Stoops, Bradford Meet with Media

October 23 | Press Conference
Coach Stoops & Sam Bradford at Weekly Press Conference

NORMAN, Okla. -- Head Coach Bob Stoops met with the media during Oklahoma's bye week at his weekly press conference Tuesday at the Kerr-McGee Stadium Club. Redshirt-freshman quarterback Sam Bradford followed Coach Stoops behind the microphone.

View Coach Stoops' press conference and Sam Bradford with the media by clicking the video link above. Complete quotes from all of today's interviews are available below, courtesy of OU Athletics Media Relations.

HEAD COACH BOB STOOPS

Opening Comments:
“Getting back into last week's game against Iowa State, I thought offensively I would have liked to see us run the ball a little better in the first half. We really ran it well in the second half which made a huge difference in the game. I thought we were a little inconsistent throwing the ball. We had probably at least six opportunities where we were behind the secondary. We are used to coming up with some of those, if not all of them. We usually make some of those big plays we are used to getting and to give yourselves some big plays and touchdowns.

"With the wind like it was, we never really adjusted to it. Several times with the wind the ball sailed a little bit and out of the reach of the receiver. One occasion Malcolm Kelly was behind the secondary and the ball hung up against the wind and allowed the defense to recover. We had a chance to make some big plays that would have changed the complexion of the game, but we didn't make them in the end.

I thought defensively our guys really hung in there and played well in some difficult situations after turnovers. They came up with some stops with an interception and some four down stops. I thought they did a really nice job.

Some guys played well and were recognized by the coaches as players of the game. On offense were Duke Robinson, Manual Johnson and Chris Brown. Defensively, Curtis Lofton, D.J. Wolfe and Lendy Holmes really played well. DeMarcus Granger played really well, as did Auston English.

It was great to see Garrett Hartley in a situation to put us up two possessions with a minute and a half to go. To kick a 43-yarder into the breeze was really a big boost for him. He hit the ball really well all day, and that was definitely a positive.”

On how the team will use the off-week:
“In the off-week we are just trying to improve in some areas we feel we can in all parts of the game, as well as work on all of our opponents coming up. You have an advantage of Texas Tech and Baylor being very similar offensive systems, so that gives us something to work on. We are also going to get into some extra work with Texas A&M and Oklahoma State. We will pick and choose a little of what they are doing to get a little extra work and focus on in the next couple of days.”

On the team struggling on the road:
“In the end, we have been on the road more than two times, regardless of how anyone wants to categorize it. We have played well on some occasions and sometimes we haven't. I thought the other night we were not very far off. If we complete some of those deep balls and the wind conditions were a little bit different, then things might have been different.

"In the end, I would like to see us have a little better focus in some areas, whether it is turnovers and protecting the football that we can be better at. I am not sitting here saying we can't improve, we sure need to. Hopefully our guys will mature here being eight games into the season and having an off-week. Hopefully we can take a step in some maturity, character or toughness to be stronger in those situations.”

On the struggles running the football:
“We have awfully high standards. If you look at how we ran the football, it is not like we aren't running it well. I just feel there is more out there and we can be even better at it. There are a lot of different areas, it is not just the offensive line. It is the tight ends and the full backs, it is the choice of plays. We have been pretty darn good at running the football and we keep emphasizing it. That probably is the reason why we are No. 1 in the nation in passing efficiency, or right up there, because people are trying to defend the run. If we don't run the ball well they are going to play us a lot differently and it is going to be a whole lot different trying to run the football. In the end, they are complementing each other pretty well. Again, I still think we can be more efficient, and that is what we are pushing for.”

On dropping in the BCS and not winning with enough “style”:
“Obviously we are sitting here at 7-1 and we are not winning well enough. That's a good thing and I will take that every time. I think we are winning well enough, 7-1 is pretty darn good. It beats the heck out of 6-2.”

On if he likes the timing of the off-week:
“Since we have it, embrace it. In the end, we are a little bit nicked up, nothing serious though. So it does come at a good time. We played without Ryan Reynolds and we played without Brandon Walker and a few other guys that now should be back. So I think it does come at a good time and will allow us a little extra work for the last four opponents. It also allows our guys to catch their breath and hopefully be stronger for the stretch run.”

On the play of D.J. Wolfe:
“I was more proud of anything, and really pleased being a safety myself, was watching his run support. I thought he was just outstanding with some open-field tackling and supporting the run. He and Lendy Holmes both did an excellent job of that, and that is a big part of our defense. They stepped up really solid that way. Then the interception, which Curtis Lofton deserves half of the credit for tipping the ball to him. He just made big plays when he had to.”

