Offense Meets the Media in New Orleans

NEW ORLEANS – Three days away from the Allstate Sugar Bowl, members of the Oklahoma offense spoke with members of the media to preview the upcoming matchup with the Auburn Tigers. Among the topics touched on by the Sooners were Auburn's defense, the physicality of OU's offensive line, the play of quarterback Baker Mayfield and wide receiver Dede Westbrook, and much more. Below are some of the highlights from Friday's session.

Offensive Coordinator Lincoln Riley

On his relationship with Baker Mayfield:
“I didn't see any reason that we couldn't. But at the same time, as most of you guys know in here, we had a pretty heated quarterback battle going on at the same time. And so it wasn't like I was overly close with him over any of the other guys. I think as time has went on, as he has become the starter, and then we have gone through just the normal things that a coach and his player go through, mostly ups, a couple of downs, but just all of the twists and turns over the last two years, those things bring you closer. They make the trust level between us a lot higher. There's more conversations, there's more experiences together, and so I think that naturally has just kind of taken its course, and I would say that's where our relationship has grown the last two seasons as opposed to when I first got there.”

On Auburn's defense:
“They're really good. I'd say the thing that stands out to me is a lot of these teams where you play a good D line, there's maybe like one great player and a bunch of other solid players. They have got two or three great players up front. And the thing that makes them tough to me is if you have one guy that is it only great at rushing the passer, maybe you can do some things against that or maybe one guy that is only great at stopping the run, you can maybe scheme some things around them or try to get help in certain plays or certain situations; where these guys, they're really good at both. And so that makes it a lot tougher to scheme and game plan for and makes it a lot tougher to play against. And they're surrounded by other really good players on that D line as well.”

On Oklahoma's offensive line proving how physical it is:
“I always believe that proving it is a week-to-week deal. We can be as physical as we want to be for nine weeks in a row. But if we're not physical on Monday night, then it doesn't matter. We're concentrating on trying to be very physical in this game. We know it's going to certainly be a key. We are playing a very talented and physical front, and obviously, our ability to run the football here over the last couple of months of the season has been very, very important to what we're doing. It will be again.

"And then we've also got to be very physical in the pass protection with these guys because these guys aren't just athletic guys that are going to run around you. They attack you and you have to attack them back or you have no chance. So, we've definitely improved in that area, there's no question, our whole line. (Offensive line coach) Bill Bedenbaugh coaching those guys, they have done a great job. They've improved all year. We're excited about them in this game and obviously really excited about them going forward here in the future with all of them coming back. So, they have been certainly one of the strengths of our team, and we will absolutely lean on them in this game.”

Baker Mayfield

On finishing the season with a win:
"We still have to play the game. When it comes down to it, that's the only thing that matters, winning this game. The cameras, the lights, the accolades, the awards that came in early December, none of that matters if you don't finish the season out on the right note. Everybody will remember if you win your last game or not. That's what you have to realize and that's how I'm handling it."

On what he's seen from Auburn's pass rush, particularly lineman Carl Lawson:
"He's a speedy guy. He's not as big as the other guys they have on their front line, but he also utilizes that. He uses his speed rush, he's quick, he's got great instincts. We're really going to have to pay attention to where he's at. Most of the time he's on the right side but sometimes they flip him around and do some twists and some stunts with him. You keep an eye on the good players, you always do. You might have a few wrinkles here and there in the game plan. Our offensive line's practicing well and they're going to make sure he doesn't make too many great plays."

On Auburn's defense as a whole:
"I think it all starts with the pass rush and the front line. They allow their linebackers and secondary to play really aggressive. When you have that, it makes a lot of plays happen. You can shut down a run game and force people to pass, and that's when they play well. They allow their guys to tee off on the offensive line and their quarterback when they're dropping back, so they make a lot of plays happen and they're secondary's aggressive when it comes to that."

On when he realized he was going to have a pretty good relationship with offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley:
"From when he tried to recruit me to East Carolina I knew I was going to have a good relationship with him. He's a great coach, a great individual, and I had heard nothing but real positive things before I actually met him in person. I knew that if he was everything that everybody said he was, then I wouldn't have any problems whatsoever."

