Mike Gundy Happy to be Past Spring, Says Team Already Has an Identity

After the Cowboys wrapped up spring camp with a spring game that was more juxtaposition than exhibition, Mike Gundy and the fans in attendance had one thing in common — they were glad when it was over and that no one got hurt.

“This day always makes me more nervous than any day for us as a team,” said Gundy “because we have so many guys playing next to guys that aren’t accustomed to it yet due to youth or inexperience. Some veteran guys got some work. Some young guys got to play a little bit.

“I’m glad we got through today.”

Aside from things we already knew (Mason Rudolph is the best QB on the roster and OSU has receiver talent to spare), there is not a ton to be learned from Saturday’s exhibition. But that’s really no different than any other year. There’s excitement. We hope to find out who the next breakout star will be. But we really just end up whetting our whistle for some actual football.

Unfortunately, that’s still over four months away.

But while we turn our attention to baseball or the NBA playoffs, football does not stop for the team or the coaching staff.

“We’ve got April and then half of May and then June and July for preparation for September and August which is the most important time of the year right now for us so this will be a big phase for us,” said Gundy. “We’re excited about the training and the coaches to hit the road for recruiting.”

You’ll often hear coaches talk about those team-led summer workouts as being a crucial time of the year. It gives players a chance to gel and build momentum heading into fall camp.

And according to Gundy, the team is ahead of schedule from a leadership standpoint.

“It seems like we have really good leadership. Last year I had mentioned to the media that I was concerned that we hadn’t really created an identity for our team and we didn’t until about the third or fourth game of the year. I think that we’ve somewhat created our identity now for next year’s team.”

That identity appears to be centered around hard work and, according to a couple of senior leaders, the desire to handle some “unfinished business.” The Cowboys come in with a lot of excitement and want to take the next step after finishing runner up for the Big 12 title the last two years.

“It is a big motivation for all of us,” said Mason Rudolph. “We are all excited and working towards the future and what the summer and fall camp holds, but we’ve just got to do our job day in and day out and let the rest of that stuff take care of itself.”

Senior cornerback-turned-safety, Ramon Richards says that motivation is point of emphasis for the team.

“Last year we fell short of a couple of goals that we had in mind,” said Richards. “We did win our bowl game, but we can always go further and that’s what we are aspiring to do. If we just buckle down and do what we need to do, we will make it happen.”