay attention, but I’d think he’d be up there pretty high.”

On OU jumping on OSU early last season and how OSU avoids something similar

“They hit some big plays early. There could have been some things scheme-wise we could have done better. I’m sure that Jim (Knowles) would tell you that. The players, they’re going to practice hard and they’re gonna pour into their game plan this week. I’m sure they’ll be motivated to play at a very high level Saturday night. So, I don’t think it’ll really factor in with them. Other than sometimes the games happen, I don’t know. I don’t really have an answer. I mean, to be honest with you, if I did, I would not do it again. I just don’t always know what that cause is. You look at your schemes and your thoughts and your concepts and then try to go from there, from a coach’s standpoint, is the best way to start.”

On if Blaine Green being used as a Cowboy back could be a long-term thing

“I think it depends on how big he gets. He’s 218 pounds right now. If he gets to 230 pounds, I would say that he would be playing inside a lot. Kinda like Tracy Moore. He’s a lot like that, so there’s some things we can do with him inside.”

On what stands out to him about Jim Knowles’ preparation process

“I don’t know. He goes in there and closes his door. I don’t ever see him. I mean, I see him on Sunday morning. I see him Sunday night at practice, and then I don’t see him again until Tuesday. So, I don’t know what he does. I mean, I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed, but I stay out of there and let him do what he does. I very seldom ever say a word to him. Honestly, I don’t know because he closes his door. I don’t know what he does in there. Could be watching cartoons for all I know. I don’t know what he does in there. He comes out Tuesday, and I see him in the staff meeting. Then I don’t see a lot of him Tuesday, and I see him at practice.”

On how often he is in the defensive channel on the headset during games

“I’m on there the whole time the defense is on field, pretty much.”

On thinking back to the 2011 season and what kind of confidence it gives a group when you have a distinct advantage on one side of the ball

“One thing that this team has is confidence. They have confidence in themselves as a group. They’ve played with a lot of confidence. Some of that was motivated or accomplished through early in the season when we barely won against what people would think we should have played better and won better. So they’ve kind of built confidence and gotten some guys healthy, we know that, I don’t want to get into all that. But, if you’re successful in anything we do in life, forget football, don’t make a difference what it is, then you have confidence. When you have offenses like we had back then that are scoring 50 points a game, obviously you have a lot of confidence going into the game that you’re going to play really well. It’s the same thing on the defensive side. Confidence is the most important thing in any team sport, in my opinion, or individually. I think our team has a lot of confidence right now. I don’t know how we would compare one or the other. I just think as an organization, we have a lot of confidence this time.”

On if the stakes of the game mean players who are injured are more likely to play

“The green light is a decision they make based on them telling us, ‘I’m ready. I can play.’ So, I don’t have any idea of what a pain tolerance level is with three or four of the guys that are trying to play right now. If they had an injury that prevented them from playing and our doctor says we don’t want them out there, then it’s a nonfactor. But other than that, they have to tell us, ‘I can play.’ When they tell us that they can play, then we work them in and we put them out there.”

On how Kasey Dunn has done as the offensive coordinator this season

“Well, statistically nobody’s gonna like it. I mean, I’m guessing that people aren’t happy with points and scoring and production and whatever. But, he’s in his second year here, and we had some issues last year. If we didn’t have issues, I’d tell you we didn’t have issues. This year we had issues for the first three or four games that were somewhat unfair, but it is what it is. We went three or four weeks where all of our skill guys practiced and our O-line stayed consistent, so we started to put together some numbers that looked more like what we have here in the past. My job is to evaluate things based on what I know for a fact, not what people or statistics might say. That staff has done a great job. Not just a good job, they’ve done a great job in manufacturing enough ways to get yards, time of possession and points to allow our defense to play fantastic and special teams to play really good to win games. This last game we played was the first game where, really, they played better on special teams than we did because their punter changed the field like six times. Now we played good, but he was booming punts from the 15 down to our 15 to change the field so much. They really had the advantage in special teams in this game because of that. So to answer your question, with what he’s doing working with the defense and our special teams, I’m happy with.”

On people using the term “complementary football” when describing OSU

“So years ago, five, six years ago, we took four scholarships away from the offense and put them on defense because everybody was scoring 50 points in a game in this league, not everybody, but most teams were. I thought if we don’t at least try to beef up our defense, even if we win this league and we get out of this league and get into this playoff system, we’re going to have to play better defensively if we’re going to win. When we made that transition, it was to play a little bit more synchronized football, complimentary football, which is what we’ve done this year. It’s pretty obvious. There’s times that we’ve chilled out to kick a field goal to make sure that we extend the game from a two- to a three-score game. We never would have done that in the past. I’ve made those decisions unlike in the past.”

