The Dean's List: Gundy Impressive In First Game Presser

GUNDY IMPRESSIVE IN GAME 1 PRESS CONFERENCE

I’ve been watching Mike Gundy for thirty years. Saw him play and reported on him beginning in 1985 – the year before he graduated from Midwest City and was named Oklahoma’s Player of the Year. Covered him as an assistant coach with Ron Smith and a stellar bunch of guys under legendary head coach Jim Darnell with the Mighty Bombers.

So I’ve watched Mike play and coach in high school and watched him play and coach in college. Known his parents. Have seen him mature along the way. Haven’t seen him anywhere as much as Bob Stoops or other coaches, but watched him closely from a distance.

LIKE LAST YEAR DIDN’T HAPPEN

I didn’t like what I saw last season. Something – quite a few things weren’t right. We’ve learned a little about the mostly nonsensical stuff going on behind the scenes. Thank goodness that’s all behind him (and the Bedlam re-kick).

Watching Gundy online today as he expertly handled every question at his first weekly press conference, I was more impressed with his calm and pleasant demeanor than ever before. The kind of coach that makes parents want their son to play for and the kind of coach that attracts kids.

Confident but not cocky. No exaggeration for affect. No need for theatrics. No rant. No defensive posturing. No limiting questions or boring answers. But well thought through answers from the best to worst from the media covering the session in Stillwater.

GUNDY TO BE BLITZED

Our John Holcomb sat down with Gundy afterwards for a one-on-one that I’m sure will be great when we see it Sunday night on the Blitz. Gundy was good. Natural and good. Sensible and good. Helpful and good. The Good Gundy sure beats that imposter we all saw last year. Good for Mike. And good for Cowboys everywhere.

FRESH MEN TO THE RESCUE

Gundy told us a lot about a lot of guys. One thing was clear. He’s excited about a pair of young guys, specifically true freshmen running back Jeff Carr and receiver Jalen McKleskey.

Carr has shown the ability to move forward while dancing with quick feet that too often leave little cats dancing but going nowhere. I thought of Terry Metcalf the first time I saw video of Carr. We all expect Chris Carson to be the go-to back, but OSU all of a sudden has some depth back there where it looked like they were in bad shape late in the recruiting season.

*note: Carson was listed as the starter on Thursday's depth chart release.

HOPE IT’S NOT WINDY FOR JALEN’S SAKE

Gundy is so excited about McKleskey that beginning in Week 1 he plans to have him drop back to return punts. Hope it’s not windy in Mount Pleasant, Michigan.  Jalen’s 5-10, 156 pounds, presumably all wet. But he’s got speed and skill in his genes and Gundy sounds confident in what he’ll get with the rookie back there.

BOOMERS BUTT OF BEDLAM JOKES

Bedlam has been even the past four seasons. Two wins apiece. However, when OSU rallied to upset OU last season via the infamous re-kick to Tyrell Hill, it marked just the second Bedlam win for the Cowboys in eleven games. Lots of great games. Close games. But Bob Stoops was 9-1 in Bedlam before hollering, “Let’s re-punt!”

Apparently the euphoria of that win, along with the optimism about 2015 (in addition to OU’s disastrous end to 2014 but still being ranked in preseason polls), has Poke faithful in our office making their hated rival the butt of a new joke. You might have seen it. A doctored up photo of Owen Field with shading on the grass. The punchline that reads, "Why did the Oklahoma regents decide to cover Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in cardboard? Because the Sooners always look better on paper!"

ALL’S FAIR IN LOVE AND WAR

If winning 2-of-11 Bedlam games delivers jokes like this I can’t imagine what it might be like if the series was split 5-5 the next decade! Note: Our shop is full of shenanigans like this and it wouldn’t be the same without this kinda stuff being bandied about. To our knowledge, there’s never been a maiming around here, so all’s fair in love and war!

HERBIE GOING OUT ON A LIMB, OR THREE

College football expert Kirk Herbstreit has picked his four teams to make the College Football Playoff. I’d bet no one in America has the same four as Herbie, the classy ESPN analyst. Ohio State, Arizona State, LSU and Oklahoma are his four teams. Someone get a bottle. Time to drug test Herbie.