Oklahoma State University Athletics
Football Signing Day Quotes
February 06, 2002 | Cowboy Football
Feb. 6, 2002
Les Miles Press Conference Quotes
On the recruiting class
"The class answered some of the questions we had to answer for our football team. You never get everybody you want but you hope to get your share that will help you compete. We feel fortunate to have a quality group."
On answering questions
"We had to get linebackers in this class. Pagitte McGee, Darnell Smith, Lawrence Pinson were key guys in this class. We have limited numbers on campus and there are a number of quality linebackers that will compete for playing time immediately. We graduate a large number of offensive linemen and we have a good offensive line class. We got some recruits from Texas, Doug Bond, Sam Hall, Junior College transfer from Texas, and Kurt Seifried from Jenks were four guys that were a must for this class. We feel like the skill in the offense is good. We feel like we shored up some spots in the defensive backfield. And our defensive line class was a real point of emphasis to our success. We got three quality defensive linemen. Lance Carson is a junior college transfer who is on campus and is probably the most noteworthy addition to the defensive line class."
On Julius Crosslin
"Also a linebacker who played fullback and linebacker in high school. He is a 6'2'' 215 pounder that made a lot of plays at linebacker. He played all the tight ends man-to-man, he ran the football down in the red zone and ran over the guys that tried to tackle him. I think he is a great addition to the class."
"We recruited him from the start. He was one that we just ended up adding late. He made a lot of tackles. He is extremely athletic and a big, strong guy. He has a good family and we are real excited to have him in this class."
On last year's class
"Special teams played a part in last year's class. We signed a punter and a kicker. It provided the needs we needed to have in that class. Darrent Williams ended up being a key player and obviously the quarterback (Josh) Fields made an impact. I think this year's class may have more width in the strength of players. I think it will be a couple of years before we find out when they will take the field and how effective they are going to be."
On the number of guys expected to make an immediate impact
"I think the linebackers will all play important roles early into next season. I think Lance Carson will play a lot of football on the defensive line. Sam Hall at center, anytime you take a junior college transfer who is on campus right now it gives you a veteran center. There are guys that will compete with him but I think he will play a lot of football. It's always a surprise as to who steps up and decides that it is important that they learn and it's important that they compete right now. It's that awareness more than their athletic skill that will tell you who will play right now. You can never tell when Charlie Johnson at tight end, or Jonathan Cruz or Doug Bond will decide that `my time is now' and that usually makes a difference.
On recruiting for a whole season
"It is so much nicer. Our coaches are on the road. They make relationships with the coaches in the high schools. They identified the players in which they are going to recruit their much further along in deciding who they are going to recruit. Obviously, the longer the recruiting process the greater chance for knowledge passing between the prospect and the school. I think this class is a product of relationships our coaches created on the road."
On the final win of the season
"The final win of the season was no more than an accumulation of the team getting better and playing harder and harder. When they put two wins together on the road at the end of the season it really sets a high mark for our team. Beyond that game our weight room and our off season program has started off really well. The attitude with the players and the recruits realize that something special is going on here. There is a real honesty between our players and the recruits that they are going to have a real good experience here. I think the last two wins really helped us."
On recruiting a quarterback
"I think if we didn't recruit a quarterback then that would have been a real weakness. I think that (Jamie) Beeghley is very athletic and a quality guy that we sought early. He played in two state championships and we are thankful to get a quality quarterback like him in this class."
On the quarterback situation
"We have two quarterbacks on our campus right now and it will be interesting to see how the spring improves their ability, and whether or not they let Beeghley compete for the job is up to them."
On Aso Pogi's health
"The only thing I know of Aso is hearsay and I have only seen him three times since the accident. I know he can expect to recover but he will have some hurdles to go beyond but physically he will be fine."
On Lawrence Pinson
"We have been recruiting him from the first day of recruiting. He will be a quality middle linebacker for us. We are very excited to see him in our class and we look forward to seeing him learn and get on the playing field early."
On the attitude of the recruits who expect to win
"Winning is habitual and we would like for them to bring their example with them. We enjoy the fact they have won a lot of ballgames and if you look at our previous classes all of the guys are used to winning."
On the tight ends
"Both Charlie Johnson and Sean Harmon are really talented guys. I think Harmon is a little faster and a little taller. He reminds me of Alonzo Mayes but Johnson was the leading scorer of his high school's basketball team. He has great hands. They played him at flanker and threw him the ball a lot, he has great height. He can play tight end and will block. We are feel real fortunate to have these two on our team."
