Sooners Push Forward, Discuss Kansas

NORMAN, Okla. -- Oklahoma players and coaches met with the media Tuesday to preview this week's matchup against the Kansas Jayhawks. View video by clicking the links above. Quotes from the press conference are available below.

No. 25 Oklahoma (3-3, 1-1 Big 12) meets No. 25 Kansas (5-1, 1-1 Big 12) in Lawrence Saturday at 2:30 p.m. (CT). The game will be televised regionally by ABC.

For complete coverage throughout the week and broadcast options for following the Sooners around the world, visit Sooner Gameday Central.

Head Coach Bob Stoops

Opening statement:
"It was a tough loss, a disappointing loss. Although I was very proud of the efforts and the play of our players overall, we just came up short. Compliments and congratulations to Texas for a well-played game and winning. In the end, we played a super-defensive game. To go out in the field positions we had and to come up with the stops that we did and the turnovers, I thought we gave ourselves a great opportunity to win. I still feel like on the one touchdown drive there was a player or two that I believe that in our basic discipline we could have been better and could have helped.

"Offensively, I thought our guys did a good job moving the football in the first half. We had a bunch of yards and were very creative in how we did it. But in the end, we weren't successful enough down in the redzone, so we needed to be better to give ourselves an opportunity. We just needed to be three or four points better and we weren't able to."

On Sam Bradford:
"Of course it's disappointing for him to have gotten pinned and trapped in the same position, it was very unlikely, but it happened. Again, it's a similar injury to before. The MRIs and x-rays show no different damage than what was already there. His path will be determined here in the next couple days."

On Kansas:
"Going to Lawrence this week, against another ranked team on the road. Coach Mangino is a great friend of mine and also a great coach. He and his staff have done a great job of consistently having KU playing in bowl games and consistently competing for the Big 12 North championship. We realize it's another big challenge. They have some exceptional players, in particular their trio of guys on offense in Reesing, Briscoe and Meier are a good group of players and they have a lot of other guys around them to complement them well."

On the team's attitude following the loss against Texas:
"They have a great attitude, there is no one hanging their head. We had a great day's work and they're excited to come back here today and to continue to push forward. These guys have worked hard. Yesterday's attitude was fantastic. They understand that regardless of our circumstances here, there are some ways that we can give ourselves a better opportunity to win and there are ways that we can do it."

On slowing down the offense's tempo:
"It depends on what we think is the right thing to do. I thought last week for a good part of the game it was very effective. Everyone's talking about how our offense was struggling, we got three hundred and some yards and they got 260. But in the end, they win so their offense was good and ours was struggling. I thought we did a nice job and the tempo helped us. It just depends on when the tempo is helping you and when it isn't. I think there are times to consider changing, but I think to this point it hasn't been an issue."

On Brody Eldridge:
"The guy's amazing. Just his versatility, his toughness, his attitude about it and his understanding. He didn't have one missed assignment through the day and that's his first time in there, that's hard to do. I hope through the long run the NFL guys looking at him will see that he had a great game at center, then he's playing at guard against excellent competition and does well and at tight end he has always been tough. I think in the long run it will help him."

On Kansas' Todd Reesing:
"He is a great competitor. He has really lit it up in the past couple of weeks, not that he was ever not doing really well. He does a great job. When things are there on time he has a quick and accurate release. But where he is really dangerous is when it isn't there and he pulls it down, spins around and takes off. You have to do a great job at corralling him and getting pressure but also being able to finish the sack or keep him in the pocket and finish the pressure and tackle him. He does an amazing job athletically of getting out and creating a play when there isn't one."

On Landry Jones' performance:
"As a guy coming in this situation I couldn't be more pleased with his leadership, his attitude, his work and how he has played. He had a lot of nice plays the other night. He put the ball in good spots for a lot of those plays."

On Jones' interceptions:
"The first interception he was throwing the ball away and just didn't get enough on it, that's just experience. Even the second interception, the more he is on the field he's going to be able to make that throw correctly. He'll just continue to gain more confidence and polish the further he goes."

On Demontre Hurst:
"Demontre, a true freshman, came in when Brian Jackson was a little dinged up and made a huge sack. He did a nice job in his fundamental coverage too. He played with good technique and he competed well. He did an excellent job and we didn't miss a beat at that point."

