'I Think The Series Is Good:' Mike Gundy, Cowboys Look Ahead To Arkansas

Head coach Mike Gundy met with the media Monday in Stillwater to discuss Oklahoma State’s season-opening win over South Dakota State and next week’s matchup with Arkansas. Here are some of his comments:

 Head Coach Mike Gundy

On where he expects growth from week one to week two:

“Young players that were out there for the first time. So, a couple names would be Sesi (Vailahi), the running back, because he played last year some, but not a lot. Those guys will start to get better early in the year. Jeff Roberson, who played a number of snaps and hasn't really played before. That type of player that has a little experience, but now is asked to play a bigger role. That's where you'll see the most improvement.”

On linebackers Collin Oliver and Kendal Daniels:

“Collin was excellent because he was playing a lot of the same location he did earlier in his career. Based on what they were doing and where he was located, that wasn't anything new to him. Kendal was good but has a lot of room for improvement because he's in an area that he's not as frequent with, or he hasn't been in as much. He should get better each week. Collin has had a lot of reps in the world he played in last Saturday.”

On the offensive line’s performance against SDSU:

“I thought they played good because they didn't give up any sacks. Bowman did a better job in this game of sitting in the pocket and not running out for no reason at all. That’s what we have asked him to do and worked with him on that. We only had maybe one or two negative yardage plays; I think we lost three (yards) on one play and one or two on another. So, you always have to take that into consideration. That's a big part, sacks and negative yardage plays, a big part of the game.”

On Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green:

“You've got to have a guy for him. When you are competing against a guy that has the ability to run, you have to take that into account in your structure of defense and style of play. So, we have plenty of ways to do that, because we see them quite a bit now. It's just a matter of being disciplined and making sure somebody has responsibility for the quarterback.”

On Ring of Honor inductee Leslie O’Neal:

“I know Leslie was here in 1984 and I came in 1986, so really close. It’s interesting though, we talk so much about Barry (Sanders) and Thurman (Thomas) because of the offensive position. But, as far as for players that were dominant here, he was as dominant defensively as Barry and Thurman were offensively. It’s just not a position that people talk about a lot. Very moderately recruited from what I was told, he was a great player and had double-digit years in the NFL. Playing in the position he played in for double-digit years in the NFL is tough, but he’s just a great player.”