Watch: Everything Mike Gundy Said at Big 12 Media Days
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FRISCO, Tx. – It was a busy two days down in Frisco, TX, at Big 12 Media Days but not as busy as it was on Wednesday for Pokes Report as it was Oklahoma State and Mike Gundy’s day.
Mike gave us some good content but it was a rather subdued year as the Cowboys are coming off an 0-9 year in Big 12 play, all new coaching staff and 65 new players on the roster.
Here’s everything Mike Gundy had to say from up at the podium:
As a coach that's been around the block in the Big 12, what do you have to say about the way that Matt Campbell has built up Iowa State since taking over 10 years ago?
“Well, Matt's been very successful for quite a while. I was thinking about that the other day. I don't know how many years he's been there, but he's done a good job. Not a place that's a really easy build, but he built it up really well. They ought to take good care of him, try to keep him there as long as possible. He's been very good for our Conference.”
Mike, I want to ask you about the quarterback room. It looks a lot different than it did at the end of the spring. Can you talk about your message to the remaining quarterbacks and how their summer went?
“Well, obviously it's different. We don't have a quarterback that's ever played a snap for us at Oklahoma State. We've got a little bit of familiarity with a couple guys coming through spring, but it's one of the things in the future of college football that's a little bit scary—you don't have as many guys in that room as you'd want to. But I think Coach Meacham and our staff understand the importance of finding out who gives us the best chance to win and building our offense around that system.”
Coach Gundy, going from being a former player to being a current head coach, how surreal is it for you to see yourself in the new college football game? Have you had a chance to play it?
“I have not played the game, but I think it's pretty cool that somebody put me in a video game. Somebody showed me the picture just recently, and they gave me a great hairdo—like I have really good hair. I mean, that's like permanent hair forever, but I'm good with it.I wish my royalties off it were as much as the players', but it should be fun.”
Mike, how did the results of a year ago shape your offseason assessment of where your program is?
“The offseason for us has been crazy. Obviously, we know about all the changes in college football. For the most part, we all live day-to-day—players coming in, players going out, recruiting. For me, it was extremely busy—new staff, new coordinators. Those guys bring in their own staff. We have 65 new players. Thirty-five of them we've never seen practice before. They just showed up in June. Eighteen of those are transfers, and the rest are high school players. It’s a very unusual experience. They've done really well over the last four or five weeks in offseason, but August practice will be more important now than it ever has been based on the new faces.”
Coach, having all these new players in, what is it like trying to build a scheme around so many new guys compared to what you used to do 20 years ago?
“Whenever I used to go on vacation in July, I had a really good idea of who our two-deep was going to be. In most cases, who the quarterback was going to be. I'm going to try to go on vacation in a week or so, and I'm not sure that I know who will be the starters in eight of the 22 spots, not counting special teams. So it's very unusual. Coaches understand that it's going to have to happen faster in August this year than it ever has before so we can get established, create some identity. Hopefully, develop some team chemistry, and get ready to play in the first game.”
Following a disappointing season last year where you went winless in conference play, your contract was restructured. It involved you being really involved in selecting a successor whenever you decide to retire. Where do you see the program in the next three years?
“One thing to remember is that I've been fortunate enough to be the head coach for now going on 21 years, and we've had 19 winning seasons in a row. We've played a really high level of college football. For the majority of those years, we could have beaten any team in the country on any given day at any time. We have to go through a little bit of a rebuilding phase this year. Onebecause we needed to upgrade in certain areas and the other because we lost a large number of veteran players last year. We were going to have to so-called rebuild anyway. We were prepared for that. The changes in how we go about rebuilding, whether it's financially or roster management have been challenging but also intriguing. It's something new. It's different than it's ever been before in my 21 years as a head coach.”
Coach, in the NIL era, how do you combat player entitlement?
“That's a great question from a young person. I'm trying to figure out how to combat entitlement in the world in general, much less college athletes. That’s a real challenge; we’ve talked about it. I shared earlier with the group. One thing I've said to the team twice this summer and to the coaches that when we start on July 27th, two things have to go out the window: thinking of transferring or taking other jobs as a coach or a player and two the money aspect has to go to the side because for the most part, the coaches and players, including me, are going to be at this location until at least December. The teams that can put that to the side and the coaches that can put that to the side concentrate on coaching and playing football and find a way to come together. In my opinion, get the best chance to win. That's the only way I think we can handle the monetary side of college football at this time.”
