Oklahoma Sooners College Football Postgame Quote, 12/30/2020

Yeah, fellas, I don’t know which one of you wants to go ahead and answer this first, but social media would seem to indicate that you guys were not fans of the disrespect from the Florida contingent earlier in the week. So how much does this win mean to you guys, and how much are you enjoying this in the locker room?

RB RHAMONDRE STEVENSON: Yeah, the disrespect, it is what it is. We have to go out there and just talk about our paths at the end of the day, and I think we did that well tonight.

C CREED HUMPHREY:Yeah, we try not to focus on things outside of what we’re doing in our facilities; but when you see something like that, of course it gives you a little extra edge. So we were definitely excited to come out here and show up and show them what we were about.

QB SPENCER RATTLER: Yeah, kind of like what these guys hit on. We really just focus on what we have to do as a group, as a unit. But I would be lying if I said we didn’t see what our opponent, player, whatever, said. But we went out there, did our job, executed, and focused on what we had to do as a group. And we came out on top.

PR MARVIN MIMS:Yeah, it definitely fueled the fire a little bit. But at the end of the day, we went out there, we did our job, and we executed.

This one is for Creed [Humphrey] and Spencer [Rattler]. I’m just curious, in terms of this team preparing for this game, hearing about all the optouts that they had, how much did just going through this season, not knowing what to expect week in and week out, kind of just help you guys stay focused in preparations for this game?

C CREED HUMPHREY:Yeah, we saw the optouts. We didn’t really care who was opting out and who was staying for this game. We were ready to roll and go out there and play them anyways, no matter who it was. So we were just glad they showed up and gave us a chance to play them.

QB SPENCER RATTLER: Yeah, like Creed [Humphrey] said, we’re not worried about what the other team did. Kind of goes back to what I said. We focus on what we have to do as a group. We executed our game plan. We had a great game plan, didn’t have anything fancy in, just did what we do and made a lot of big plays doing it.

This is for Creed [Humphrey] and Rhamondre [Stevenson], if you guys don’t mind, because the running game was so good tonight. Creed if you can answer how good this offensive line was, and then, Rhamondre, if you could follow. When you got the ball, what were you seeing? So, Creed, talk about what you and your guys did up front, the job first, please.

C CREED HUMPHREY:Yeah, we weren’t really too happy with how we played these last two games. We wanted to go out there and prove something. We got to go against a quality opponent up front, so we were really excited to go out there and prove what we were about. And then, obviously, whenever we have the running backs we have in our rooms, then it makes our jobs easier. So it was a fun game.

RB RHAMONDRE STEVENSON: As Creed [Humphrey] said, I make his job easier. He makes my job a whole lot easier. Today, I think they did their job up front and got me to the second level. And when I get to the second level, I’ve got to make people miss and just run hard. And he just made it easier on me, him, and the rest of the Oline. I think we had a great day on the ground.

Marvin [Mims], I was going to ask you, can you describe that first touchdown that you caught? And then also, what has this year been like for you, coming in as a freshman and to produce and contribute like you have?

PR MARVIN MIMS:On that first possession I caught, it was kind of a busted coverage. And we kind of saw it from the getgo. The safety was late rolling over. I ran my route. Spencer [Rattler] put it in the perfect place, and all I had to do was catch the ball.

But to be able to come here and contribute the way I have this season, it’s all to the coaches and to the other players on the team. It’s not easy coming in here as a freshman and trying to prove a point to the other guys. But the guys in the receiving room, they help me every day, help me with my routes, help me with understanding the game a lot better. So it’s all to my team.

For Creed [Humphrey] and Rhamondre [Stevenson], you talk about the great night yo guys had on the ground. Is it even more pleasing that it comes against an SEC school? SEC teams have the reputation of being physical. Even when you guys have had success in the past against them, you’ve got great quarterbacks throwing the ball around. Tonight, you just took it to them at the line of scrimmage. Is that even more satisfying, not just to beat them, but to beat them the way you beat them?

C CREED HUMPHREY:Yeah, for sure. They have a stigma in that conference of having such physical and tough defenses that we were happy to go out there and play a team from that conference and show them what this team is about, for sure. So it was definitely fun to go against them.

RB RHAMONDRE STEVENSON: And, yeah, really, to piggyback off what he said, the SEC, they’re big, physical. We knew what we had in front of us. We just went out there and executed, just played physical, played hard, and came out on top.

Marvin [Mims], can you talk a little bit about just the evolution you’ve seen Spencer [Rattler] go through this year as a quarterback, a guy that threw you a lot of touchdowns.

