Gundy and Captains Meet With Media Prior to Game Day to Discuss Guaranteed Rate Bowl

Oklahoma State Media Day Quotes

Oklahoma State head soccer coach Mike Gundy and bowl sport captains Braden Cassity, Tanner Brown, Brock Martin, John Paul Richardson and Jason Taylor II met with members of the media on Monday afternoon forward of Tuesday’s matchup in opposition to Wisconsin within the Guaranteed Rate Bowl. 

“Once again, we’re very excited to be here in the Valley of the Sun,” Gundy stated. “We’ve had a great week. Our players have really enjoyed the Yellow Jackets, and the hospitality and accommodations and everything have been fantastic; the people here, the food. So we’re looking forward to tomorrow night’s game against Wisconsin, and our players are excited. We’ve got our work in. So now we’re looking forward to a visit to the stadium a little bit later today, and a good night’s sleep, and find a way to kill a little time tomorrow, and get excited about playing tomorrow night.”

The Cowboys arrived in Arizona on December 21 and have had a number of practices within the Phoenix space in preparation for the Guaranteed Rate Bowl. Amid signing day welcoming new gamers and the switch portal departures, bowl practices are a priceless time for youthful gamers to get apply reps and the whole workforce to bond of their final probability to be teammates this season.

“As always, bowl practice is very important for the culture on our team and progress,” Gundy stated. “Essentially, it’s another spring ball. We had an opportunity to get 14 real practices in, which is — 15 would be a spring practice. So we were able to get a lot of really good work in for our young players. And then obviously have periods to prepare for Wisconsin. It’s very important to get a lot of really quality work, basic fundamentals, keep the guys together, good meeting time. It’s also important for us to be on location at a bowl, for our guys to be able to spend six or seven days together and enjoy the work they put in from last year, a full year’s work. I think it’s very important for our group. So it’s benefited us in a big way. Very similar to having another spring practice.”

While the Cowboys principal goal in Arizona is to return to Stillwater with one other bowl win, they have been in a position to take time away from the soccer subject to spend time with one another and native children for his or her neighborhood outreach occasion. Members of the Cowboys met up with youngsters from the Muscular Dystrophy Association at Main Event for a morning full of arcade video games, bowling and high quality time. 

“I enjoyed the Main Event,” Brown stated. “We did it with the kids with muscular dystrophy. It was really fun with that, to see their faces light up.”

making recollections with the most recent Cowboy followers ??#CowboysForACause pic.twitter.com/yfrSpiKmMB

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) December 23, 2022

The Guaranteed Rate Bowl will present a few completely different elements for a soccer sport than OSU is used to. Not solely is it a late kickoff set at 9:15 p.m. CT, however the sport might be performed at Chase Field, dwelling of the MLB’s Arizona Diamondbacks. 

I’m actually wanting ahead to that,” Cassity said. “I believe they stated they’d turf, however now it is again on grass perhaps? So I’m actually wanting ahead to taking part in on the good outfield grass.”

Gundy stated the team’s normal routine would be pushed back a couple hours to account for the later kickoff than the Pokes are used to. As for the players, being at the bowl location for nearly a week has helped the players adjust to the time and weather differences from a winter in Stillwater.

“I imply, it is vital,” Martin said. “You’ve obtained to modify to the time. We are taking part in an especially late sport. Back dwelling it could be 9:15. So type of get this time adjustment, which is massive for us. And modify to the climate. It’s nearly freezing proper now. So we’re fortunate that we now have good climate right here. So adjusting to the climate and the humidity and that kind of stuff and the time is vital for us.”

The lone underclassmen voted by his teammates to be a bowl captain, John Paul Richardson is just a sophomore wide receiver, but has earned the respect of his teammates. Richardson is second on the Cowboys in receptions and receiving touchdowns and fourth in yards and has recorded multiple catches in every game this season.

“He’s a man who’s going to present up to work day-after-day,” Cassity said. “That says rather a lot about his character. How captains work with us, the coaches will choose one every week — or 4 of them every week — and on the finish of the 12 months, the gamers vote on the folks the coaches chosen. So that claims rather a lot about how he’s with all the blokes on the workforce, the management he brings. And simply the work he places in day-after-day. So he is doing all the pieces proper. And you realize, tremendous happy with him. It’s my first 12 months of being a captain as effectively. So it is a massive deal and I’m actually glad to do it subsequent to him.”

For Richardson, the praise from his teammates is appreciated, but the focus is on closing out this season with a win over the Badgers. 

I think it would obviously be good to end with a big win, of course, and kind of have a better taste in our mouth,” Richardson stated. “The season didn’t really go how we wanted it to. But I think we’ll be better next year because of it. And we got to deal with some adversity, and I definitely think we’ll be better because of it.

While Richardson will have at least one more year in the orange and black, Jason Taylor II will have a decision to make on his future following the bow game. A first-team All-Big 12 selection at safety who led the conference in solo tackles and interceptions with six, which is also tied for second most nationally, Taylor is taking advantage of what could be his last game as a Cowboy.

“Definitely for me, I believe it will likely be massive for me. Whether I resolve to go away this 12 months or come again, I believe Oklahoma State goes to be my dwelling regardless, and I believe I’m going to take pleasure in that in my later years.”