Three Things Mike Gundy Said in His Monday Teleconference

Mike Gundy held his weekly media teleconference Monday where he discussed topics from QB2 to Brennan Presley to the Cowboys canceling Friday’s practice.

Here are three more things Oklahoma State’s coach touched on.

1. On Chuba Hubbard and Depth at RB

With the will they or won’t they play, the switching of schedules and condensed preseason, one Cowboy hasn’t been talked about that much in fall camp: All-American (Canadian) Chuba Hubbard.

Gundy was asked about the nation’s reigning rushing champion for the first time in a while Monday, and it turns out, Hubbard is still looking good.

“Chuba’s practiced really well,” Gundy said. “He had a really good week last week. He’s practicing full speed and getting back into a routine where he is out there and taking a few hits and getting ready to play.”

RB2 will be an interesting position to track this season, as it is expected that Hubbard will make the leap to the NFL after this redshirt junior season. That storyline is made all the more interesting with the NCAA ruling that this fall season won’t count toward student-athletes’ eligibility, meaning seniors could return in 2021.

So LD Brown, Dezmon Jackson, Deondrick Glass, Dominic Richardson and Micah Cooper could all be competing for Hubbard’s scraps this fall then competing again next year for the featured job.

“The guys behind [Hubbard] have gotten a lot of work,” Gundy said. “I feel comfortable with those players. These next 10 days will be big days for Chuba, conditioning-wise, getting back into a routine of getting banged around a little bit, taking some hits, taking care of the football. I like where he is at now, but the next 10 days will be important for his progression in getting ready for the season.”

2. On Fewer Fans in the Stands

Boone Pickens Stadium’s limited capacity provides a few interesting variables.

One question is whether players will be able to get energy from the fewer than 15,000 fans who will be in attendance. A trade-off to that could be better communication as players and coaches should be able to more clearly hear each other.

“We always use the term in our organization about controlling what we can control,” Gundy said. “We can’t control how many people are in the stands. There’s been a limit put on it by the university. I’m guessing that we’ll max that out based on the excitement of people that want to watch Cowboy football. Everywhere I go, that’s what I hear.

“We’ll fill it up as much as we can. Once the games get going, the players will be focused on the game, and I don’t think it will affect us much from the game standpoint. And hopefully, as the season goes on, we can get more people in the stands.”

With no fans physically in the NBA bubble, many bench players have taken it upon themselves to provide energy for their team. Here was Gundy’s response when presented with that.

“I have thought our practices have been very enthusiastic,” Gundy said. “The temperament and the way our team and other teams handle it on game day with reduced stadium capacities will be really interesting. I wouldn’t know which way to comment on that, but I do think it’s going to be very interesting. I haven’t watched any games on TV, so I can’t really comment on that, but it’ll be interesting to see how the teams react with the smaller stadium size.”

3. On the Kicking Aussies

With Matt Ammendola gone, it looks if kicking duties will fall to redshirt sophomore Alex Hale in 2020.

That’s who Gundy pointed to Monday as to who will replace Ammendola. Hale, from Point Frederick in Australia, hasn’t kicked a field goal in his collegiate career thus far and his only in-game action came from five kickoffs last season.

“Our kickers, up to this point, have practiced really well,” Gundy said. “I think that Alex Hale has got the nod right now in the PAT/field goal department. But I’ve been pleased with our special teams and our battery and punting and kicking up to this point.”

Punting duties will remain with Hale’s fellow Aussie Tom Hutton, who tied for third in the Big 12 last season with 23 punts downed inside the 20-yard line.

It seems likely that Jake McClure will handle kickoff duties again this season. McClure has kicked off 164 times for the Pokes in the past two seasons, 84 of which resulted in touchbacks.