Bob Stoops Media Day Quotes

August 02, 2014 | Football

By: Athletics Communications

Oklahoma Football Media Day
Head Coach Bob Stoops
Aug. 2, 2014

Opening Statement:
“Kicking off our 2014 season, I'm really excited about the way the team has looked the past couple of days. It's very evident the way they've worked all through the winter spring and summer. Really at every single position, we're bigger, we're stronger and quicker than we were a year ago at each spot. Even the guys returning after a year or so of training have made improvements and really look good. They come in in really great position. Coach (Jerry) Schmidt, our strength coach has done a fabulous job throughout the summer with them, and as he puts it, it's been one of our best summers that we've ever had here as a collective group. That's really a positive sign for the group's character and attitude coming in.

“Going through, offensively, Trevor (Knight) the last couple of days, it's evident he's much more consistent. He's making the plays that are there and he's really starting to feel comfortable at the quarterback spot. Cody Thomas and Justice Hansen have also made significant improvement. Those guys are really doing well. The O-line has great experience. Tyler Evans is back and really looks great out there, he's strong and he's had two back to back injuries with his knees, and it's really allowed him to really make some great gains with upper-body strength. Along with all those other guys that are back, so offensively I feel like we're going to be in really good shape. With running backs, they look big and powerful. They look really good early. Receivers, the young guys have looked really good and they're doing a great job with the guys who are returning. Durron Neal has really stuck out to me in just three days along with of course Sterling (Shepard) has been really exceptional and he's taking it to another level. Durron Neal is a guy though in the last several days is in a really good place. It's coming together well in some places that really need some guys to come through.

“Defensively, same thing. Julian Wilson really looks great at corner. We recruited him as a corner out of high school. He's got great speed, size and range. He's a fifth-year senior and he's played for the last three years and the last two years in a starting role. You can tell his experience even out of the corner position. Those other guys are making significant improvement. The safety guys where we needed a few guys to come through. Hatari Byrd and Ahmad Thomas you can tell aren't freshman any more. They've always had the size and strength but now they've started to figure things out mentally and are really coming along in that other safety spot. Everyone up front is still there and I feel we're much further along there. A year ago at this time everyone wondered who would play D-line and now there isn't any wonder about it. We've got a lot of really good players up there and they've made great gains. Every one of them is bigger and stronger than they were a year ago, and that should help us. Scheme-wise, we're light years ahead of where we were a year ago and what we're doing with the wrinkles we want to add to it and how we're handling the different formations we're seeing from the offenses. We worked through that a year ago, and we've really refined it which has made a big difference.

“Special teams wise, the kickers and punters are really doing well. Wesley Horky is a magnificent long snapper if there can be such a thing. He snaps it back there with a spiral every time. It's just your operation time has really been reduced significantly when you have a guy who can do that. It helps your coverages when he's consistent with it. He can run a little and cover. Michael Hunnicutt is a guy that can truly be an All-American. He has that kind of potential.

“So anyway, we've had three days now all early in the morning because we had classes Thursday and Friday. The guys have been up early getting it out of the way. It's the best time of the day, heat wise, to do it. Same thing today, we were up early, got it done, and then we had fan appreciation day for a couple of hours. Everybody signed autographs for our younger OU fans, and that worked out really well. It's been a positive three days. Leading into questions, a few things. Michael Onohua, because of academic reasons, won't be with us here this year. Of course with the Joe Mixon situation, that isn't resolved yet, I'm unable to speak in regard to anything to do with that situation. From there, I'll open up for questions."

On the confidence the offense and coaches have with Trevor Knight:
"It helps us in a major way knowing that we're all in with Trevor (Knight) and how we want to operate the offense giving him all those snaps. And he's gained from the experience from a year ago, so I expect to be much more consistent offensively and at that position. I should have mentioned Blake Bell has really looked great at tight end. He caught a nice, deep ball yesterday for a touchdown. He can run, he's got soft hands and he has a natural feel for the routes, so again, I think that will be big for us, too."