Baker Mayfield

Dede Westbrook

On if he could have dreamed he'd have the year he's had:
"Uh, no. I knew I was a decent player and with the right coaching I could be great. But I didn't know the coaches here at OU could make me become the player that I am today. I really thank them for pushing me to my potential. I'm not at my peak yet, but I really appreciate everything that they've done for me."

On the amount of work he and Baker Mayfield put in together during the summer:
"We've put in tons of hours. For example, we'd have workouts all throughout the week but he and I would find a time. He'd text me and be like, 'Hey Dede, is this a good time?' And I'd get all the other receivers together and we'd all go out and throw some routes. And when things didn't click we'd stay in afterward and run extra routes to make sure we got the timing of everything down. It's all paying off."

On Auburn's secondary:
"They're real good. Those are some big guys who are physical and they can all run. For us, we've just got to be great at what we do, and that's perfecting our route running and not telegraphing any routes."

On Oklahoma's offensive balance making it tough on defenses:
"I have guys around me who are just as good as I am. And of course you have Joe Mixon, Samaje (Perine) and Baker (Mayfield) on the back end of it, and a great offensive line. So it's going to be tough, and we're going to compete to the final whistle. It's going to be a great game."

Samaje Perine

On what it means to have a chance to break the OU career rushing record:
“Right now it doesn't mean too much. I'm just trying to do whatever I have to do. Whether I break the record or not, as long as we have the best opportunity to win then I'm all for it. At the end of the game, after if I do break it, it'll probably be something that I'll look back like, 'Wow, it's a great accomplishment.'”

On if he's met some of the other top running backs in program history:
“Joe Washington, I've gotten to know really well. He's a great guy and he's hilarious. But the little pointers he gives me here and there about little things like don't look at the ball when you're getting the handoff, and set up the run and set up the guy in the open field. All of those things like that that I wouldn't think about myself, he knows and has experience with so it's been very helpful. I've been blessed to get to know him a lot and just to see what he's been through and hear stuff from him.”

On how Auburn compares to other run defenses OU has faced this year:
“Their front four is probably one of the best, if not the best, we've seen this year. It's going to be a tremendous challenge, but like I said, it's always going to be one play here or there that is going to make a difference. I feel like if we keep pounding it then something is going to open up and we'll have an opportunity to do things.”

Samaje Perine

Perine also sat down with Jessica Coody for an exclusive interview that will air as part of Sooner Sports TV's bowl coverage on Sunday at 5 p.m. on FSSW.

Orlando Brown

On the improvement of OU's offensive line throughout the season:
"I just feel like it's really been a grind for us. Starting out versus Houston, we played well but it wasn't enough to win. ULM, then Ohio State we played well but it wasn't enough to win. From there on once Big 12 play hit, obviously we lost (left guard) Cody Ford, but Ben Powers was able to step up and it's been very consistent with the five guys we've been playing with. It's been a whole lot of mentality. Just a lot of guys who want to win, a lot of guys who want to get better and want to dominate each and every week. That's really what we've been focusing on."

On focusing on physicality against Auburn:
"They're a bigger opponent, out of conference. The SEC is a very physical conference. Obviously they're coming in here with the mentality that they've already faced some of the more physical teams in the country. We're known as a spread (offense), this that and the other, blah, blah, blah. We just have to impose our will on a great team. We know they're not going to back down, but we have to do what we have to do."

Mark Andrews

On what makes Baker Mayfield so good:
“I don't know if I can boil it down to one (attribute). He's such a confident player and I think that confidence helps him out. He's able to scramble around and get out of the pocket and make throws and be confident in his receivers to make the play. I think it's just him going out and being who he is. He's had a lot of success with it.”

On if Mayfield has been better than he expected:
“He's always impressed me. He's such a good and reliable quarterback and it's awesome to be able to play with someone like that. He's definitely impressed me, for sure.”

On how Dede Westbrook's production affects other OU receivers:
“Defenses definitely started gameplanning for Dede; they'll put a safety over the top and shade that way. So that opens things up for the other guys, like me. Baker knows that and it just makes other people more open because they're bracketing him.”