Last year you had a lot of returning players and hype. This year, maybe not as much. Do you use that as fuel of how you guys finished last year going into this year?
“I got asked that earlier. Roster management now is 105, and then you get additional players. I don’t know what that title they’re calling them, but basically walk-ons. So, we should be at around 115and I'm going to guess that 60% of those players weren't here last year.If I tried to use that, they’d be scratching their heads wondering what I was talking about. I think it’s important that each individual player has to find a way to motivate themselves to benefit our team. Now, we could have players from last year who are motivated by that, and that’s OK. We’re all different. Things that motivate me? The new trend, trying to stay on the cutting edge of the future of college football, learning more about the business side of college football.SO that would be an example of things that motivates me to continue for our team to play well and win football games.
Commissioner Yormark has doubled down on the 5+11 model in the College Football Playoff. Why does that model benefit the Big 12 long term?
“I read most of the commissioner’s remarks from yesterday. I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again. The Big 12 has the best commissioner in all sports, in my opinion. He’s energetic, he thinks outside the box, and he is motivated. As I spend time with him, what I learn more than anything is he has a way of getting a group together, having a discussion, and coming up with a plan. Having a plan gives us the best chance. When you talk about the 5+11, I listened to it, read about it. When the discussions first started in Orlandoa few weeks ago, I didn’t have much input because they started talking about a lot of numbers, but that was over my head. But as I listened to it and heard from other coaches, it made a lot of sense from the standpoint that don’t we all want to play the game and decide who should get in at the end and not just set it up to where certain conferences get in whether they don’t play as well as other schools. Ultimately, we’re trying to find the best teams, whatever that number is, to get in a playoff, seed them appropriately, and let them play for a championship. And so, I’m in agreement with the Commissioner and it’s by far the best way. I understand the backlash. What if you only get one team in? Well, then the other teams need to play better. That’s what I would say to Oklahoma State. That’s what I would say to me as a head coach. I like the Big 12 Conference. I like the future of this league, and I put my name behind the agreement that the 5+11 model is the way it should be. If you play well, you deserve it. You earn it. You get in. If you don’t, then you try again next year.”
The Big 12 has undergone a lot of changes over the past couple of years. How does that impact your recruiting when talking to players about the level of competition and exposure that they can expect?
“One thing that’s happened to back to what we’ve done with our Big 12 Conference and the networks we’ve have now invited in and tied into games and the coverage and exposure we can get. We’re up to 16 teams now. There’s still a new field to this league. That’s exciting and draws viewership across the country. The one thing this league has a lot of rivalry games that will continue on with the teams that have been in the league for a while and some of the new schools recently allow that to happen and I’m starting to see new rivalries being created. There’s a lot of reason for us to be able to communicate to a young man that they should be excited about playing in the Big 12 Conference.”
Mike, your quarterback model has changed. It used to be predictable. It’s varied in recent years. What would you like it to be, and how close are the guys contending for the job this year, how close are they to that standard?
“I think with quarterback play, it ties into the new wave of college football. Most coaches would agree that if you can keep two guys on your roster that have some sort of experience that you feel like can compete in a game, that you’ll be fortunate. I don’t know that anybody will be able to carry three now because of the availability of quarterbacks to transfer. It’s the one position that there is reason for transferring, obviously, you only play one in a game. A young man can get stuck behind a good player and never get a chanceto play. We have to build our offense around the availability we have at quarterback. Different than in the past, we recruited a certain type of player. I’m guessing that you maybe referring to a pocket passability to run or such. Wherever you find the quarterback who can be productive, provide leadership, and the team will rally around him to get the best chance to win, then Coach Meacham and his staff have to find a way to build the offense around that player. I don’t know that we’ll have the luxury to recruit a prototype quarterback to fit our system, more so than a quarterback who can play well enough and we’ll design the system around him.”
