The Top 5 Quotes from Mike Gundy’s Tuesday Media Availability

STILLWATER — Week 2 of the Cowboys’ spring camp got underway in Tuesday, as the Pokes donned shoulder pads for the first time.

Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy met with the media ahead of Tuesday’s practice. Here are five things he said that stood out.

1. On Week 1

The Cowboys put pads on Tuesday for the first time this spring.

Gundy meets with reporters before practice, so he hadn’t yet seen what a full-padded practice would look like with this new group. But based on the first week without pads, it sounded like he was interested to see what these next few weeks bring.

“Looks good,” Gundy said. “It’s no pads. So I’m excited about the next two weeks. I feel like after we had a couple weeks of pads we’ll get an idea of kind of where we are. Like Gene Hackman said, let’s see what kind of hand we’ve been dealt here. We’ll know a lot more after six practices in pads.

“The enthusiasm is good. The coaches’ enthusiasm is good. All that’s a plus. Guys are buying in. Academic reports are good. Attendance is good. All the things that we need to move in the right direction are happening, but we’ll see what happens. We get in pads for six practices.”

2. Quarterback Update

Gundy was asked about his four-man quarterback battle among Garret Rangel, Zane Flores, Maealiuaki Smith and Hauss Hejny, but there wasn’t a ton to update.

“They’re not getting hit and really not getting pushed around much because no pads,” Gundy said. “I hate to say the same thing, but that’s gonna change over the next couple weeks. We should start to see what plays they can make and how productive they can be in pressure situations.”

Gundy did say the QBs will “get hit some” this spring.

3. New Coaching Staff Brings Some Colorful Language

It sounds as if this new coaching staff has a little bit of hellfire and brimstone to it.

Gundy was asked Tuesday if he still had a rule about the coaching staff using colorful language.

“No,” he said. “Not now.”

Gundy mentioned it comes more from the defensive side of the ball.

“We do have signals that if I think it gets out of control, somebody can go over there and we can calm it down some,” Gundy said. “The one thing I do have is we don’t direct it as a person. The broad, OK, but we don’t direct it at a player. …

“There are some Todd Monkenish guys that are on this staff. My job is to try to get the right guys and then let them coach and be who they are. We all have to be who we are. We can do the best we can, but direct some of that in the right way. At times you get in the heat of the moment. I’d rather have to pull a dog out than kick him in a fight.”

4. On the NCAA Denying a Colorado-Syracuse Spring Game

The NCAA denied Colorado and Syracuse getting together for a spring game, likely putting an end to Gundy’s proposed spring Bedlam for at least the time being.

Gundy didn’t discuss the Bedlam idea much more Tuesday, but did question what the NCAA can do at this point to stop teams from getting together in the spring — given the NCAA’s grasp on the college athletic landscape has been called into question all over the place lately with NIL and the transfer portal.

“I mentioned it the other day, I just thought of the deal with OU, I think it’s a good deal,” Gundy said. “I would like to do it, I’d like to practice against them.

“I’ll be honest with you, I’m not gonna waste my time on who’s going to determine what the rules are anymore because essentially there’s not really enough of them to follow. I’m not even sure how they had grounds to say you can’t do it. If somebody just goes and does it, what are they gonna do to them?”

5. Dykes ‘One of the Best to Ever Play’

A pair of former OSU receivers picked up some accolades this week with Justin Blackmon being named the next inductee into OSU’s Ring of Honor and Hart Lee Dykes picking up a Hall of Honor nod.

Blackmon won the Biletnikoff Award (given to the best receiver in college football) twice and was part of the 2011 Cowboy squad that one the Big 12 and Fiesta Bowl. Dykes played alongside Gundy back in the 80s. Despite the change in eras, Dykes still ranks fourth all-time on OSU’s career receiving yards list.

“Justin’s obviously a great player,” Gundy said. “He’s a guy that I would’ve guessed would play 10 years in the NFL. Hart Lee Dykes is probably the greatest receiver that I’ve ever seen in my life, but Justin was right there by him. He could take a game over and played with a tremendous amount of confidence. …

“In my opinion, (Dykes is) one of the best to ever play. Most people don’t know about him. We didn’t have social media back then. We only played on TV three times a year. There just wasn’t anybody like him — 6-4, 230 pounds and had competitive speed. Four-three (40-yard dash) guys chased him in a game and couldn’t catch him. He’s just special. There’s not a guy like him. He could do anything he wanted to do. Very, very deserving of the honors he’s receiving. Long overdue.”

Gundy’s Full News Conference