On if this feels like a bigger-than-normal Bedlam game

“Yes, it does because we’ve had a great year. So you’d like to keep that going. Where we are right now as a team, it’s difficult to get in that position. There’s only how many teams left in the country that are even in this position, so it’s difficult to get there. So when you get there, you would like to at least perform at the highest level you can moving forward to continue with what are special seasons. I think that’s just a fact. Some people might downplay it and say no, but I don’t really believe that. I’m kind of speaking for the players. I get that vibe from them. I think that the environment, the atmosphere, the electric feel, for lack of a better term, Saturday night will be a big-time feel. We’ve had that in some of these games. I mean, 30, I didn’t know I’ve played in 30 of them, but I probably can’t remember 20 of them. Some of them have felt different than the others. I go back, I can remember the (Sam) Bradford year. We won down there one time when we were big underdogs, it really didn’t feel that way in warmups. I don’t think people really gave us much of a chance. But we’ve had a number of games there and here where you had a real electric feel in warmup, which is pretty cool.”

On whether he thinks Bedlam will continue with OU in the SEC

“I don’t think it will. I just don’t think there’s a business side of it that … I don’t make that decision. I guess Dr. (Kayse) Shrum and Chad Weiberg, they can do whatever they wanted, or the board. I don’t know who’s involved in this. I don’t think it’s a realistic thing that it’s going to happen based on the business side of Power Five conference football in the Big 12 or the SEC. That’s just my opinion on it. I could be wrong, and I’m not getting that from anybody. I’m just answering the question you asked me.

“When you look at the business side of it, we play … I don’t even know what they’ll do. We’re going to 12 teams, right? So you’re going to have divisions now. That would be, let’s think about this, six and six. Did we used to do five (division games) and three (non division games)? We’re scheduled out, you guys can help me on this, through 2032 or something. We’re scheduled out way longer than they’ll keep me around here. So, your financial commitments to buy outs and payouts are at an all-time high now. Then if we go back to playing five and crossing over, I would think that we would end up with, I bet somehow they find a way to play nine (conference) games. That’s just me. I’m just talking about television money, right? That’s what the television is paying for. So let’s just say we’re playing nine, so we have our three nonconferences scheduled. The SEC, in my opinion, from what I’ve heard, is going to go to nine also. If they have their three, then you would have to buy out and pay off teams to start with. And then secondly, you would have to be willing as a Power Five conference school that’s playing nine conference games, we all play another (Power Five school), like I think we play Arizona State next year. So that’s 10 Power Five conference games. So, if you’re going to go back into this game, you would be willing to play 11 (Power Five schools) out of a 12-game season, which would be extremely difficult. 

“And from a business standpoint, we all know this, the more success and games you win in football is a huge revenue avenue for your athletic department and your university because the more you win in football, enrollment goes up. That’s a fact. Marketing money goes up. There’s a huge amount of money involved in that. So, if we were running a company, and you’re in a business standpoint, somebody would have to make a decision. Do you want to risk some of that in how many other teams across the country that are competing to get in the final four are willing to play 11 (Power Five) conference games and only have one nonconference, based on the amount of money that could be sitting there at the end. Whether you like it or not, I’m guessing that’s what’s gonna take place. Now, have I been in those discussions? No. That was a lot of big words for me just in a short amount of time. But that would be my guess. But I’m going to do what Dr. Shrum tells me to do, and I’m gonna do what Chad Weiberg tells me to do. Then I go on down the road.”

On the school’s biggest rival not being there anymore

“I’m a traditionalist. I didn’t like any of it. I didn’t like when the Big 12 broke up, whenever that was. Missouri and Nebraska headed out. I didn’t like any of it. I liked it the way it was. I liked it. I thought the divisions were good. I just liked it that way. I’m not fired up about any of it, but obviously, it doesn’t make a difference what I think.”

On if he prefers ham or turkey for Thanksgiving

“I’m a big ham guy. I will eat turkey, but I eat mainly all the sides. The sides that you get on Thanksgiving, you don’t get any time during the year, or I don’t. Right? I mean all that other stuff. Sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole.”

On what Thanksgiving sides aren’t eaten year round

“The truth about why we don’t do it is because people don’t cook at home anymore. None of us do, right? We’re all moving. We work hours. We work late. You’re traveling. People work until 6, 7 o’clock at night, they go by and grab something, go home and try to eat. I don’t want to cook, and then nobody wants to clean up. That’s the worst part, right? I mean, do you like unloading the dishwasher? It’s miserable. Putting them in, you’re kind of OK with, but when they’re dry and you got to take them out and put them where they’re supposed to be, I just don’t like it. It’s sad because of all the great sides we have and we don’t do it. People just move too fast. We don’t sit down and eat dinner and whatever. It is what it is.”