Not a bad group Monday, tough to catch up with all of 'em.
DaShaun White
Chance to hit reset?
For me personally, yeah. It was kind of nice to breathe a little bit and get away from it for a quick little second. It allowed me to kinda reset or recalibrate. Whether it was go see family or stay here and hang out with the guys, it was a nice reset.
Bye week w/ Jaren, Kobie, Kip?
It was really fun. Even seeing those guys in practice. Days like today, Kip is in there and he’s in the mix. Their maturity and how much they’re grasping the system. They’re guys that we have lean on in case anything goes wrong. Seeing them as mature as they are are at such a young age is encouraging.
LB emphasis?
We need to be better in pass coverage. We need to time up our blitzes better so they will be more effective and our angles tracking the ball. I think those were the big things at the beginning of the week. Coach Roof was like we’re going to tackle these three things.
Woodi Washington
Reset button?
It was big, just getting away from the game for a little bit. We had a tough couple weeks. Getting a good win last week against Kansas. Like I said, just really getting away from the game a little bit, not watching too much football, just trying to stay away from ball. Obviously this week, we got a tough Iowa State opponent, so we just gotta stay prepared for them.
CJ? INT?
Oh, it was a great play. Cover two. Corner route, he kind of baited the quarterback into throwing it to him. Unbelievable catch. One-handed catch. Obviously the last couple of weeks, he’s played well. Played well for us. Came in, had a rough start, but I think once he figured out the defense and he’s kind of synced in, I think he’s doing a great job for us.
Xavier Hutchinson?
I think he’s a great player. I know they’re gonna try to get him the ball. So really just working my feet at the line, working my feet, trying to get hands on him as much as possible and not letting him get free releases, because when guys run free, that’s when they catch the ball. And really just driving to my man.
More Hutchinson?
I think as much as he gets the ball. They’re gonna try to feed him as much as they can. He does a great job getting open. He has real strong hands, and he’s real physical at the catch point. So, just trying to be physical back with him when the ball’s in the air.
Brayden Willis
Keep offense rolling?
“We’ve just gotta remember what worked for us, remember what went bad for us in the previous games. Like I always say, stay together, stay together as a team and make sure we’re ready to improve every day as a unit, and then we’ll be ready on Saturday.”
ISU?
“First and foremost Iowa State, they’re always a tough, disciplined football team. They’re always gonna be ready to play. You’re not going to go up there and get a gimme, here or in Aimes. We’ve always got to be ready to play. Like coach says all the time, we have to always improve every week. Everybody’s going to give us a Game 7. We’ve got to go and attack every game like it’s our last one. They’re gonna give us their best like it’s their Super Bowl. We’ve just gotta be ready to play.”
Running game success overlooked?
Maybe to the outside world. We love the way we're running the ball. We want to keep it. That's one of the main things we want to do is establish the line of scrimmage, establish the run. So, maybe to the outside world, but we're extremely satisfied with it. Is it perfect? No. Is there stuff we can work on? For sure. But we're going to take what we do good and we're going to continue to build on that.
What's changed for you this season?
I think coach is letting me play fast and free and allowing me to just do some of the things that I've been comfortable with over the years. Running free, running routes. And then also being in the box and blocking. So I think coach does a great job of putting guys, not only me but other guys, in position to win. And I think he's done a great job of that over the year.
R Mason Thomas
Comfortable?
Mostly, the experience and just going through the game in general like the situations, the pass rush, the run game, the different opponents. I'm always nervous for every game. But from UTEP to now, it's really experience of just having that strength and confidence to do what I know I can do.
Learning?
It’s been a learning experience for sure. I know as a d-lineman it takes time developing, getting stronger. And like you said maybe a few years from now (being 260 pounds). So I know with experience I know I just got to basically hone my skills and what I’m good at. Because I know I can’t throw people around right now. I can but it’s going to be a struggle right now. But I know once as you said I get bigger and stronger it’s going to be a lot easier.
Hamstring?
It was hard. I wanted to stay after but I knew I couldn’t put too much stress on my injury. So it was hard at first. But once I just knew I — instead of putting that extra energy on the field I put it in the training room. And then now I’m just putting it in both places. Now it’s just working out pretty good.
100 percent?
I think I’m pretty close. It’s been — I know I’ve got to keep working on it. It’s not to where my other hamstring is but I’m getting back to it.
Eric Gray
oklahoma.forums.rivals.com
