Inside OSU - 2011 Cowboy Football
Uploaded by OkStateNews on 14.12.2011
Transcript:
Hi this is Burns Hargis with a very special edition of Inside OSU. We have had by far the most memorable and exciting
football season in the history of OSU, winning the first conference championship in OSU's history.
And really creating an enormous amount of excitement and there's no one that's more responsible than Mike Gundy.
Mike glad to have you on Inside OSU. Thank you. Congratulations on a great season. I appreciate it. It's been a great
year. I'm so happy for all the OSU people. There's so much excitement here in the community that's still lingering today.
This team has performed well every week and overcome incredible adversity. We've got great leadership. Our assistant
coaches have been really good with their demeanor on the sideline. It never changes and the players feel that.
So it starts with them. Then we have Brandon Weeden, Jamie Blatnick, Richetti Jones and go down the list with Blackmon
and Levy and Garner. They've been tremendous. Markelle Martin. And our younger players have followed them.
Now I was in the locker room for the trophy presentation and I couldn't see because your team's pretty big.
They're big guys. I was trying to stay out of harms way. Did you do the Gundy? I did. And I had a couple new twists
because for 3 years I've been doing the same thing. So I brought some hand gyrations into it. The players love that.
They've been dancing for 3-4 years and one day I joked around with them and since then they brought me into the picture.
We believe in the players having fun. We do all the things right. So if they want the coach to dance, he's gonna dance.
Well Mike you've been a great leader for our school and we've benefited mightily from your service to OSU and I want you
to know from a grateful OSU nation, thanks a lot. I appreciate that. Thank you.
Here we are in the weight room with 2 of the stalwarts of the championship team, Jamie Blatnick and Richetti Jones.
Guys you played a big part in that OU game. I think you had the longest run of the entire game and you scored Richetti.
Yes sir. Which one happened first? Mine. Alright talk about it. Elkins caused a fumble and I picked it up and tried
to get it to the house. I've never seen you move that fast Jamie. I've never seen myself move that fast. I wanted to take
it down to the 1 yard line so the offense could get a score. Touchdowns don't help me much. I'm a team player.
Talk about your score in the OU game. I was going to block the pass and once I went up to him he fumbled the ball.
I kicked it, fumbled and stumbled and finally when I got it all I saw was orange. I was like did I really score?
My teammates jumped on me so I guess I did. You came in '07? Yes. So your first season was 7 and 6. Now here we are,
I think at the end of this season we'll be 12 and 1. Did you see this coming? From our freshman year to now, so many
things have changed for the better, it's remarkable. We brought in quality people. In the locker room my freshman year
if I would have said we're going to go 12-1 this year people would have laughed at me. That's how it's changed.
Our trainer Rob Glass has a big part in this. We're here in this weight room and there's a saying up on the wall from
Muhammad Ali, "Before I get in the ring, I have already won or lost." Preparation. Had you bought into that when you came
here? As freshman we bought in, but it was a cycle that had to be completed. You had to get better guys in. Guys that
wanted to work. Guys that wanted to buy in. Coach Glass did the rest. He taught us how to work hard, how to be champions
and how to persevere through tough times. Everybody bought in and this is what you get.
Let's talk about the Fiesta Bowl. Pretty exciting venue right? Oh yeah. And an exciting opponent in Stanford.
You've still got a lot to prove right? Of course. And what better way to prove it than against one of the top
quarterbacks in the country in the Fiesta Bowl.
We appreciate everything you've done for OSU. Good luck in the Fiesta Bowl. Beat Stanford and go pokes.
Here we are in this incredible Cowboy locker room, which was built in 2009. With me are two of the great players for
the Cowboys and members of this fantastic senior team, Brandon Weeden our quarterback and Grant Garner our center.
