Oklahoma State Cowboys College Football Pregame Quote, 12/29/2021

Spencer, how is the week going so far?

It’s been fun. I enjoyed it. It’s definitely different out here, different environment, different vibe. It’s fun to see something new, different experiences.

The position of quarterback, you get a lot of scrutiny when you play that spot. I know you know this. You’ve done it long enough. And, yet, some either get tired of it or don’t get used to it or it just kind of wears on them. How do you approach that, that part of being a big-time college football quarterback, the scrutiny?

Well, really, I mean, at the end of the day, people are going to love you or they’re going to hate you. But the people you surround yourself with, your team, is what really matters. As long as you’re getting up and doing everything possible you can do to help your team, I feel like it’s pretty good.

So it kind of just helps me shut out all of what’s around and what goes around. As long as I’m making sure I’m doing my best and giving 110%, there’s nothing more than I can do.

In your case, is there something that that crowd misses about you as a player or as a contributor to this program? Is there something you wish they saw more of?

I mean, yeah but no at the same time because at the end of the day, they just want some attention. And it’s kind of funny. It’s like child’s play. But no, I work my butt off. I don’t need to be ‚Äì I don’t need to be heard.

Spencer, what has enabled Jaylen Warren to come in, in such a short amount of time and be effective both as a player and as a leader?

Well, I think for one, we all know Jaylen is a great player and he fights hard. He’s got a really strong heart. He has the best motivation I’ve seen from certain people, just being kind of so motivated.

I feel like he wakes up every day with a great purpose of ‘I want to get better.’ And obviously, he went through this treatment a little bit, too, of just coming back and coming back this fast of what he went through. Just kind of shows he’s kind of like a warrior. Take a couple of stab wounds and you just keep getting back up.

Did those qualities show up early when he first came in back in the spring?

Definitely. Every rep, whether it was walk-through, run-through, team scout, team versus D, he gave it 110% no matter where he was at.

I know you got a game left, but I’m wondering from your perspective, how well do you think you played this season?

It was kind of like a roller coaster. I had some bad games, some good games. But we played together as a team, and I feel like we had a great season overall.

Me personally, myself, I’m never proud of myself. You can always get better, you can always succeed and settle in your game. I just want to keep getting better.

We fought hard together this year as a team. That’s why we won. We won with each other.

So Collin Oliver plays on the other side of the ball. But like you, he’s a good who had early success. And you then the next few years had to go on and kind of live up to that or keep with those expectations. What do you think are the challenges for him kind of replicating a first season like he’s had?

Just keep doing what he does. It’s natural to him. If this is coming natural to a freshman, it’s going to keep coming natural. He’s only going to keep getting better.

A lot of the guys earlier talked about how close this team has gotten and how fun it is to be around the guys. What makes this team so special to be around?

We’ve just actually been around each other for quite a bit. I feel like we’ve seen the amount of faces for quite some time. You just learn to grow together. I really feel like we have, I don’t know, not really an agreement with each other but we know when we go out to practice, we work hard. We’re brothers and stuff like that off the field.

So I feel like just kind of knowing what our goal was, what our mission was, kind of brought us together, closer together. And really, I mean, at the end of the day, everybody wants to win. But you can’t ‚Äì you can’t win without a team. So we came together as a team, kind of just started bonding throughout each and every game.

Yeah, Spencer, Joe Michalski, he got thrown into a rough spot there whenever Danny [Godlevske] got hurt. How have you seen him perform, and how much has he grown in the time he’s had to play?

He’s grown incredibly. He’s taken the steps of not just an easy job. That’s center, that’s IDs, that’s calls, that’s all that kind of stuff. It’s not an easy job. And as we see, he’s done pretty good. I’m proud of every snap he’s played. He plays his tail off and gives it 110% every time.

It’s the first time ever Oklahoma State has played Notre Dame and you see the golden helmets on the other side of the ball. What’s it going to be like for you as the quarterback of Oklahoma State taking on Notre Dame?

