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Mike Yurcich Nominated For Top Assistant Award, Gets Praise From Mike Gundy

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Mike Yurcich was recently nominated for the Broyles Award which recognizes the top assistant coaches in the nation. Yurcich did not make the finalist list, but just getting nominated had to be a thrill for the oft-maligned offensive coordinator at Oklahoma State.

Mike Gundy was asked about his play-caller on Monday.

“He’s been very innovative,” said Gundy. “He’s developed himself into a very good play-caller. I’ve known that for a few years. I’m not sure that people agreed with me. But, I have to take everything into consideration and obviously know a lot more than most people, not that everybody doesn’t know a lot about our program, but I have a pretty good idea about what’s going on.

“Mike has really grown and made adjustments. I don’t think there’s any question that coming from Shippensburg State to Oklahoma State is a big adjustment. It took him a little bit of time but he’s gotten to where he’s very well respected in his profession. He’s very well respected in this facility by the coaches and the players.”

The other place he’s respected is in the stats (which, I know, are for losers). Yurcich is currently operating the 18th-best offense in the country when it comes to points per drive scored. That’s third-best in the Big 12 behind OU and Texas Tech. His offense scores 2.94 points per drive. Reaching three is a coup for any offensive coordinator. A magic number. And Yurcich has a real chance to do it.

“He’s a great young prospect,” continued Gundy. “So, we definitely made the right move in bringing him here. As I said years ago, I don’t know how many years he’s been here now but, as I said years ago when we brought him here, we wanted to bring stability to the program where we weren’t bringing a guy in and a guy leaving every year.”

I’ve said this over and over and over again. Gundy hired Yurcich because he values stability over genius. In recruiting. In the meeting room. And in his program.

“He’s grown in the position,” said Gundy. “He’s done it with multiple quarterbacks and he’s done it with multiple styles of offensive plays. To me, that’s what coaching is all about. As Justice Hill evolved and as Chris Carson improved, they as a group, with him in charge, have implemented a different style of running game which has allowed us to be, well I’m convinced, got us to the point where we are today.”

That different style of running game has evolved this year with Cowboy Backs and zone blocking. It is now the offense of Gundy’s dreams. Run like crazy with a pro at QB.

“Not necessarily to blow up my own tires here, but successful people are ones that aren’t afraid to take a chance, because if it doesn’t work they can just say, ‘Well, it didn’t work and it’s my fault,’ and go on to the next day,” added Gundy. “So, I felt very comfortable with Mike for a variety of reasons. I did not have any evidence to bring to the table to say this is why, but I felt comfortable. I’m not really concerned about taking a chance.”

I love this. “Not to blow up my own tires here” is the most Gundy phrase of all time. And he’s right! Now, we’re starting to see the payoff.*

*Having a NFL QB in college is nice, too.

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