Guys welcome. Thanks for having us. I bet you're going to miss this place aren't you? Absolutely. It doesn't get much
better than this, especially where we started with where we're at today. Just give me some thoughts on how far you've
come and did you really believe you'd get to this point? Absolutely. I came in open-minded and didn't know what to
expect, but I knew what was on the way with Mr. Pickens donating the money for this facility and the players that are
involved. You always hope. You never know but you always hope. The 2nd year we won 9 games. That was kind of the rise.
So we took over the reigns kept that momentum going. How about you Grant? What are some of the highlights for you?
Definitely beating OU and having everybody come out. Beating Texas 2 years in a row. Beating A&M 3 or 4 years in a row.
Winning a Big 12 championship is pretty incredible. Of course we're known as one of the great passing teams and we are
one of the great passing teams and the offensive line has a lot to do with that. But coming into the OU game I don't
think anybody expected us to have success with the run. I know the offensive line has a lot to do with protecting this
guy and the reason he doesn't have a boot on his leg and you do. How were we able to do that?
I think all 5 of us just took pride in keeping him clean all year. And we wanted to be able to run the ball because
that's your measuring stick if you're an offensive line.
One of the real headline match ups at the Fiesta Bowl is going to be you against Andrew Luck of Stanford.
They project Luck will go #1 in the draft. He's obviously a very talented player. Tell me about that matchup.
He's a great player. He'll be the first pick overall, but he's also a great guy. It's going to be a challenge for us.
He brings a lot to the table as far as what he can do on the field and he's got that team rolling right now.
Now I probably can't get you to say if Weeden or Luck is the best quarterback, but I bet I could get you to tell us who
the best center on these two teams is. Not even a question. This guy right here's been the anchor for not only this
offense but also for this team the past couple years. What he does at the line of scrimmage from a communication
standpoint, he's kind of what makes it go. I say he's the most valuable player on this offense.
I think you've broken through the glass ceiling that was keeping us out of national prominence. I think we all owe a
big debt of gratitude to you and your fellow seniors for everything you've done. Thank you sir.
Well I hope everybody will come or tune in for the Fiesta Bowl. I know it will be a great experience and great
opportunity to showcase OSU and our wonderful football team. We'll all be there excited. Go Pokes!
football season in the history of OSU, winning the first conference championship in OSU's history.
And really creating an enormous amount of excitement and there's no one that's more responsible than Mike Gundy.
Mike glad to have you on Inside OSU. Thank you. Congratulations on a great season. I appreciate it. It's been a great
year. I'm so happy for all the OSU people. There's so much excitement here in the community that's still lingering today.
This team has performed well every week and overcome incredible adversity. We've got great leadership. Our assistant
coaches have been really good with their demeanor on the sideline. It never changes and the players feel that.
So it starts with them. Then we have Brandon Weeden, Jamie Blatnick, Richetti Jones and go down the list with Blackmon
and Levy and Garner. They've been tremendous. Markelle Martin. And our younger players have followed them.
Now I was in the locker room for the trophy presentation and I couldn't see because your team's pretty big.
They're big guys. I was trying to stay out of harms way. Did you do the Gundy? I did. And I had a couple new twists
because for 3 years I've been doing the same thing. So I brought some hand gyrations into it. The players love that.
They've been dancing for 3-4 years and one day I joked around with them and since then they brought me into the picture.
We believe in the players having fun. We do all the things right. So if they want the coach to dance, he's gonna dance.
Well Mike you've been a great leader for our school and we've benefited mightily from your service to OSU and I want you
to know from a grateful OSU nation, thanks a lot. I appreciate that. Thank you.
Here we are in the weight room with 2 of the stalwarts of the championship team, Jamie Blatnick and Richetti Jones.
Guys you played a big part in that OU game. I think you had the longest run of the entire game and you scored Richetti.
Yes sir. Which one happened first? Mine. Alright talk about it. Elkins caused a fumble and I picked it up and tried
to get it to the house. I've never seen you move that fast Jamie. I've never seen myself move that fast. I wanted to take
it down to the 1 yard line so the offense could get a score. Touchdowns don't help me much. I'm a team player.
