The Football Brainiacs

Mike Stoops

– Said that K. State’s two QB system is complicated. “There’s a lot to defend”. Also talked about how they are clearly progressing as the year has gone on.

– On Dom Alexander, “he’s very talented…we talked about his ability to move in a box and play fast…he sees things relatively quick. He just gets better and better. He’s a very good football player right now and is only going to get better as he gets more physical and sees things…being able to recognize plays quicker…all that comes the more you play…he’s playing at a high level for a guy…for a true freshman. You don’t see a lot of guys who can play at this level that fast…that tells you a lot about him personally and mentally his toughness and his desire to play at a high level”

– On Cortez Johnsons play on Saturday, “I thought Cortez did some good things. I thought he made some plays. He missed some but Cortez hasn’t played a great deal throughout his career…but I thought he showed up and was pretty active…it’s just been difficult getting our younger guys on the field as much as we would’ve liked…just knocking some rust off for him…he’s starting to show signs of coming on.”

– On Tapper, “He’s shown great improvement throughout the course of the year and he’s just scratching the surface of being a great player. His upside is pretty endless as a player. He plays very very hard. He’s a tough kid. He’s a guy that can be one of the cornerstones of this defense.”

– Talked about how the system and the defense has gotten more comfortable as the year has gone on. “Just more comfortable as a team defensively.” Said he likes the direction of the defense. Said there has been a learning curve and there is still a lot that they want to refine as they go further…in terms of personnel and structure. “We’re just scratching the surface but our players take a lot of pride in what we’re doing.” (Telling y’all this defense is going to be nasty down the road!)

– Talked about how the young guys like Tapper, Striker, Dom, etc. are already started to get comfortable as not only players but also as great leaders. And its exciting because they are so young.

– Talked about the D-line is developing “no one thought we had any D-line and now we’re almost 2 deep. Jerry’s done a really good job.”

– Talked about the loss of players “even though you lose players it helps us transition…just watching some of our young guys play Saturday…they’re going to be good players. They just haven’t had the opportunities. We’re gaining some confidence with our depth.”

– Talked about the most important element of a defense is your attitude and how you attack each week. Said that this defense is very consistent in the way they prepare.

– Made a comment about recruiting and said “recruiting is so all over the place…3 star, 4 star, 5 star…Zack (Sanchez) was a 3 star, Dominique was a 3 star…there’s ambiguity and the beauty is in the eye of the beholder…if they’re at Oklahoma they’re expected to play at a high level.”

– Said K. State does a lot of similar plays that OU’s offense shows their defense (veer option out of the pistol, etc.).

– Talked about Coach Bob Stoops’ tying Coach Switzer’s record, Mike talked about how consistency in football (defense, etc.) is so important and that’s what Bob brings to the program. Said Bob is the same guy now as he was when Mike was here in the early 2000s. “He’s a good guy to play for and a great guy to play for. He lets you do your job and he expects you to do it the right way.” Said Bob is “probably just thankful to have had the opportunity”

– Talked about how much they all owe to Coach Snyder. Talked about how Coach Snyder taught them so much about preparation and the attention to detail. And how he gave them their start in coaching and has been a kind of mentor in a lot of ways.

– Talked about PL Lindley and said that we have to try to get him on the field more because he can help with his physicality and size against the bigger sets.

– Talked about how defending bigger sets is a priority because there is a new focus on teams using a TE in general. (Mike continues to allude to the fact that they want to continue to develop the defense in a way that will allow them to defend more offensive styles – to make them more effective against big sets without losing the speed to defend the spread)

Dom Alexander

– Talked about how K. State does a little of everything (run and pass) and they do it well.

– Talked about how he likes playing teams like K. State because they’re more physical “I like physical play. I like smash mouth football” Said K. State is a physical team and they’ve got a lot speed at WR

– Said he’s excited to play against his old HS teammate Tyler Lockett

– On how much he’s grown since the TCU game “being able to play early helped me a lot…I’m just trying to go out there and do my job…as long all 11 people do their job then we’ll be successful…I just try to do my job and make sure everyone is lined up correctly…I’m a little more vocal” (note: very interesting that young Dom is already having those kinds of leadership responsibilities. Again bodes well for the future.)

– Said he is more comfortable now telling players where they need to be lined up. “You’re just trying to set everyone up to be successful and execute the defense.” (I like this young man!)

– Talked about how important it is for him to make sure that he doesn’t repeat mistakes. The mistakes need to be learning experiences and he has to rectify those mistakes and not repeat them.

– Talked about why there was such a big difference between the 1st and 2nd half play of the defense against Iowa State. Said that the coaches saw some little things that they weren’t doing that was allowing Iowa State to open up holes, etc. so it really came down to half time adjustments and being more precise with things like alignment, etc. But said the defense needs to come out and play well early against K. State

– Said that part of his growth in comfort as a leader has been really getting comfortable with who he is and what his role is. Said you can’t help anyone if you can’t help yourself and so now that he continues to get more and more comfortable with his position and his job he’s able to help other get in the right position to do theirs. Said that the comfort really came after the Texas game.

– Said that studying film has played a big role in his improvement. Said that Coach Kish always makes sure he studies film. And said that Corey Nelson is still on him to study film. Said Corey hasn’t let up at all in his involvement.

– Interesting note here at the end. Dom talked about how his brother and father always emphasized how important it is to work hard. Said that’s the only way you’re getting where you want to be. He said even though he isn’t always the strongest or fastest he knows how important hard work is. This was really telling because he sounded so genuine and earnest in saying it and its clear this something that he was taught at a young age…even before playing varsity at BTW. Any college player will tell you that hard work will take you far. People forget that while AD was a freak, he was also the hardest working.

FINAL NOTE FROM ME: Sorry we don’t have as much today. Some of the players had make-up exams today. Just want to say that as an offensive guy myself the attitude of the defense continues to impress. The future is bright with this defense and I think a big reason for that is there just seems to be a real comrade and dedication to this defense. Fans will shout for scheme changes at the first sign of trouble but that sends a bad signal to your players – it tells them “we don’t believe in what we’re doing”. There just seems to be a lot trust all around the defense…players trust coaches and coaches trust players. Can’t tell you how important that is. The guys are young and they are in a new scheme so they’re going to make mistakes but they’re going to get better, bigger, faster and stronger. But no matter how good a team is…trust and comrade takes a back seat no one on the hierarchy of important elements within a college program.