By KEVIN LONNQUIST
Publisher
Each week, the Big 12 coaches meet with the media to discuss what occurred and what lies ahead in the coming week of the 2015 season. Baylor head coach Art Briles’ comments were posted earlier.
NOTE: I held this for a few hours following the Donovan Duvernay commitment.
Charlie Strong, Texas: The Longhorns (1-2) play host to Oklahoma State Saturday: Well after place-kicker Nick Rose missed what would have been the game-tying PAT against California – a 45-44 loss – Strong said that he stayed with Rose until 1:00 am to let him know he supported him. Strong then said he called Rose on Sunday morning to make sure he was doing OK. "There's gonna be adversity in life...you gotta get over it.’’ Strong said to Rose. Texas has no more controversy at quarterback as Jerrod Heard set a school record for total yardage in a game with 527.
David Beaty, Kansas: The Jayhawks (0-2) are at Rutgers Saturday: The story of this game is that Rutgers coach Kyle Flood begins the first of a three game suspension for having impermissible contact with a professor regarding a player’s grade…Beaty said that bye came at a good time for the program to reassess everything. There are still high expectations for quarterback Montell Cozart who has been up and down as a passer to this point.
Bob Stoops, Oklahoma: The No. 14/15 Sooners (3-0) have a bye: QB Baker Mayfield was the Big 12’s offensive player of the week honors after 572 total yards. Stoops knows he has a playmaker. “We have seen that in scrimmages when we go against each other, ‘’ Stoops said. He has a good ability to feel the rush once it's on him and get out and scramble away from it. [He can] pull back and still wait for someone to come open and make the decision to run when he has the clear range to run. I've seen him escape our guys far too many times when we're out there in team sessions. We go against each other on Wednesdays in third-and-long sessions and he can find his way out of some things. In some of our scrimmages, when we're not breaking him down, the defense barely gets a hand on him and they want to act like they sacked him, but I won't blow the whistle because I don't feel like they had him. I've seen him run around pretty well."
Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State: The No. 22/24 Cowboys (3-0) play at Texas Saturday: OSU still has some youth in the offensive line and the running game. But with Big 12 play beginning Saturday in Austin, Gundy will learn more about this part offense. “We're getting better. We've got a ways to go. Each week they're improving. Over the next 3-4 weeks we'll find out a lot about the offensive line and the running game….Experience, at those positions, is so important. You can take a 3rd year player in an offensive line that's not physically talented enough to ever get in an NFL camp, but he can be a good college player just from experience."
Bill Snyder, Kansas State: The Wildcats (3-0) have a bye: KSU is dealing with a second QB injury. That’s backup Alex Delton who was not in uniform last weekend against Louisiana Tech because of a reported knee injury. “Probably everybody deals with the quarterbacks the same way,” Snyder said Monday on the Big 12 coaches teleconference. “They have probably gone from early December of last year to early September of this year without having any contact whatsoever. Quarterbacks are normally hands-off so they don’t have the experience of the contact that they get in the course of a ballgame.
“The idea that people are bigger and stronger and faster and the hits are more aggressive and more dynamic today puts everybody in jeopardy. Yet when it’s the quarterback, the lights go on.”…Snyder has also expressed some frustration with the offense’s performance in the Red Zone.
Dana Holgorsen, West Virginia: The Mountaineers (2-0) play host to Maryland Saturday: This is one the most bitter border wars no one knows about. The Mountaineers lead the Terrapins in the series, 27-22….Mountaineer QB Skyler Howard is No. 11 in the nation in total offense at 348.5 yards per game.
Kliff Kingsbury, Texas Tech: The Red Raiders (3-0) play host to TCU Saturday: The Red Raiders may have started their payback tour last week with their 35-24 victory at Arkansas. Now, TCU comes to Lubbock. The Horned Frogs scored 82 points on the Red Raiders in Fort Worth last year. But Kingsbury is hoping this team is keeping it in the now: "[We] Just have to keep working harder. Once you get in conference play, the ante goes up and you have to work that much harder and prepare that much better. The only way to remain confident is to know you've done everything in your power during the week to prepare you for that game. So that's what we'll try to focus on this week."
Paul Rhoads, Iowa State: The Cyclones (1-2) have a bye: ISU’s defense had some health issues in the 30-23 double overtime loss to Toledo last week. Rhoads said in the Big 12 coaches call that DB Sam E. Richardson, DE Gabe Luna, SS Qujuan Floyd, and LB Brian Mills, who didn’t play, should be back for the Big 12 opener Oct. 3 against Kansas at Jack Trice Stadium. “We’re pretty excited about what this week is going to provide for us,” Rhoads said. “We’re going to rest some guys that have some nagging things, but we fully expect to get a number of players back for the Kansas game, and that really excites us.”
Gary Patterson, TCU: The No. 2/3 Horned Frogs (3-0) play at Texas Tech Saturday: While this defense is missing eight starters – the latest was the season ending knee injury to DB Ranthony Texada Saturday against SMU – Patterson just said that his younger player are going to have to grow up more. As for playing in Lubbock, there’s every likelihood that everyone in AT&T Jones Stadium remembers the 82-27 drubbing. “Our kids see that,” Patterson said Monday during the Big 12 coaches call. “We understand, us watching the film, that Tech’s a better football team than they were a year ago. They’re completely different.”
