Josh Heupel Media Day Quotes

Oklahoma Football Media Day
Co-Offensive Coordinator Josh Heupel
Aug. 2, 2014

On what he expects from QB Trevor Knight:
“If you look at where he started as a freshman quarterback, the confidence he played with, his decision making, his accuracy with the football – those are all components of the quarterback position that he can still develop and has a long way to go. But we're excited about the work he put in over the summer and the way he has competed over the past couple of days.”

On if Knight has improved since last year:
“On the mental side of it, I think he has a much better understanding of defenses. He sees situations and pressures better and when you incorporate those two things with understanding our offense at a higher level, he's much more decisive. That's the progression that you saw from the first couple of ball games, to the middle of the season, to the way he finished the season and it's not easy as a freshman quarterback. So we are excited about what he did during the year and if he continues – he's the same guy every day when he walks through this building – in the way he competes, his focus in the meeting room and on the practice field, you know he's going to compete on the next drive.”

On the benefits for Knight to have a secure starting job at QB:
“There's a couple things that are an added benefit. When you have a guy that is your quarterback that has some experience, I think first and foremost – you guys ask about leadership all the time, and it's certainly from that position we've had a lot of great ones at the quarterback position. I think Trevor, along with some other guys such as Daryl Williams, this offseason since back in January, have had a huge impact on the work habits, effort, competitiveness, day-in and day-out in everything that we're doing. Whether that's spring ball, summer training camp or January and February, which are our weight lifting sessions. His ability to be the quarterback gives him the ability to speak up a little bit louder. You can always lead by example but until you've really been on the field it's hard to be a vocal leader. He and a couple of the other guys I have mentioned have really grabbed the reins on that on the offensive side of the ball. The other thing I think, there's not a relaxed energy, there's just more calmness. You can sense the confidence in him. If he makes a mistake, he's not worried about if it's going to affect his ability to win the job. He's going to learn from the mistakes and bounce right back. I think the change is just that the pressure is off of him every single play.”

On dealing with outside pressures:
“It's for Trevor, it's for Taylor McNamara and Blake Bell, I guess on the Mackey award watch list, it's for our football team. At the end of the day none of you guys are going to talk about what we were ranked preseason or what we did last year. It's about managing expectations every day that you come in the building. It's about being focused on what you can control and there's only one thing that we can control. Right now, it's going through the process at the right type of level to give us a chance to compete week in and week out and go after a championship. You've got to avoid and not listen to outside noise. And that's Twitter, Facebook, it's your friends and family, it's your girlfriend, it's your buddy that's slapping you on the back talking about what's in the preseason magazine. At the end of the day, you're in this arena as a coach, as a football player, because you enjoy the opportunity to go out and compete and make things happen, not react to how things happen.”