Completed Event: Baseball versus (3) Georgia on June 15, 2026 , Win , 4, to, 3
Final
Baseball
4
vs (3) Georgia
3
University of Oklahoma Athletics
OU Media Day Quotes
Oklahoma Football Media Day
Tight End Blake Bell
Aug. 2, 2014
On possibility of starting the first game at tight end:
“Whenever I’m out there I’ll be ready to play. It’ll be fun to get out here, spread out the ball and have people kind of change their minds.”
On changing positions:
“I love [the change]. I’m getting a lot better, the coaches are letting me know what I’ve been doing well, what I’ve been doing bad. Seeing routes and seeing coverages has really helped me and Trevor connect. I love where I’m at. As a guy who’s played QB his entire life, I love the position change, I’m having fun with it, it’s a whole different aspect, it’s awesome.”
On challenges to making the transition to tight end:
“Blocking. Running routes and catching passes has always come naturally to me, but having to block guys in the trenches and getting the stance right before the snap takes some getting used to.”
On his playing weight at a new position:
“I wanted to thin down and lose some body fat, but not much weight. I’ve lost anywhere from five to 10 pounds. I’m about 255 right now. The main thing I wanted to do was be able to run faster, get basically more in shape. It’s a little different from standing back in the pocket. I have to kind of lay back on the fast foods, but the staff has done a great job getting us the right foods.”
On offering to change positions before the Sugar Bowl:
“It was my decision. There were a lot of different scenarios I could have chosen. One was to stay here and the other was to go transfer, but who knows how long that kind of process would take and I really love the guys that we’re returning. I think we have a great squad and really wanted to come back and help win a Big 12 and National Championship.”
On emotional change from quarterback to tight end:
“It’s tough, but my family and I thought long and hard about it and I think sometimes the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. The main thing was I wanted to finish here at Oklahoma. I wanted to leave my legacy here. That’s why I stayed.”
On changing relationship between he and Trevor Knight:
“It hasn’t. I mean, obviously, I’ll laugh if he or another quarterback throws a bad ball and I’ll just laugh and be like ‘gosh what are these quarterbacks doing to me?’ Trevor and I have always been tight and like I said out there it’s always come easy to us because he knows what I’m thinking. I know what he’s thinking, so you know it’s been fun.”
Oklahoma Football Media Day
Cornerback Zack Sanchez
Aug. 2, 2014
On Julian Wilson:
“He has looked good. Coming out of high school [cornerback] was his natural position and he’s very relentless.”
On Quentin Hayes:
“I think Quentin was a guy who was slept on last year. He made a lot of big plays for us and a lot of tackles when we needed them. They may not have been the picks or the fumbles, but they were big plays. He made a whole lot of third down stops and tackles for loss that we needed to win games.”
On the defense getting national attention in the offseason:
“After the Sugar Bowl, I think people know where we stand and that is kind of a good preview for this season. We have a bunch of young guys and a bunch of returning guys so we’re just getting a feel for it and the minor changes and things like that. I think we are one of the best defenses in the country, if not the best.”
On how the defensive line makes his job easier:
“When you have the best pass rusher in the nation in Strike [Eric Striker] and Tapp [Charles Tapper] probably the second best pass rusher in the nation, it makes your job a lot easier. You know you are not going to have to cover someone for five or six seconds down the field, because you know that those guys are going to get to them. It is just really good to have guys like that up front. Our linebacking corps can get after people too. It doesn’t matter who we are playing, it just gives you a more relaxed feeling knowing they are not going to have much time back there.”
On how the defensive line affects his coverage:
“You can be more aggressive and get into a guy’s body and throw off his timing, because with how much pressure we bring it is all about timing. When you disrupt that, the offense basically has nothing.”
On if the Big 12 defenses underrated?
“Definitely. I feel like the best DBs come out of the Big 12. Every week we see teams like Baylor and Oklahoma State, who don’t care how many DBs you have on the field, they are going to throw it. I think there are a lot of teams like that in the Big 12 and it is so fast paced, I think only one team huddles, you have to be ready every play. Each team is capable of making big plays so I certainly think we are slept on.”
Oklahoma Football Media Day
Offensive Tackle Tyrus Thompson
Aug. 2, 2014
On how he feels entering his senior season:
“I’m feeling pretty good right now. I am excited to be back with my teammates and go out here and win a national championship. Not afraid at all (to talk about winning a national championship). You’ve got to have confidence.”
On being ranked third in the Coaches Poll:
“We don’t really pay attention to those kind of things. It’s not our job to vote. It’s our job to play and prove it.”
On Ty Darlington replacing Gabe Ikard at center:
“I would say that Ty is every bit as smart as Gabe. He’s a really smart student as well, just as Gabe was. We have a lot of confidence in him. He was a highly-recruited guy, so we expect a lot from him.”
On the depth of the offensive line:
“This is the first time we’ve ever been able to rotate in two-a-days (since he’s been at Oklahoma). Definitely a lot more guys in there. Definitely a lot of talent in there. This offensive line is deep. I am really excited to see what these guys are going to do, and I think it will be a great year for us.
“It was the same thing with our defensive line last year. There were a lot of question marks there, and that’s now one of the best defensive lines in the nation. Same thing with the offensive. We can’t control what everyone else says. We just do our job.”
On quarterback Trevor Knight:
“Trevor is a natural leader. He’s a great leader. He’s always there for the team and not a selfish guy. I think he’s gotten better (since the Alabama game). We expect a lot from him this year. I know he expects a lot from himself. I know the fans expect a lot, and I think everybody will be pleased this season.”
Oklahoma Football Media Day
Wide Receiver Sterling Shepard
Aug. 2, 2014
On camp so far:
“It is going well so far. We are just trying to work hard because we know these are the steps that really count in trying to take the whole thing. We are taking it pretty seriously. We are just now getting into it because it is only day two, but we are looking forward to going throughout the week.”
On taking a leadership role:
“I have had a lot of guys before me who showed me the way to do that with Kenny Stills and Jalen Saunders. They kind of paved the way for me, and I am just trying to do the same thing for the young guys. I feel like I had to wait my freshman year behind all those great receivers, and I was behind Jalen observing what he did well. I feel like it’s my turn to step up, and I am ready to do that.”
On the freshmen wide receivers:
“From the looks of it, those guys they don’t play like they’re freshmen, and they are big bodies. It’s great to have a big body. Anytime you have a big body you can push people around. They’re doing a really good job with using their strength. With Michiah Quick and some of the other young guys, they are really good with their feet and quick, so it is easy for them to get open. Like I said, they don’t play like they are freshmen.”
On if he expects to play both outside and in the slot this year:
“For sure. I am going to be everywhere this year. I played a little outside last year, but not as much as I would like to. In high school, I was always on the outside, and I told the coaches I could do it, so they gave me a shot last year. Now I feel like that’s where I am going to be a lot. I had to work on my route running this summer. That’s what I focused on a lot was running outside routes and getting the feel for outside because I hadn’t played there in a long time. I feel like I’ve adjusted a lot better. I knew the slot, so I kind of steered away from it and just worked on the outside. It’s worked out.”