Talk about your score in the OU game. I was going to block the pass and once I went up to him he fumbled the ball.
I kicked it, fumbled and stumbled and finally when I got it all I saw was orange. I was like did I really score?
My teammates jumped on me so I guess I did. You came in '07? Yes. So your first season was 7 and 6. Now here we are,
I think at the end of this season we'll be 12 and 1. Did you see this coming? From our freshman year to now, so many
things have changed for the better, it's remarkable. We brought in quality people. In the locker room my freshman year
if I would have said we're going to go 12-1 this year people would have laughed at me. That's how it's changed.
Our trainer Rob Glass has a big part in this. We're here in this weight room and there's a saying up on the wall from
Muhammad Ali, "Before I get in the ring, I have already won or lost." Preparation. Had you bought into that when you came
here? As freshman we bought in, but it was a cycle that had to be completed. You had to get better guys in. Guys that
wanted to work. Guys that wanted to buy in. Coach Glass did the rest. He taught us how to work hard, how to be champions
and how to persevere through tough times. Everybody bought in and this is what you get.
Let's talk about the Fiesta Bowl. Pretty exciting venue right? Oh yeah. And an exciting opponent in Stanford.
You've still got a lot to prove right? Of course. And what better way to prove it than against one of the top
quarterbacks in the country in the Fiesta Bowl.
We appreciate everything you've done for OSU. Good luck in the Fiesta Bowl. Beat Stanford and go pokes.
Here we are in this incredible Cowboy locker room, which was built in 2009. With me are two of the great players for
the Cowboys and members of this fantastic senior team, Brandon Weeden our quarterback and Grant Garner our center.
Guys welcome. Thanks for having us. I bet you're going to miss this place aren't you? Absolutely. It doesn't get much
better than this, especially where we started with where we're at today. Just give me some thoughts on how far you've
come and did you really believe you'd get to this point? Absolutely. I came in open-minded and didn't know what to
expect, but I knew what was on the way with Mr. Pickens donating the money for this facility and the players that are
involved. You always hope. You never know but you always hope. The 2nd year we won 9 games. That was kind of the rise.
So we took over the reigns kept that momentum going. How about you Grant? What are some of the highlights for you?
Definitely beating OU and having everybody come out. Beating Texas 2 years in a row. Beating A&M 3 or 4 years in a row.
Winning a Big 12 championship is pretty incredible. Of course we're known as one of the great passing teams and we are
one of the great passing teams and the offensive line has a lot to do with that. But coming into the OU game I don't
think anybody expected us to have success with the run. I know the offensive line has a lot to do with protecting this
guy and the reason he doesn't have a boot on his leg and you do. How were we able to do that?
I think all 5 of us just took pride in keeping him clean all year. And we wanted to be able to run the ball because
that's your measuring stick if you're an offensive line.
One of the real headline match ups at the Fiesta Bowl is going to be you against Andrew Luck of Stanford.
They project Luck will go #1 in the draft. He's obviously a very talented player. Tell me about that matchup.
He's a great player. He'll be the first pick overall, but he's also a great guy. It's going to be a challenge for us.
He brings a lot to the table as far as what he can do on the field and he's got that team rolling right now.
Now I probably can't get you to say if Weeden or Luck is the best quarterback, but I bet I could get you to tell us who
the best center on these two teams is. Not even a question. This guy right here's been the anchor for not only this
offense but also for this team the past couple years. What he does at the line of scrimmage from a communication
standpoint, he's kind of what makes it go. I say he's the most valuable player on this offense.
I think you've broken through the glass ceiling that was keeping us out of national prominence. I think we all owe a
big debt of gratitude to you and your fellow seniors for everything you've done. Thank you sir.
Well I hope everybody will come or tune in for the Fiesta Bowl. I know it will be a great experience and great
opportunity to showcase OSU and our wonderful football team. We'll all be there excited. Go Pokes!