Media Days: Cowboys take the podium
One of the yearly hallmarks that says college football is just around the corner is media days kicking off across the country. For Oklahoma State in particular, that means Big 12 Media Days.
The Cowboys turn at the podium came on Tuesday afternoon, and they closed the door on the 2017 season conference media days. An upbeat Mike Gundy is clearly excited about his squad, and seems to perhaps be having more fun in his job than the last couple of years. Without a doubt, he has a fondness for the group he'll lead this season that includes national awards candidates like Mason Rudolph, James Washington and Zach Sinor.
"It's an exciting time for all of us," Gundy said. "I was thinking flying down this morning just how we evolved at Oklahoma State and the culture that we've created with the young men and how fun it is for myself and our staff, the guys that were on the plane. They've been such great leaders for us. We've evolved into something really special at Oklahoma State. "
A member of the media asked what the special ingredient has been for OSU's sustained success over the past 12 years. Gundy didn't tab one individual thing, but rather gave some detailed insight into what variables he thinks have worked together to be that "secret sauce" that makes it all come together.
"As we matured as a program, I realized that the most important thing we've done is we've created ac ulture at Oklahoma State for success in all different areas," Gundy said. "We have some structure. We have certain ways that we expect our players to operate to be a part of our team and that we're all lucky that we're here, myself included, and that Oklahoma State football is by far bigger than any one person in our program, and we live by that. We're very disciplined. We're very structured. Accountability is important. We're unselfish. We respect our opponents, but we don't fear anybody.
"I think that we've stayed with that, and we've created a culture where players understand success."
At this point, Gundy's now-signature hairstyle is an obligatory topic for the press to touch on in any press conference. It's clear Gundy is having fun with the whole thing, and he says his players do too.
"I actually cut it a couple weeks ago as I mentioned earlier," he said. "It was at ponytail potential at one time, so I either had to go with that or trim it a little. I decided to trim it. Probably let it grow. The players like to have fun. I like to have fun with them. I'm going to turn 50 here in a couple weeks, but I feel great. I'm energetic."
While on the subject, Gundy took an opportunity to have a light-hearted look back at his recent contract extension. Referencing the air time he and the mullet got on ESPN with ESPN's Barry Melrose, Gundy quipped that another extension and raise might be in order thanks to the free publicity.
"I was very fortunate to get a new contract and should probably get an extension and a raise for that free marketing for the university," he joked.