On the excitement through the summer and starting camp:
"I think it's just the character of the team. We have really got a group of guys with a great attitude and a willingness to work and have seen the value of the work. I think all of that has been contagious in how they've gone through the year."

On Blake Bell's character and work at tight end:
"He's been very positive about it. He's been nothing but a great worker and teammate and attitude guy for us. The entire team looks up to him in that way, so he's been nothing but positive. I think he truly sees that for an opportunity to play in the NFL, this is his best opportunity. He's the one who came to Coach Heupel before the bowl game with that idea because he did want to finish his career here, which everyone appreciates. I believe it's going to be really positive.

“There's too much speculation on will he be any good there? He's really good there, and why wouldn't he be with the athleticism and size. If he was six foot, 210 pounds you'd figure out why it can't work, but he looks like he's played it his whole life."

On the hype with the entire team being ranked highly:
"It's become commonplace and that's okay for us. Some years it's worked out really well for us and others it hasn't. When you've been somewhere 16 years, 12 of the last 14 years we've had 10 or more wins and we've been up there fighting for it for a good number of years, and we've been pretty consistent at doing that. So I attribute it to the way we go about our business, as everyone likes to say, the process of winning, which is our workouts, the meetings, the way we practice through the week and prepare for games, and it's been as consistent as anybody or more than most. "

On how you give certain guys reps during camp, especially Dorial Green-Beckham:
"All those guys, when we go right now, we're not there game planning. It's more like spring practice here for the first two weeks in that everybody is getting snaps. We're getting them all ready to play right now, so it's easy right now. When you get into game week, depending on whether there's an answer or not by then, that's when you have to make your decision, so right now our with all new players, like I can't tell you who is going to play as a freshman or not, because in our mind we're getting them all ready to play. Some will obviously grasp it and be ready for it better than others and in two and a half weeks these are the guys we feel are set to play. These guys are close and these guys it's going to be pretty hard, and we're nowhere near that right now. He's in there with everybody else in the rotation."

On if Baker Mayfield is getting reps:
"He's in there as well rotating with those guys (Cody Thomas and Justice Hansen) and doing well."

On if he thinks Dorial Green-Beckham will get waived to play:
"That's somebody speculating. I don't have an opinion one way or another on that and I haven't expressed it with anybody."

On Dorial Green-Beckham
"He looks great. He looks like a big, powerful figure out there. He plays hard and is fitting in well."

On if there is an image issue:
"That kind of relates to some of these issues that aren't resolved, so for me to express anything like that probably wouldn't fit."

On if OU has an image issue:
"I've been here 16 years and there's a long track record of what we've done here, so reflect on that."

On where the “line in the sand” is in regards to discipline:
"No. There isn't any line in the sand. All situations are different."

On Frank Shannon's situation:
"Nothing has changed in his situation. Right now they still haven't resolved anything and he's on the team and still doing everything he had been doing. That hasn't changed."

On the young guys at wide receiver:
"They look good. Jordan (Smallwood) is a big, powerful figure out there as well going after the ball. Austin Bennett is coming on and doing better. Michiah Quick and KJ Young in there in the slot have really been impressive."

On using a “real” tight end this season:
"Last year we played with a real tight end on the field a lot of the time. Trey Millard was a pretty good one. Aaron Ripkowski is pretty close to being what he was. Those guys can play in that role as well as Taylor McNamara is now a guy we feel is ready to play. Isaac Ijalana is also there and the Blake (Bell), so it won't change. We played it that way last year. So it will be similar to last year."

On Samaje Perine and Dimitri Flowers:
"Samaje is really powerful and incredibly bright. You don't have to tell the guy something more than once. He has really been impressive. Dimitri Flowers has really made another big jump. We loved him in the spring and he's even better now that he's had that winter, spring and summer to train. He's really improved his strength and has made some nice plays too. They're doing a really nice job."