And then, Spencer, I’m curious if you could just talk about what the finish to this year sort of says about this team moving forward? Just how you kind of think about next season and what comes next for this bunch.

PR MARVIN MIMS:From the moment I got here, I heard a lot about Spencer Rattler and how good he was, and he showed it every day from the moment I stepped on campus. At the beginning of the season, he was new to it, just as I was. We were both making mistakes. And, over time, we just grew to the potential. It’s not even capped off yet. We’re still growing into the players we’re going to be. I like to see it. We’re just getting better and better every day.

QB SPENCER RATTLER: Yeah, and as you asked, I feel like this win specifically is going to get us going into next year. This was a game we wanted to come out here and, as Coach [Lincoln] Riley said, we wanted to make this a statement. And as a group, we did that well.

And now going into next year, we can be confident and just play clearminded, cut it loose, and just play at 110% all the time and execute our job.

Quick one for Creed [Humphrey] and then one each for Spencer [Rattler] and Rhamondre [Stevenson]. Creed, have you made your decision yet on coming back or not?

And then, for Spencer and Rhamondre, I asked Lincoln [Riley] what he would remember most about this team. He said this team will be remembered forever. And I said what is it that you’re going to remember about this team? What about you guys? What do you think you will remember most about how this team overcame the whole COVID thing and 2020 and everything else?

C CREED HUMPHREY:So I haven’t made my decision yet. I’m going to talk to my family, talk to my coaches, and see what the best options are for me, and then I’ll go from there.

QB SPENCER RATTLER: And you mentioned how Coach [Lincoln] Riley said we’ll never forget this and we’ll be remembered. This year, just overall with COVID, with the social injustices, with teams not being able to play, with some of our players getting COVID and having to be safe with all that stuff, and just going through all these hardships and adversity, no Oklahoma team, no college team has been able to go through that and come out on top with a Big 12 championship and the Cotton Bowl championship.

So just having two trophies in this year, who would have known? I mean, we started out the year with two losses, and from there on out, we flipped a switch and just kept our head down and kept working. And that’s all we could do. And we’re happy to be here now.

RB RHAMONDRE STEVENSON: I think Spencer got it spot on, just all the hardships we’ve been going through and the COVID, social injustice. Then with me personally, my suspension with Ronnie [Perkins] and Trejan [Bridges], it just makes us a whole lot better at the end, just knowing we fought through it and we came out on top. Just trials and tribulations, we just kept fighting no matter what got thrown at us.

I wonder if you could all answer this. I think we could all see up in the press box how much fun you guys seemed to be having on the stage rapping it up and pulling things. I’m just wondering if you can you describe that moment, what that was like for you guys. After all you’d been through, it seemed like you guys really kind of cut it loose there.

PR MARVIN MIMS:Yeah, just like you said, I mean, off the last question too, all the hardships we’ve gone through this year, all the struggles, all the anxiety of if I’m going to pass a COVID test or not? Am I going to be able to play this week or not? Just to come out the way we did and just finish the season off the way we did, standing on that stage, having fun with our brothers, our family, there’s nothing better than that. It just felt really good.

QB SPENCER RATTLER: Yeah, I mean, I feel like, after these last two games, it’s been a breath of fresh air for everybody on this team coaches, players, staff, everybody. It’s a breath of fresh air. 2020 is out of the way. We ended up on top. This is what we worked for. So we had to have fun with it. And there’s no better feeling than having fun with your brothers. That was probably the most fun game I’ve been a part of.

C CREED HUMPHREY:Yeah, you know, whenever we started the season out 12, pretty much everybody in this country counted us out. So we knew what we had in this facility. We knew what we had in the program. So to finish out the season the way we did, being Big 12 champs and Cotton Bowl champions, of course we’re going to have fun. Because we’re the only people who actually believed in us throughout this whole season. So it was good to show everybody who we were, man. It was good to show everybody what we were about.

RB RHAMONDRE STEVENSON: I think they just hit on all the points. We just were excited for the win. We were excited we finished the season, and we just had to turn up one time on stage.

What does this mean for you, you guys, and also for your coach, Coach [Lincoln] Riley? You guys have been there knocking at the door on some of these games, these big bowl games, and didn’t knock it through. But tonight you guys completely went through the door.

QB SPENCER RATTLER: Yeah, I mean, we didn’t want to be the team to stop the legacy, of course, the Big 12 championship with six in a row. So we know what we had to do to get that. And then just being the first team in a while to win a bowl game at Oklahoma is huge for us. A lot of people seem to forget that these bowl games are huge for our legacy, for our tradition, for this university. So just doing it for our fans, for our brothers, for our coach, everything. It’s a blessing to be in this spot with my guys. I can’t wait for the future.