The Top 5 Quotes from Doug Meacham’s Monday News Conference

STILLWATER — The Cowboys are headed to West Texas this weekend for a game against a Texas Tech squad looking to bounce back from an upset loss.

Oklahoma State plays the Red Raiders at 3 p.m. Saturday in Lubbock. OSU interim coach Doug Meacham met with reporters Monday to preview the contest. Here are five things he said.

1. On Why He Gave Up Play-Calling Duties

Meacham’s situation was different that most play-caller/head coaches given he stepped into the head role on an interim basis, but a lot of times, it sounds like a difficult decision for those types to give up play-calling duties.

Meacham said it wasn’t for him.

Quarterbacks coach Kevin Johns called the OSU offense in this past weekend’s game against Cincinnati. Although the scoreboard might not show it, that game was one of the Cowboys’ better offensive performances. OSU gained 377 yards, the third-most in a game this season, and had a season-high 228 rushing yards against a defense that came into the weekend giving up about a 100 yards less than that.

“I didn’t feel like those guys are getting my best because of, and it’s not necessarily this stuff, it’s the mental — I don’t know what the word I’m looking for is — but you’re dealing with 100 and some odd players that are, ‘Should I do this? Should I do that?'” Meacham said. “And there’s a lot of mental gymnastics in that. I don’t think I was doing a very good job in terms of giving them my best. Those guys, they’re fighting for themselves at this point in terms of their career.

“So, I just kinda unplugged myself and said, ‘You guys can go make this what you want, and moving forward it may help you in the long run get your next whatever it is you’re looking for.’ I just felt like I wasn’t completely dialed with all the other things. And it wasn’t the physical workload, just the mental workload. I felt distracted. I think that to give our offense the best opportunity and give those coaches the best opportunity for their future, I thought it was just a really good move.”

2. On Coaches Working without a Certain Future

That leads nicely into a quote Meacham gave about his assistants.

Many (just about all) of these assistant coaches got to Stillwater this year after Mike Gundy cleaned house following last year’s 3-9 season. With Gundy’s firing, that means the future is uncertain for these coaches.

Meacham was asked about the staff focusing on this team despite that.

“Sitting here in an office on your phone looking for a job is not gonna help you,” Meacham said. “Being a jackass to the players and your coworkers is not gonna help you. So, what do you do? Well, just remember how happy you were the day you got this job, and while you’re here, do the best you possibly can. Because that’s ultimately going to get you where you want to be for the next job, period.

“In this line of work, because it’s a small group of people, you make two or three guys feel about you a certain way, you’re gonna make about 50 guys feel that way about you because everybody knows everybody. So, handle yourself professionally and do the best you possibly can is my advice for any coach in this situation.” 

3. ‘It Was a Win in Every Way Possible Except the Scoreboard’

OSU’s 49-17 loss to the Bearcats felt like the best game OSU had been in in some time, which tells you enough about this season.

The fans were having a good time, the offense looked as good as it had all season, but the Pokes still lost by 32.

“Last week, it was a win in every way possible except the scoreboard,” Meacham said. “Our fanfare and the stadium and all the people involved was unbelievable. The want-to and the energy and the enthusiasm of the players was phenomenal. The gameplan was a solid gameplan. Unfortunately, the only thing that truly matters is what’s on the scoreboard. But in terms of everything else, it was a win.”

4. Grant Seagren ‘Is Probably Gonna Be a Draft Guy’

Redshirt sophomore right tackle Grant Seagren was thrust into action this year after Markell Samuel suffered an injury in a hotel walkthrough before the Oregon game, but by all accounts, the former Nebraska walk-on is making the most of his opportunity.

Seagren was named to Pro Football Focus’ National Team of the Week, after the service graded him out at 82.3. That ranked third nationally among offensive linemen and first among tackles.

Meacham spoke glowingly about Seagren a few weeks back, and he had more praise for the tackle on Monday.

“He’s very athletic,” Meacham said. “He’s got some good length. He’s just gonna get better. And he really cares. He listens, pays attention, takes notes. He wants to get better because he’s a kid that is probably gonna be a draft guy. And I know we’re way ahead of ourselves here, but he’s got a lot of the intangibles, a lot of the size and the length, and a lot of the things that everybody’s looking for.”

5. On Tech’s Defense

Texas Tech has been a school known for its offense, but for what feels like the first time in a long time, the Red Raiders have a salty defense.

Tech ranks 11th nationally in total defense, giving up just 276.4 yards a game. For reference, OSU ranks 132nd in that stat, giving up 468.9 yards a game.

The Red Raider rush defense ranks first nationally, allowing just 64.3 yards on the ground a game.

And for good measure, Tech ranks 16th in third-down D, allowing conversions just 30% of the time.

“Their edge guys, you think about their D in general, just their two D-ends, you know, I think it’s Romello Height and David Bailey,” Meacham said. “David Bailey’s got like 11 sacks (10.5). The other kid’s got five. That’s an issue because now you have to chip and do things with tight ends and backs. When you’re throwing passes, you don’t have the stretch horizontally that you want because those guys have to kind of chip to get out late or get eaten up by the D-ends. 

“Anytime you put pressure on the quarterback and not have to blitz, that’s why all those guys make all the money in the NFL. You got an edge guy that they have to chip and double and do all these things. You don’t have to blitz and you can leave seven in coverage. That’s why those guys are so valuable. They’ve got two of them.”