Gundy Talks Concert Encore, Recruiting Staff, Harbaugh-Dez Bryant-NCAA and QBs
STILLWATER – After Thursday’s practice Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy met with the media for about 14 minutes and this time Gundy didn’t have to steer the conversation away from football as he will sometimes do. The media steered for him with the first questions about Gundy’s appearance last Saturday night on stage in Tulsa at the BOK Center with Oklahoma’s own Zach Bryan. The conversation would later turn to football, but right off the bat it was Gundy’s unique celebration on a concert stage on the night he celebrated turning 56.
“The concert was awesome, and I will say this, that is a huge rush to be up there on stage and 17,000 people are screaming at him, but you think they are screaming for you,” Gundy admitted about his participation in the encore. “That is an adrenaline rush. Everybody there was cheering and excited. It was a great deal and I’ve never been through anything like that.”
Gundy had told me that they called for him backstage after the concert and he hung out with the band until they said, “you ready to go?” Gundy said yes and they snaked their way through the crowd back on stage.
“I didn’t want to get off the stage. I can see how those guys get addicted to that,” Gundy added. “That is awesome and it is with the team, but it is different. I don’t know how long I was up there, five minutes, seven minutes, and those people were going crazy the whole time. I was thinking in my mind it was because of me and Zach wasn’t up there. It was really cool. I would do it again.”
Gundy said he didn’t know Zach Bryan, but they had reached out to see if he was interested. His youngest son Gage told his dad he needed to do that.
“I like all kinds of music,” he said. Then he was reminded that he plays some Beastie Boys on practice music that blares out of the big speakers. He added thathe saw them in concert one in New York City at Madison Square Garden.
Gundy said it worked out because Sunday was an off day from practice. He said it pushed his limit.
“You know they don’t come out on stage until almost 10 and that is about 30 minutes after I’m in bed,” Gundy said maybe joking a little. “I didn’t get hom until 2:30 a.m. that is late for me.”
Gundy was also asked about losing Mariah Turner,manager of on-campus recruiting. Turner, who played basketball at the University of Tulsa and is the daughter of former Oklahoma defensive end Richard Turner had done some work with the NFL at the Super Bowl last January and at the NFL Draft in Kansas City. She was hired by the Buffalo Bills.
Gundy said that job mainly worked on planning and execution of recruiting official visit weekends and game day unofficial visits. He said that Todd Bradford and his staff were being “particular” about finding a replacement.
“That is the one aspect of our industry that is going to continue to grow,” Gundy said. “We have enough coaches and analysts, but the recruiting side of it because of the portal and the urgency at which the portal works with the window. That is very important because, as I said, when we come home from a bowl game the next day we have visits. It’s crazy.”
Gundy was asked what he thought of the recent news with Jim Harbaugh where the Michigan coach was about to get a four-game suspension for lying to the NCAA about contact with recruits and a possible cheeseburger purchased during the COVID period where no recruiting was allowed. The NCAA Infractions Committee came out and stomped on that supposed negotiated suspension for Harbaugh.
Gundy was asked if he would have taken a four-game suspension when former Oklahoma State superstar wide receiver Dez Bryant was caught lying to the NCAA investigators.
“You know until you’ve walked in a man’s shoes you don’t know anything, but Dez (Bryant) failed to tell the truth on one question on a $14.38 Applebee’s charge,” Gundy started with his response. “He was 19 and went in with them (NCAA investigators) and he was scared like any of us would have been. He said, ‘no, I didn’t do it.’ They suspended him for that and he never played again.”
Gundy continued, but I thought he was very controlled. I know for a fact that the Harbaugh deal really bothered him. I know the Dez Bryant loss back in the 2009 still bothers him.
“I’m not a big fan of that because, he’s a great player, but that was poor judgement because here is a 19-year-old that is in a room with people with coats and ties and he’s scared,” Gundy continued. “It was just $14 but he was scared. Now, he could probably turn around and file a law suit and be eligible.
There was football talk and this too had a prelude as Gundy came over and spoke to me before the start of the news conference or media availability. He said he could not make a decision at quarterback. I agreed. I’ve been to practice and they have all played well. It’s not a case where any quarterback is struggling. The defense has played well, which has impacted all of the offense. The quarterbacks have all played pretty similar. Bowman is very good on ball security and not throwing into bad situations. The others are okay. Rangel had a really good day throwing the ball, but Bowman was better Tuesday, and Gundy may have been the best in the scrimmage on Saturday.
“They’re playing really well,” Gundy said. “There’s no way we could name a starter right now. Just can’t, and I’m a little surprised that it’s gotten to this point. Whenever we feel like that it’s best for the team based on what’s happening in practice, we will. But not right now.”
It is a three-man battle with Michigan transfer and former Texas Tech standout Alan Bowman, red-shirt freshman and three-game starter last season Garret Rangel, and Gundy’s middle-son and former Stillwater All-State quarterback Gunnar Gundy.
“They’re getting a lot of reps,” Gundy said. “We practice differently now than we used to because of COVID, and it’s really, really good for our organization. They’re getting a lot of reps.”
When asked if he could see multiple quarterbacks playing to start the season, he just shook his head affirmative.
You may see two or three share playing time in the opener with Central Arkansas.