On Jordan Phillips' injury situation and how he looks:
"We're going to be smart in that, kind of like a guy coming off a knee injury where you practice him a day or two and then give him a day rest, give him two more days and then another day rest, that kind of thing. We're going to manage him that way where he's not going to get the full work load, but bring him along slow. But he looks really good. He's in good shape, he's got his weight in good order, he's stronger, so he looks like he's poised to have a really good year."

On if Adam Shead is back practicing:
"Adam has been practicing and looks good. He's really doing well."

On Dionte Savage and the other young guys at offensive line:
"Dionte is out there doing well. The young guys look great. Those two young tackles we have in Kenyon Frisson and Orlando Brown. Orlando checked in at 6-7, 340 and Kenyon is 6-6 and about 320 and they can run and have good feet. Even on the inside, all of those guys, I'm just really elated with the freshman class. They've been really impressive."

On the young guys' enthusiasm this summer:
"Everyone is enthusiastic, but they're showing their ability on the field. Steven Parker at the safety position has been really good and smart with picking things up. At the safety position they have a lot to think about, but he's doing great there. All of those guys, we're just really please with them. It's a really good group."

On Trevor Knight's progress:
"Just the way he's trained and worked, and in the last three days I've seen him make a lot of good plays already in putting the ball in great places. It all has to keep happening, but I think he'll learn and grow off what he did a year ago, not just in the Sugar Bowl, but in particular the last couple of games with Kansas State and Oklahoma State. He played well in those games and now he's just grown more and learned from it."

On what the outside world thinks of the program:
"Generally, until you play another game, you were what you were in the last game. They ride that out for about eight months until you play another game."

On if the Sugar Bowl win will help this season:
"Win or lose, we've lost seniors and the team chemistry and everything will be different than it was a year ago, so I don't ever buy into last year means you're going to do something this year. I guess where the positive is the number of guys that are back, but you're still going to be different in some areas and it has to come together, so you earn your stripes every year."

On his SEC comments:
"Get over it. And again, where am I lying?"

On having all underclassmen at running back:
"I didn't realize that. The group is strong. You've got three big guys with Alex Ross, Keith Ford and David Smith. They're really powerful and strong, and they've got good speed. Daniel Brooks has exceptional speed. He has a little different style, but he's doing well and working hard. All of them together so far are doing a really nice job."

On if the defense will be something special:
"We have a chance to be pretty good, yeah. We'll see, but we have to go out and do that. We feel the fact that we're much more in tune with what we want to do and what we practice and scheme-wise with what we're doing and how we want to approach other people. Our players' familiarity with what we're doing is much further along too. With that, we feel that we'll be better. How much better? We'll see."

On the younger quarterbacks:
"Pretty good. Still can't snap it enough to get enough reps, but they're doing a nice job."

On the difference in the defense this year and last year at this time:
"There's no comparison. A year ago on these first three days we were just implementing a basic 3-4 defense. Now our guys have had a whole year in it and they understand with each play how we want to play against that particular play. We have our different wrinkles to blitz one way or another to try and screw up blocking schemes. All that together is a big deal. A year ago you're just figuring out all that. We've had a long time to study and work it, and our players now are comfortable with it and we're comfortable with if somebody's doing a certain thing, here are our wrinkles to take care of it and all the kids know how we want to handle it as opposed to a year ago figuring all that out."

On giving Eric Striker and other guys more opportunities to excel:
"We're just giving Eric more opportunity out to the wide field to be involved more and make more plays. We've got him out to the field more and that position rushes more than it drops, and then we've got other guys in the boundary. Geneo (Grissom) and P.L. Lindley can play in there. We'll be more physical and bigger in those positions."

On whether he has addressed discipline with the players any differently this season:
"Not in particular because we cover just about everything you can cover. We're going on 16 years now."

On when the alternate uniforms will be used:
"I don't know how we're going to decide that.”

On if the players will help decide when to where the alternates:
"Probably. I'll visit with the seniors and captains and see what their take is on it."