OU Football: Signing Day Press Conference Notebook

Following a successful National Signing Day, Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops met with the media to talk about the 2015 class. Here are some notes and observations from the press conference.

-Stoops said the six secondary players the Sooners signed make up the best secondary class he's signed. With all of the great defensive backs that have come through Norman in the last 15 years, that's some really high praise.

-With the direction of the offense changing with the hiring of Lincoln Riley as offensive coordinator, the wide receiver position became an important position of need. Stoops said he feels they did a good job of getting a lot of speed, as well as big guys who can go up for balls on the outside.

Related Story: OU Football: Breaking Down the Sooners' Signing Class

-It took Bob Stoops a long time to get on board with Twitter, but the social media use has been ramped up by the OU coaching staff this year. Linebacker Arthur McGinnis committed to the Sooners on SnapChat, prompting Stoops to tell everyone in attendance at the press conference to get on board with it.

-McGinnis committed to the Sooners close to midnight on Monday night after Stoops had gone to bed. He said his wife informed him of the commitment in the morning.

-Despite not having a ton of depth at linebacker, Stoops said the Sooners are right on target with 11 linebackers on the roster now.

-Stoops said he was open to Austin Seibert handling the kicking and punting duties for the Sooners, provided Seibert is able to take care of business in both capacities.

-There was a lot of speculation last week about when the stadium renovation project would occur. Stoops said on Wednesday it would move forward and that it will happen. He didn't say when it would happen, but he did say they were excited for it to happen.

-McAlester's Dalton Wood, who played quarterback in high school, will most likely play tight end for the Sooners. However, Stoops said all the coaches liked Wood during the recruiting process and said the staff would have fun figuring out where to play him. Stoops said several positions were on the table.

-Stoops didn't have any updates on the searches for a wide receivers and cornerbacks coach. He said he hoped to have those positions finalized by the middle of next week. Reports have surfaced that Notre Dame secondary coach Kerry Cooks has accepted an offer for the same position in Norman. Stoops said he had no comment on that.

-Running backs coach and recruiting coordinator Cale Gundy said he could barely sleep last night and kept checking his phone for Twitter messages or notifications of another commitment.

-When asked if he's ever not liked a signing class, Gundy said no and jokingly said all the recruits would be All-Americans and first round picks, taking a small shot at the usual coach speak that always surrounds National Signing Day.

-Gundy's phone buzzed repeatedly during his portion of the press conference. Gundy said, “I'll sometimes get a smart comment from my brother.” When asked if he ever sent any smart comments toward Mike, Gundy said he had more important things to do.

-With a ton talented running backs, figuring out how to get them all touches will be a big task for Gundy. He said all would be playing on special teams in some capacity and they all understand that carries won't just be handed to them.

-Gundy praised running back Joe Mixon's character and resolve during his time away from the team, noting he made a split-second wrong decision. Gundy said he is a “super, super kid,” and said he's like a caged tiger. Gundy said Mixon is still working with strength coach Jerry Schmidt to get into the necessary shape. Gundy also added he had constant contact with Mixon while he was away from the team and said he was always confident Mixon would stay in Norman.