Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboy Football Opens Practice at Sherman E. Smith Training Center
August 02, 2023 | Cowboy Football
STILLWATER – The Oklahoma State football team held its first practice of fall camp Wednesday morning at 7 a.m., completing a two-hour workout in shorts, jerseys and helmets at the Sherman E. Smith Training Center north of Boone Pickens Stadium.
It was the first practice for the Cowboys since they stepped off the field to conclude the spring practice session in April.
Coach Mike Gundy and several Cowboy players met with media following practice to talk about day one and their expectations this fall. Here are some of their comments:
Head Coach Mike Gundy
On entering camp with several new players:
"There's more excitement than uncertainty. Today I only had to ask twice who somebody was. I feel much better about that side of it and the excitement is greater than the uncertainty. Just seeing the guys we had in the weight room in the summer and the offseason, our gains and strength levels are in the top three all time since I've been the head coach here. That showed a real strong commitment from our team to me."
On the players' energy:
"The energy was good. It's interesting because on day one, everybody's excited but they haven't been out here with helmets on and with the natural human reaction to heat. It'll get better every day, but we had a good day. We're not in pads, so that's kind of a downer. I think with maturity you start to understand what you're going to get each day, and I'm happy with what we got today from the team."
On the talent brought in from the transfer portal:
"In the age of the portal, this is the future. Some go out and some come in. You would like to minimize that but that's not going to happen anymore. I think that we went stride-for-stride. We'll know a lot more in about three weeks and then we'll really know more October 1, but I feel good about the exchange we made player for player."
On the competition within position groups:
"Defensively it's interesting, because being in some more odd front than we've ever been in before will be fun to watch. It'll be interesting to watch how our middle player competes. We've got a number of running backs that don't really have much experience, so it'll be interesting to watch and see where they're at, and it'll be interesting to watch how things transform as we go through the quarterback position."
On improving the run game:
"I think the commitment has to come from our staff and our concepts and schemes. In most cases, you get good at what you practice and things you make a priority you improve on. I've asked our offensive staff to make it a point to improve in the running game. I'm fairly confident that will happen."
Safety Kendal Daniels
On adjusting to a new defensive coordinator:
"I was happy. At first, it was like, 'What are we going to do?' but I actually got to sit down with Coach Nardo and go over the defense and we just figured out how we're going to do it, and I loved it ever since."
On his growth throughout the offseason:
"Just learning to be a professional. If you want to be a pro, you have to act like a pro, eating, sleep and taking the time. Last year I didn't watch that much film, but you have to sit down and be a pro at it. You have to work at your craft, just watching film and working a little bit more on my covering skills and being critical about my footwork and how fast I am. Just working on the little things with my feet is really what I've been working on."
On his relationship with new defensive coordinator Bryan Nardo:
"I feel like that's a big aspect, getting to sit down with Coach Nardo and listen to him. I mean, in the middle of a play earlier, I just yelled, 'Coach Nardo,' and he looked at me and I was like, 'Did I play that last play right?' and he just gives me a head nod. Just that relationship with Coach Nardo is great, just having him there to go up to him. Even if I mess up on a play, I'm going right to him to figure out what I can do to be better on the next play."
On playing with more confidence having a full year of experience:
"Oh yeah. I mean, I don't know how I'm going to go into the first game. I'm going to have the same jitters as I did last year, but just being able to have those games under my belt is a really big thing, because as the season went on last year I got more comfortable, then going into spring ball and after fall camp everything should slow down and get back to normal."
Running Back Jaden Nixon
On working with the quarterbacks under center:
"You can see everything just fall into place more. You can't be too fast, but you can't be too slow. It all works out in the end, so I love inside zone, in general."
On Sesi Vailahi:
"He's doing real good. This summer he just showed a lot of talent ... and potential, so I'm excited to see him out here, especially when we get pads on. I'm excited to see what he can do. He has a lot of potential. He's going to be really good."
On leadership dynamics among the running backs:
"We really just work together. We learn together. We coach each other up. If there's one thing that we notice the other person's doing wrong, if there's one thing we like that one person's doing, we're going to ask about it. We just talk. We try to help each other out. Yes, it's a competition, but at the same time, if I'm not going to be the guy, I don't want Ollie or Elijah to not be prepared."
Defensive End Kody Walterscheid
On standout players:
"There's been a lot of standouts, Justin Kirkland, Anthony Goodlow. Those are some of the D-Line guys and they have been doing great things for us, and they got a bright future here."
On Anthony Goodlow:
"Oh man he brings a lot of good things. He's a good defensive lineman, good pass rusher. I think he will do great things for us."
On Bryan Nardo:
"He is big about family, getting everybody to buy in and you know being a brotherhood. He talks about, there's never a time where you can give too much effort."
Offensive Lineman Jake Springfield
On how much quicker the offensive is:
"It happens a lot quicker in the backfield. When he's under we just kind of gotta be mindful of that and everything just kind of speeds up a little bit faster."
On playing with the quarterback under center:
"This might be my first year that's not a goal line package where it's under. I'm a big fan of it because I get to put my hand in the dirt. I feel like that helps me come off the ball a lot faster and harder."
On his health this season:
"I feel good right now. I feel really healthy. Getting ready for a big season. Gotta take care of my body as we go along and it feels good."
On last season:
"We remember the end of that season and no one liked it. It kind of made us sick. We feel like we should've had a better season so we kind of remembered that through this offseason and through the spring and kept that in the back of our minds and we all had different things we want to work on and improve about ourselves and improve about our unit."