On if he is surprised how Sam Bradford is handling success:
“It doesn't surprise me because it is just his nature. His parents have done an amazing job. Watching him handle himself in all situations I can tell he is very together, very sharp. He doesn't always look at it in just his perspective. He is genuinely humble and likes to share the attention, it is just really natural for him. He understands it isn't just him. There are a lot of people around him that are helping him and that he is a product of. He is doing more than his share, but also he handles it in a great way.

"His character and genuine nature are fun to be around and work with every day. It is almost easy for him. I told Coach Wilson we should give him the nickname “The Big Easy” because of his easy personality and he is unflappable. I said to him in the fourth quarter last week that I knew he had had some balls sail on him, but all that mattered was how he played in the fourth quarter. He made some nice throws when he had to in the fourth quarter.”

On the success of Chris Brown:
“I saw him do this last year. He did a great job last year complementing Allen Patrick. Chris had some exceptional games for us last year. We see him every day going inside drills and going against each other, his vision and feet in the hole are just exceptional. That touchdown at Iowa State he went in untouched, and he was in the middle of 20 people. He cuts it back and has great feet and vision. His forward lean for the second touchdown, he drove it three or four yards while he was hit to get the ball in the end zone. He is really doing a lot of good things.”

QUARTERBACK SAM BRADFORD

On his calm demeanor in the huddle:
"That's just my personality growing up. I don't know if I get it from my Dad, but he is pretty laid back too. I feel like it is a better way to play the game. I don't think you can get too excited with the good plays or to down with the bad ones, you just have to keep calm and keep playing."

On where he is in the process of growing as a player:
"I still have a long way to go. I see things every day on film. Things I missed or things I didn't see. Coach Heupel does a great job of helping me and kind of easing me into things. They have kept it pretty basic. But I know there are a lot of things I need to work on, there are a lot of things I can still see. I just hope I can get better each week and maybe in a few years I will be where I want to be."

On where the offense could start in order to improve:
"I think turning the ball is a big problem. We have to stop letting the ball hit the ground, stop throwing interceptions. The ball is the most important thing in the game and when you turn it over you lose a lot of time with the ball. So I think that is the main area we need to start with, once we do that I think we will be fine."

On the wind at Iowa State:
"I think I just have to be better at adjusting to the conditions. I obviously didn't make the right adjustments and didn't take the wind into effect as much as I should have. So I just have to be better at that. It wasn't anything I hadn't seen before. I just didn't play well."

On how the offense has adjusted to the coverage of Malcolm Kelly in the past few games:
"I think the coaches have done a great job of getting us into plays to beat that coverage, to beat those two high safeties and get Malcom (Kelly) the ball. I just think it is a credit to the coaches and what they have seen and what they have been able to put into our offense."

On his fourth down scramble against Iowa State:
"I believe it was a play action play and we were trying to run a dig, they all sunk out and got deep and I missed my check down, I should have thrown it to the tailback. There was a little pressure, but there wasn't any reason for me to get out of the pocket, it was a poor decision. I did see the first down marker and thought I could make it, but obviously I couldn't. I had some second thoughts. I knew once I crossed the line of scrimmage it probably wasn't the best decision."

On how his life has changed since August:
"I'm the starting quarterback now, so that is a little different. But I try to live my life the same, go to practice and play games on Saturday. I try not to pay attention to media stuff. So my life is pretty much the same."

On the offense's development through this year:
"The offense has progressed a lot since August when we first started practicing. I think the players are there, we are so talented at every position and those guys are out there making plays. When you have that many guys out there who are able to make plays and create things it really helps the offense and give us a lot of offense. It really keeps defenses guessing and that has really helped progress our offense this year."

On whether he became a better, more confident quarterback when he was named the starter:
"I don't think so. Because even though I was named the starter I still had to go out there and work hard every day and perform on Saturday's. I had to help this team win football games. So I don't think it came together any more then than any other time."

On the moment he knew he could handle the job:
"I think just as the season has gone on, every day while we are out there at practice, every game on Saturday I become more comfortable with the offense and what we are doing."

On whether he has ever had to be stern in the huddle:
"There was a time during the Missouri game when we were down and they scored that I went out and said 'listen we are going to score here.' I think that has been one of the only times I have had to raise my voice to kind of get them fired up. But those guys are great. They are having fun and making plays, they are great guys."

On whom he patterns himself after:
"I just try to go out there and play my game the way the coaches have coached me to play. I feel like if I do that then I can be successful."

On the support of the offense:
"Those guys have been really supportive all along. They will come up to me and tell me they're behind me and they're here for me and let me do my thing. They have been really supportive the whole way through and it's really helped me and has given me a lot of confidence. It's probably the reason I'm so calm when I go back in the huddle."

On where his drive comes from:
"One of the things my dad has always told me is to not compete with anyone but yourself. That's one of the things I've grown up on, just the fact that you always want to be better than you were last week. You come out here after every Saturday and see what we could have done better and we just try to be better than we were the week before. "

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Related News

Related Videos

Sponsors