Publisher
Each week, the Big 12 coaches meet with the media to discuss what occurred and what lies ahead in the coming week of the 2015 season. Baylor head coach Art Briles’ comments were posted earlier.
NOTE: I held this for a few hours following the Donovan Duvernay commitment.
Charlie Strong, Texas: The Longhorns (1-2) play host to Oklahoma State Saturday: Well after place-kicker Nick Rose missed what would have been the game-tying PAT against California – a 45-44 loss – Strong said that he stayed with Rose until 1:00 am to let him know he supported him. Strong then said he called Rose on Sunday morning to make sure he was doing OK. "There's gonna be adversity in life...you gotta get over it.’’ Strong said to Rose. Texas has no more controversy at quarterback as Jerrod Heard set a school record for total yardage in a game with 527.
David Beaty, Kansas: The Jayhawks (0-2) are at Rutgers Saturday: The story of this game is that Rutgers coach Kyle Flood begins the first of a three game suspension for having impermissible contact with a professor regarding a player’s grade…Beaty said that bye came at a good time for the program to reassess everything. There are still high expectations for quarterback Montell Cozart who has been up and down as a passer to this point.
Bob Stoops, Oklahoma: The No. 14/15 Sooners (3-0) have a bye: QB Baker Mayfield was the Big 12’s offensive player of the week honors after 572 total yards. Stoops knows he has a playmaker. “We have seen that in scrimmages when we go against each other, ‘’ Stoops said. He has a good ability to feel the rush once it's on him and get out and scramble away from it. [He can] pull back and still wait for someone to come open and make the decision to run when he has the clear range to run. I've seen him escape our guys far too many times when we're out there in team sessions. We go against each other on Wednesdays in third-and-long sessions and he can find his way out of some things. In some of our scrimmages, when we're not breaking him down, the defense barely gets a hand on him and they want to act like they sacked him, but I won't blow the whistle because I don't feel like they had him. I've seen him run around pretty well."
Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State: The No. 22/24 Cowboys (3-0) play at Texas Saturday: OSU still has some youth in the offensive line and the running game. But with Big 12 play beginning Saturday in Austin, Gundy will learn more about this part offense. “We're getting better. We've got a ways to go. Each week they're improving. Over the next 3-4 weeks we'll find out a lot about the offensive line and the running game….Experience, at those positions, is so important. You can take a 3rd year player in an offensive line that's not physically talented enough to ever get in an NFL camp, but he can be a good college player just from experience."
Bill Snyder, Kansas State: The Wildcats (3-0) have a bye: KSU is dealing with a second QB injury. That’s backup Alex Delton who was not in uniform last weekend against Louisiana Tech because of a reported knee injury. “Probably everybody deals with the quarterbacks the same way,” Snyder said Monday on the Big 12 coaches teleconference. “They have probably gone from early December of last year to early September of this year without having any contact whatsoever. Quarterbacks are normally hands-off so they don’t have the experience of the contact that they get in the course of a ballgame.
“The idea that people are bigger and stronger and faster and the hits are more aggressive and more dynamic today puts everybody in jeopardy. Yet when it’s the quarterback, the lights go on.”…Snyder has also expressed some frustration with the offense’s performance in the Red Zone.
Dana Holgorsen, West Virginia: The Mountaineers (2-0) play host to Maryland Saturday: This is one the most bitter border wars no one knows about. The Mountaineers lead the Terrapins in the series, 27-22….Mountaineer QB Skyler Howard is No. 11 in the nation in total offense at 348.5 yards per game.
Kliff Kingsbury, Texas Tech: The Red Raiders (3-0) play host to TCU Saturday: The Red Raiders may have started their payback tour last week with their 35-24 victory at Arkansas. Now, TCU comes to Lubbock. The Horned Frogs scored 82 points on the Red Raiders in Fort Worth last year. But Kingsbury is hoping this team is keeping it in the now: "[We] Just have to keep working harder. Once you get in conference play, the ante goes up and you have to work that much harder and prepare that much better. The only way to remain confident is to know you've done everything in your power during the week to prepare you for that game. So that's what we'll try to focus on this week."
Paul Rhoads, Iowa State: The Cyclones (1-2) have a bye: ISU’s defense had some health issues in the 30-23 double overtime loss to Toledo last week. Rhoads said in the Big 12 coaches call that DB Sam E. Richardson, DE Gabe Luna, SS Qujuan Floyd, and LB Brian Mills, who didn’t play, should be back for the Big 12 opener Oct. 3 against Kansas at Jack Trice Stadium. “We’re pretty excited about what this week is going to provide for us,” Rhoads said. “We’re going to rest some guys that have some nagging things, but we fully expect to get a number of players back for the Kansas game, and that really excites us.”
Gary Patterson, TCU: The No. 2/3 Horned Frogs (3-0) play at Texas Tech Saturday: While this defense is missing eight starters – the latest was the season ending knee injury to DB Ranthony Texada Saturday against SMU – Patterson just said that his younger player are going to have to grow up more. As for playing in Lubbock, there’s every likelihood that everyone in AT&T Jones Stadium remembers the 82-27 drubbing. “Our kids see that,” Patterson said Monday during the Big 12 coaches call. “We understand, us watching the film, that Tech’s a better football team than they were a year ago. They’re completely different.”