On why he hired Mark Mangino:
"I thought he was a great leader, very detailed. Working as assistants together, he was a very passionate and hard-working guy. He was a leader, he believed in toughness in how you played. It felt like we had a lot of the same philosophies and obviously from coaching together at Kansas State, I knew his work ethic and the attitude that was there and wanted that for our team as well."

On the defensive scheme against Texas:
"I thought Brent (Venables), Bobby Jack (Wright), Jackie Shipp and Chris Wilson all did an excellent job of preparing the guys. But I think they always do. And fortunately, credit the players too because they executed it well and made plays."

On if his team has bad luck:
"I don't go there. We have had some difficult circumstances but we deal with them and we keep playing. To me, that's what you do. We will try to look at the positives and the things we can change. What are the things, regardless of our circumstances, that we can be better at and then we will keep pushing to make them better."

On Gerald McCoy:
"He's incredibly talented to start with. The guy has size, quickness and tenacity. He and Adrian (Taylor) played 89 snaps in there the other day and at a high-level, that's hard to do. Their conditioning and toughness is really special. Gerald is incredibly talented and is an unbelievable worker. He is upbeat and positive every day. He is a special guy, he has an incredible work ethic to him to go on top of that talent."

Offensive Coordinator Kevin Wilson

Quotes coming soon...

Senior OL Brody Eldridge

On the attitude of the team:
"We're staying positive, we have to stay positive. I'm not worried about the guys. We just need to keep working hard and move on from here."

On the team's confidence in Landry Jones:
"We're very confident. You saw what Landry can do when he stepped up for those first three games when he was in there. There's no question about what Landry can do."

On Landry Jones starting off strong when coming in to replace Bradford:
"It's very impressive, that shows his character. He's always paying attention and can step up at any moment, which is good.

On losing Sam Bradford to injury:
"Sam is such a great leader and great player. We just have to press on from here and do what we can do. There's not a lot you can say. We just have to press on and keep going and forget about what happened. We have this week now and need to work on Kansas and do our best on Saturday."

Senior DB Brian Jackson

On defending Jordan Shipley last week:
"He's a great competitor. I had watched film on him and prepared all week and got a feel of what was coming. I went out there wanting to compete and loving the challenge of going up against one of the best wide receivers in the country. It makes it that much more intense for me."

On the performance of the defense:
"I felt like it went well, but at the same time it's kind of hollow because we didn't get the victory."

On Kansas' receivers:
"They definitely have a great group of receivers. I have to give Dezmon Briscoe credit; he did his thing last year. That gives me another reason to have a chip on my schedule."

On the attitude of the team:
"The season is never over. We still have six more games to play. You never know what will happen with the Big 12. Bowl game wise, you never know what's going to go on. As long as we stay focused and stay positive there shouldn't be a problem."

Sophomore TE Trent Ratterree

On his decision to come to Oklahoma:
"I guess I just had a lot of hope and faith in myself and just from talking to the coaches in high school and leading up to here, it seemed that it was the best thing that was going for me."

On getting playing time because of injuries:
"I hate that it's happened like it has. I wish Jermaine [Gresham] was out there with us. I wish Sam [Bradford] was out there with us. I wish everyone was, but since they aren't, we got to have people step up and fill those positions. Landry's doing a great job and I feel like we need to step up and fill in that weight that was Jermaine."

On lining up out wide:
"I can't say I ever dreamed that but I'm not the biggest guy out there so it seems to fit my personality better."

On confidence since the BYU game:
"That was the first game I played that many plays in and it was a big venue too. The nerves for that game were definitely a little more than they have been for the last few games."

On depth of the offense:
"One thing I've noticed from the difference of high school to college is that in high school you kind of have one guy that's locked into one job and in college I can't say that that's the way it is. There's a great level of players, especially at this school. Everyone's really good, whether they get to play or not. We still have really high-level players. Week-to-week, at every position, it's whoever is having the best week of practice that week."

On rebounding from the Texas loss:
"Well we just climb up back on the horse and keep working honestly. The season is not lost, we're only six games in, you never know what's going to happen especially as crazy as college football has been the last couple years. We just keep working and keep drilling away."

On Brody Eldridge's flexibility:
"It's amazing how Brody could play any position on the field. He's a football player. He may not just be a tight end because he's a great football player. One of the hardest working football players I've ever been around."

On Kansas:
"I think it's going to be really interesting to see this game. It's going to be a good test. Kansas is a really good team. They have really good athletes up there so it's going to be a fun one."

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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