CHEEZ-IT BOWL: OKLAHOMA STATE VS MIAMI

December 27, 2020

Kasey Dunn

Camping World Stadium

Oklahoma State Cowboys

Q. What have you guys done with Spencer, do you think, in the last couple years, in terms of adjusting the offense? He's different than some of your traditional quarterbacks over the years. What kind of tinkering have you done specifically for Spencer?

KASEY DUNN: There's definitely more quarterback run worked into the game plan. He's really good on his feet and you don't want to take that away from him. The kid's got a real talent that way, and you know, we want to give him a chance to carry the football if the situation calls for it. So that's probably the biggest thing.

You know, as far as getting into our drop-back game and the passing game, it's all roughly the same as it's been for Mason and Corndog and Weeden and all those guys. It hasn't really changed all that much. But really the volume of calls is the biggest difference. The play call list has to come from somewhere, at least the cheat as far as pulling more plays from the throw game and adding a few more quarterback runs.

That's really the biggest difference.

Q. Is he really adaptable to this kind of offense? Has your offense reached the point where any style of quarterback run this offense and work with?

KASEY DUNN: No, you know, because the thing; if Shane is in there, he's such a pure passer. So there's a little bit of a difference for us offensively between the two with a change in quarterback. You know, you saw that in the beginning of the year, our quarterback run went down a little bit once Shane took the field. But he's a pretty good thrower. He's much more similar to Mason and to Weeden in that regard.

But yeah, I mean, over the years, I mean, virtually any quarterback that we've taken has to be able to operate the pass game. We're just fortunate right now to have one that can run the football a little bit, too, so it adds another dynamic.

Q. I know the offensive line has been an issue going all the way back to June when Dylan Galloway opted out of the season. It seems like the revolving door never changed. But at the same time, this offense, while maybe hasn't scored as much as you'd like, had four different guys rush for over a hundred yards, as long as my math is correct there. And where are you offensive line-wise going into the Bowl game now that you've had a chance to settle down a little bit?

KASEY DUNN: I'll take the first part of that with the running backs. We've got talented running backs. Obviously we've missed Chuba down the stretch. He's a hell of a football player and really just got those first five or six games for us and we really haven't seen much from him since.

Some of the other guys got an opportunity to get in there and go, obviously Desmond and Dominic, both those guys are really talented, though, and can run the football, and we are seeing a little sneak pick into the 2021 season for us.

LD has been electric for us at times this year and we certainly have enjoyed his presence out there and what he's brought to the table because he's got big-time home run speed, and we've missed him a couple times down the road lately for a couple of the games. It will be good. I think we're going to get a little bit of a three-headed monster in there coming into the game.

LD started moving around a little bit better, and we'll see if he can add something to that run game for us. But those other two kids are certainly worthy of going for a hundred yards and our offensive line, getting on that point, it's about as healthy as it's been in a long time. We've put out the same five faces for at least two or three games in a row, which is a nice luxury after the way we started the season, losing a couple of guys and a couple guys throughout the year. And then obviously when Teven opted out, that changed the whole thing again and takes a guy who we think is a really talented left guard and we have to push him to right tackle in Josh and again, it just spins the offensive line.

Yeah, I think Charlie has done a fantastic job of trying to get those guys prepared each week. He's had his hands full for sure from day one, long before the season even started. Tip my hat to him because yeah, we haven't scored as much but at the same time, I think we've taken care of the football and we've put ourselves in a position to win football games and at the end of the day, that is the No. 1 thing we want to do. I'd love to score a million points but we want to win first.

Q. I wanted to ask, what sort of challenges do you see from this Miami defense and where can that cause troubles for you guys?

KASEY DUNN: Well, they are very aggressive. They are million approximately and they are aggressive. We have to be on-point as far as blitz pick up and things and they do a good job of disguising it. They are really talented. They have got good team speed.

It will be fun for us. It's a heck of a game. Our guys are excited about the game and excited about the opponent. It's a lot better than drawing a team that's 2-8, that's for damn sure. We're excited about this and looking forward to kicking this thing off on Tuesday.

Q. I was going to ask you about Mike, you've been with him for a number of years obviously. Last spring he went through some things off the field that were well documented and I think a lot of us wondered how that would affect his coaching style and in particular how he would manage his players moving forward. What's been your view of that? Anything different with him and his kids in the aftermath of that or something you can point to as an indirect benefit of everything he had to go through last spring?

KASEY DUNN: You know, I don't know how much of that particular situation worked itself into the season. I think it was more isolated to a summer issue. The bigger issue, as everyone knows, is COVID and how you handle the players, and coming in and out of quarantine and coming in and out of actually having COVID.

I hate to turn the question on you, but I really think it was isolated more towards the June and July time. After that, it kind of went to the wayside a little bit as far as what I think our players felt. So I don't think he really changed about how he went about business during the season and getting our guys prepared for the game. I think more the preparation aspect was is concentrated on how do we beat COVID.

Q. This is going to be Tylan's last game. What have you seen, especially with this year, him deciding to come back after the season-ending injury last year, him coming back and performing well, and what have you seen from him in that decision he made and what has he done since he's come back that's helped him?

KASEY DUNN: He loves the game of football. So as far as what I've seen from him, I've seen the same guy. I've seen him just go back and work again. It's almost like it never happened. You see him out there runs routes and competing and playing and he's a joy to watch, he really is, because he plays so hard all the time. He's a fantastic blocker, loves the game and that's why he's playing now. He probably has as much reason to opt out as much as anyone, but the guy loves playing football, and he wants to be out here with his team, with his teammates, and there's a lot of senior receivers here that he enjoys playing the game with, and this is his last opportunity to do it.

So I have a ton of respect for the fact that he's going to be out there on Tuesday playing that game with us and sharing those moments. Pretty exciting for me, and I'm just happy I got a chance to get that kid recruited and here. I love the fact that he returned for his senior year and he's competing.

Exciting times and one last opportunity to watch him run around the. The last time I had a group like that, we were down there at the same Bowl game, the Camping World Bowl at that time and we had three receivers, and James was part of that, I was with him for four years and now Tylan for four years and now they have played the same position, so kind of come full circle I guess, but I'm excited for the game plan.

Q. Similar question but different player, Dillon Stoner, another one you're wrapping up with. What has he meant to the program over five years?

KASEY DUNN: His leadership has been fantastic. He's as steady as a rock. He comes in every day. He's a worker just like Tylan is, really athletic, just like Tylan is. We just haven't thrown the football probably as much over the last couple years. So he hasn't gotten the numbers that maybe we did in that 2017 season that I just talked about, alluded to with James and Marcell and Chris Lacy. That group was loaded. We have some talented receivers right now for sure but haven't thrown the ball as much, so he has not seen the same numbers as those guys have.

He's been fantastic all the way through and like I started off with him, he's a fantastic leader and that's what he brings to the table for us, and so much respect from the rest of the team. He's one of the reasons why Tylan came back. He just wanted to play with Dillon Stoner again.

Like I said, this is going to be an interesting one for me from the standpoint of losing a bunch of great receivers that have been around for the last four and five years.

Q. This is another chance for Richardson and Jackson to get back out on the field and show what they can do for next year. How important is this for hem to see just a different defense versus a Big 12 team?

KASEY DUNN: The defenses in the Big 12 are very multiple, ours included. So we see a lot of defenses that do a great job in our conference and this is not going to be that far off or that different. Just for the football team, no logo on the helmet, and they have got good players and have got a good scheme but more importantly for us, it's how well we execute and how well the guys play and take care of the football. It's not as much on Miami as it is on Oklahoma State. So I hope the guys control the ball well and control the game and control the run game.