Big 12 coaches in their own words: Week 7
In a new feature this season, here is the best quote of the week from every Big 12 coach from the weekly Monday morning teleconference that the media participates in. The order will be based on the order that the coaches speak in, no other rhyme or reason. I’ll give a little reaction to those comments below each quote.
David Beaty, Kansas Jayhawks
“These guys are amazing. They have a unique ability to block everything out and focus on what they have to do to improve themselves individually and themselves as a team… we’ve got a team here that can be a problem, if we can eliminate the mistakes on our end.”
Did Beaty mean to say we have a team here that “is a problem”. I kid, sort of. Boy am I rooting hard for David Beaty, but there’s very little I’ve seen in recent weeks to believe he’s going to actually turn this thing around. The offense mustered a total of 106 yards in Ames on Saturday. Iowa State’s defense has been improving in recent weeks, but it’s not the 1985 Bears. Also, Beaty’s positivity is contagious and it’s something we all could use, especially on Monday mornings.
Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma Sooners
“I would limit trying to have more than one of them in a row.”
Riley was asked about a recent complaint by Urban Meyer regarding teams playing multiple road games at night in a season. Riley cited that getting home at 3am on Sunday means that the next week’s preparations get off to a rocky start later that day. It’s an interesting topic that I hadn’t thought much about, but does make sense. Riley didn’t seem to take as strong a stance as Meyer, then again he’s a first-time head coach who is six games into his career. He’s not at the level where he can ruffle feathers quite like Meyer can.
Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State Cowboys
“Top to bottom, year in year out, they’re [Texas] probably the most athletic team in this league.”
Gundy cited that no team gets more four and five-star recruits than Texas, which is certainly true. In many ways Gundy’s comment was kind of insulting when you consider that Texas has completed three straight 6-7 seasons. But he’s not wrong in saying that the Longhorns have the most talent, they just haven’t reached their potential, both individually and as a group. But Tom Herman seems to slowly be turning that around.
Bill Snyder, Kansas State Wildcats
“I have the greatest of expectations on limiting what our capabilities are. Yes, I do believe we have the ability to vastly improve on where we are at this time.”
Snyder did not sound like a happy camper during his ten minutes on the phone. And why should he be? His team, that had Big 12 title expectations, is 3-3 and is looking at 3-4 with Oklahoma coming to town this weekend. While Snyder may be right that that his team can vastly improve on where they are, it’s highly unlikely they will come close to reaching their goals before the season, which included at least competing in the Big 12 championship game.
Dana Holgorsen, West Virginia Mountaineers
“I don’t know that I’ve been around one [a quarterback, Will Grier] that’s been more accurate.”
That’s quite a complement when you think about some of the quarterback Holgorsen has been around, most notably Skyler Howard. Yes, that was a joke. But from Case Keenum to Zac Robinson to Geno Smith, that is a big time statement from Dana Holgorsen.
BONUS QUOTE: “I’ve been in this league since 2000 and I’ve never seen this kind of parity.”
Strong, strong statement from Dana. Love it. And he’s right. This is going to be a really fun next few weeks in the Big 12.
Kliff Kingsbury, Texas Tech Red Raiders
“You just got to learn from it and move on. And I think helping us is the team we play this Saturday demolished us last year.”
Kingsbury was referring to if this team might have a hangover from how the WVU game ended. But as he wisely pointed out, his team was blown out by Iowa State 66-10 last season in Ames. No way the Red Raiders forget that game. With how improved both these teams appear to be, this is one of the more intriguing games of the weekend.
ANOTHER BONUS QUOTE: “I would have just been a fraternity guy because I wouldn’t have done it.”
Kingsbury gave this answer when he was asked if he could pull off a move like Joel Lanning from quarterback to linebacker. Nice quick wit from Kingsbury.
Matt Rhule, Baylor Bears
“This is not a short-term fix kind of a deal, we’re trying to do this the right way.”
Rhule is sticking to his blueprint for how to build up the Baylor program. I respect him for that. Matt Rhule isn’t going to compromise his values or beliefs to try and appease a portion of fans or media members. If that means Baylor goes 0-12 this season, so be it. But Rhule is going to do this his way, which I believe will be the right way.
Matt Campbell, Iowa State Cyclones
“Kyle [Kempt’s] key to success is timing, getting the ball out, and consistency in practice.”
Interestingly enough, this sounds like a lot of things that Jacob Park struggled with at times. Park is undoubtedly the more talented quarterback, but Kempt is a pro’s pro and the team is responding incredibly well to him thus far.
Gary Patterson, TCU Horned Frogs
“We’ve been here before… no matter what league you’re in you’ve got to win some games that aren’t going to be pretty. You’ve got to go to Lubbock, Ames, those are hard places to play.”
Patterson sounded anxious on the phone. His team is 6-0, ranked in the top 4, and has a game that is easy to overlook against the Kansas Jayhawks this weekend. And considering TCU’s last three games against Kansas, I get it. Wins of 24-23, 23-17, 34-30 are enough reason to keep a coach up at night.
Tom Herman, Texas Longhorns
“We’re an early morning program. Our guys spent all summer getting up at 5:00 or 6:00, so that’s what we do.”
Herman was asked about the early kickoffs and his answer was great. Also, most college football coaches I’ve spoken with like early kickoffs as it gets the team started early and prevents them from sitting around all day. Plus, the anxiety of game day doesn’t linger. Texas vs. Oklahoma State is going to be a fun game this Saturday.