The Oklahoma State football team is scheduled to open the 2023 season September 2 when it faces Central Arkansas at Boone Pickens Stadium, with kickoff set for 6 p.m. CT on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
Season tickets for Cowboy football are on sale now and provide the best value and seating options for fans. Tickets are available online through okstate.com/tickets and by calling or texting 877-255-4678.
It was the first practice for the Cowboys since they stepped off the field to conclude the spring practice session in April.
Coach Mike Gundy and several Cowboy players met with media following practice to talk about day one and their expectations this fall. Here are some of their comments:
Head Coach Mike Gundy
On entering camp with several new players:
"There's more excitement than uncertainty. Today I only had to ask twice who somebody was. I feel much better about that side of it and the excitement is greater than the uncertainty. Just seeing the guys we had in the weight room in the summer and the offseason, our gains and strength levels are in the top three all time since I've been the head coach here. That showed a real strong commitment from our team to me."
On the players' energy:
"The energy was good. It's interesting because on day one, everybody's excited but they haven't been out here with helmets on and with the natural human reaction to heat. It'll get better every day, but we had a good day. We're not in pads, so that's kind of a downer. I think with maturity you start to understand what you're going to get each day, and I'm happy with what we got today from the team."
On the talent brought in from the transfer portal:
"In the age of the portal, this is the future. Some go out and some come in. You would like to minimize that but that's not going to happen anymore. I think that we went stride-for-stride. We'll know a lot more in about three weeks and then we'll really know more October 1, but I feel good about the exchange we made player for player."
On the competition within position groups:
"Defensively it's interesting, because being in some more odd front than we've ever been in before will be fun to watch. It'll be interesting to watch how our middle player competes. We've got a number of running backs that don't really have much experience, so it'll be interesting to watch and see where they're at, and it'll be interesting to watch how things transform as we go through the quarterback position."
On improving the run game:
"I think the commitment has to come from our staff and our concepts and schemes. In most cases, you get good at what you practice and things you make a priority you improve on. I've asked our offensive staff to make it a point to improve in the running game. I'm fairly confident that will happen."
Safety Kendal Daniels
On adjusting to a new defensive coordinator:
"I was happy. At first, it was like, 'What are we going to do?' but I actually got to sit down with Coach Nardo and go over the defense and we just figured out how we're going to do it, and I loved it ever since."
On his growth throughout the offseason:
"Just learning to be a professional. If you want to be a pro, you have to act like a pro, eating, sleep and taking the time. Last year I didn't watch that much film, but you have to sit down and be a pro at it. You have to work at your craft, just watching film and working a little bit more on my covering skills and being critical about my footwork and how fast I am. Just working on the little things with my feet is really what I've been working on."
On his relationship with new defensive coordinator Bryan Nardo:
"I feel like that's a big aspect, getting to sit down with Coach Nardo and listen to him. I mean, in the middle of a play earlier, I just yelled, 'Coach Nardo,' and he looked at me and I was like, 'Did I play that last play right?' and he just gives me a head nod. Just that relationship with Coach Nardo is great, just having him there to go up to him. Even if I mess up on a play, I'm going right to him to figure out what I can do to be better on the next play."
On playing with more confidence having a full year of experience:
"Oh yeah. I mean, I don't know how I'm going to go into the first game. I'm going to have the same jitters as I did last year, but just being able to have those games under my belt is a really big thing, because as the season went on last year I got more comfortable, then going into spring ball and after fall camp everything should slow down and get back to normal."
Running Back Jaden Nixon
On working with the quarterbacks under center:
"You can see everything just fall into place more. You can't be too fast, but you can't be too slow. It all works out in the end, so I love inside zone, in general."
On Sesi Vailahi:
"He's doing real good. This summer he just showed a lot of talent ... and potential, so I'm excited to see him out here, especially when we get pads on. I'm excited to see what he can do. He has a lot of potential. He's going to be really good."
On leadership dynamics among the running backs:
"We really just work together. We learn together. We coach each other up. If there's one thing that we notice the other person's doing wrong, if there's one thing we like that one person's doing, we're going to ask about it. We just talk. We try to help each other out. Yes, it's a competition, but at the same time, if I'm not going to be the guy, I don't want Ollie or Elijah to not be prepared."
Defensive End Kody Walterscheid
On standout players:
"There's been a lot of standouts, Justin Kirkland, Anthony Goodlow. Those are some of the D-Line guys and they have been doing great things for us, and they got a bright future here."
On Anthony Goodlow:
"Oh man he brings a lot of good things. He's a good defensive lineman, good pass rusher. I think he will do great things for us."
On Bryan Nardo:
"He is big about family, getting everybody to buy in and you know being a brotherhood. He talks about, there's never a time where you can give too much effort."
Offensive Lineman Jake Springfield
On how much quicker the offensive is:
"It happens a lot quicker in the backfield. When he's under we just kind of gotta be mindful of that and everything just kind of speeds up a little bit faster."
On playing with the quarterback under center:
"This might be my first year that's not a goal line package where it's under. I'm a big fan of it because I get to put my hand in the dirt. I feel like that helps me come off the ball a lot faster and harder."
On his health this season:
"I feel good right now. I feel really healthy. Getting ready for a big season. Gotta take care of my body as we go along and it feels good."
On last season:
"We remember the end of that season and no one liked it. It kind of made us sick. We feel like we should've had a better season so we kind of remembered that through this offseason and through the spring and kept that in the back of our minds and we all had different things we want to work on and improve about ourselves and improve about our unit."
The Oklahoma State football team is scheduled to open the 2023 season September 2 when it faces Central Arkansas at Boone Pickens Stadium, with kickoff set for 6 p.m. CT on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
Season tickets for Cowboy football are on sale now and provide the best value and seating options for fans. Tickets are available online through okstate.com/tickets and by calling or texting 877-255-4678.
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