The Top 5 Quotes from Mike Gundy’s Pre-Kansas State News Conference

STILLWATER — Fresh off an open week, Mike Gundy met with reporters Monday for the first time since his team’s 34-27 loss in Ames.

Oklahoma State hosts Kansas State at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Boone Pickens Stadium. Here are five topics that stood out ahead of the Cowboys’ clash with the Wildcats. If you’re looking for quarterback talk, you can find that here.

On Brennan Presley’s Involvement in OSU’s Offense

Brennan Presley was expected to be one of the focal points of Oklahoma State’s offense in 2023, but he has just 15 catches through four games. Six of those came against an FCS school.

OSU’s leader in receiving yards last season (by some distance), Presley is fourth-leading receiver thus far this season with 98 yards. That puts him behind Jaden Bray (215 yards), De’Zhaun Stribling (198 yards) and running back Jaden Nixon (113) yards.

In OSU’s past two games (both losses), Presley has five catches for 20 yards.

Presley had 20 catches for 252 yards four games into last season.

“We need to get him the ball more,” Gundy said. “He needs to be involved more. When you play outside of the box, it’s more difficult to say, ‘We’re going to get this player so many touches,’ compared to a running back. It’s a little different. But I have mentioned to them that he needs more touches, but he always has a good attitude.”

On NIL’s Importance

Eyebrows were raised when after a 33-7 loss to the Sun Belt’s South Alabama, Gundy noted that South Alabama doesn’t “deal with NIL and stuff,” and that South Alabama players “go there to play football.”

That led a portion of an already upset fanbase to question Gundy’s ability to adapt to the everchanging landscape of college football.

After the loss to Iowa State, many OSU athletes took to Twitter (X) to promote Pokes With A Purpose, an OSU-focused NIL collective. Gundy said he was unaware of all of the promotion from the past week, pointing out that he isn’t on Twitter.

“The NIL and the collective is very, very important,” Gundy said. “And I think that Pokes With A Purpose and our administration has done a good job with trying to get information out there. It is very important. It is becoming a part of college football, and I think it’s here to stay.

“So it is very important, and it’s something that I guess is going to grow from here on out. What direction is it gonna go? Nobody knows. But it is very important. It’s a part of what we do. Pokes With A Purpose has done a great job. How they work with our administration and the future is important. I think they’re trying to work through all that right now, as is every other school in the country.”

On Selling Out Games Despite Struggles

After back-to-back losses ahead of a Friday night matchup, some fanbases might be less than willing to drive into a somewhat remote college town to watch a game — not at Oklahoma State.

The OSU faithful have sold out Friday night’s game against Kansas State, making it three straight sellouts to start the season at Boone Pickens Stadium. OSU has also already sold out its regular-season finale against BYU.

“There’s been a commitment from our fans and the Oklahoma State people to show that this is a football school — football is important to us,” Gundy said. “And they’ve done a good job, and they’ve played that role. Whether conference realignment had something to do with it or not, I’m not sure. But they’ve done a good job of saying, ‘Hey, we’re gonna come to the games and be there and support the team,’ which is what they should do. I mean, that’s what this is all about.

“I’ve been very pleased with it and thought that the fans have been awesome and would expect nothing else from them and the students on Friday night.”

On Alex Hale’s Range

The Cowboys’ 2-2 start has overshadowed the incredible start kicker Alex Hale is off to.

Hale hit a 53-yard field goal into the wind in Ames. He is 6-for-7 on the year and is 2-for-2 on kicks of 50+ yards. He was a 2020 Lou Groza semifinalist before a freak injury in warmups of Bedlam provided him with a speed bump. After two years of Tanner Brown being the Cowboys’ primary place kicker, Hale has picked up right where he left off before the injury.

“Alex has played well, and it doesn’t surprise me,” Gundy said. “He played well years ago and had a couple years off and now he’s coming back and plays well. He works diligently to perfect his craft, takes a lot of pride in it.

“… I don’t see any issues with him from 57 in, maybe further, I’m not sure. But he’s fine from around that area.”

No Talk Radio

Whenever Mike Gundy is done coaching, he could probably make a killing in the media world, whether that be as a TV guy or on radio.

But it sounds like he would jump into the latter a little raw. Sellout Crowd’s Geurin Emig asked Monday whether Gundy has listened to Cale Gundy on the radio, and Mike didn’t mince words with the medium.

“I have never listened to the radio,” Gundy said. “I would think about jumping off my back deck before I would listen to talk radio. Two idiots yelling at each other discussing what people think is not my time — I have no time for that.”