It’s going to be exciting. It will be one for the books. Like you said, we haven’t played them yet, so it will get that conversation started.

Honestly, just two great teams playing in a wonderful bowl, wonderful place. So I feel like it will just be a lot of fun. Especially, like you said, it’s Notre Dame. There’s just a lot of excitement. That’s what you hear across the whole U.S. It’s not just a small-town college that people don’t know about. When you say Notre Dame, everybody knows Notre Dame. So playing a team like that, it’s an exciting experience.

Given that spotlight that you have and new fans are going to be seeing Oklahoma State for the first time, what are they going to see out of your offense between you and Tay [Martin] and Jaylen [Warren] and the rest of the offensive unit?

I think if we just play together and do what we do, we’ll succeed, and do what we want to execute. But at the end of the day, it just comes down to fundamentals. Every play, just do your job and hold yourself accountable. And all things will come together. Small things take care of the big things. You’ve just got to take care of the small things first.

Spencer, since I quizzed you about this a couple of weeks ago, have you made time to watch ‘Rudy’ since you said you hadn’t?

No. I should definitely make some time to watch ‘Rudy.’ I think I know what you’re talking about, though. Is that where he tries out?

The walk-on. He always wanted to play for Notre Dame. He’s like a 5’6′ walk-on defensive end. He gets a snap and I guess got a sack. Didn’t he, guys? Did he get a sack in that one? Yeah. Feel-good story.

I’m trying to think. I know the main character, but I can’t think of the actor’s name. I’m trying to think of another movie he plays in. But, no, I have not seen the movie. I’m sorry. I’m getting a little sidetracked.

Spencer, I know the actor for ‘Rudy’ as Sam in the ‘Lord of the Rings,’ the other Hobbit. That’s where I know him from.

Yes, yes. ‘Lord of the Rings’ is one of my good movies. What’s his name?

I couldn’t think of the name either. I just know him as Sam and Rudy. I don’t know his name.

I just wanted to ask you, I remember last year at this time, it was Brennan [Presley] that was kind of the breakout young player that went off in the bowl game. You’ve kind of seen the team practice. I don’t know if it is a good week of practice that can tip you off. Might be a little random. But do you have your eye on maybe a young player that could kind of break out in this bowl game?

I mean, I really think we have a bunch of young players that can pop at any second. It’s just kind of when they get the chance and the opportunity presents itself.

I’m curious, did you get a chance to go go-karting today or hear some of the stories from your teammates coming back to the hotel?

Yeah, we all went yesterday. We had a good time. Took a couple laps. A bunch of people crashing and stuff like that.

Are you a pretty good go-kart driver? Did you get any lead laps? Any lap-time lead?

I was the first in my group. I don’t know about the other groups. But no, it was definitely fun. I wouldn’t say I am a good driver. I would just say good enough, good enough to get by.

Sean Astin is the name of that actor. Being in South Bend, I have to know that. I was just curious to get your couple of your thoughts on what you’ve seen on film from the Notre Dame defense. What do you believe are their strengths?

I feel like they’re really just ‚Äì I feel like it’s a good all-around team. They’re big up front. They’ve got some size outside. They’ve got some size over the top.

I’m sad to hear that their safety, (Kyle Hamilton), is not playing. I think he’s a very talented player. They’ve got some other (guys), too. There are definitely some good players.

Honestly, just like every other team, some people have their certain coverages and stuff like that. They run certain situations. I can’t spill all that before the game.

But I’ll say definitely just kind of playing a different team. You see the different style of defenses. Honestly, it’s interesting to me. We played Miami, and I think that was the only other team outside of the Big 12 other than preseason. We mostly play the same preseason schedule, so it’s kind of cool and neat seeing another defense like Notre Dame. Obviously, they’re very big on discipline and doing their job.

I think you’re going to see probably some man, a little bit of zone. I think they’ve got a good front. I think it will definitely be a competition for us. I think it will be a fun battle.