Mike Gundy to 2023 Recruits: ‘If You Want to be Coddled, Go Somewhere Else’
Stories of cultural concerns have been happening all off-season surrounding the Oklahoma State Cowboys football team led by head coach Mike Gundy.
Following an off-season that saw 19 players enter the transfer portal, many wondered if there was a culture issue in Stillwater. Head coach Mike Gundy spoke on the 2023 recruitment class and the player situation by saying, “If you want to be coddled, go somewhere else.”
Coach Gundy sat down for an interview on the Robert Allen and Friends show and spoke about the recruitment process, transfers, and the culture of OSU. Here were some of the highlights from Gundy’s interview.
“We’re going to have 38 new guys, basically a third of our football team. The Portal and NIL present us with something very unusual. Those four you mentioned (four high-school recruits) would have been so much more highly recruited if the portal wasn’t in place. It’s trickling down to the Division II level. Because of that, you have high school players that have offers but aren’t being recruited. They want to be part of the culture.”
Gundy continued by saying, “The message was straightforward with them delivered by myself: If they want to be a part of a team, an old school team, that believes in loyalty and commitment and discipline and hard work and trust, come to Oklahoma State. Get a chance to play big-time football, chance to win a Big 12 championship, get a chance to get an education in a 19-year organization that’s a proven commodity. If you’re looking to go somewhere where you’re not going to be held accountable on a daily basis and be involved in discipline and hard work, you should go somewhere else. I told that to them, and their families. If you want to be coddled, live in a world that’s unrealistic, go somewhere else. They want to be challenged, want to be coached, they want the Navy Seals prospects.”
The Oklahoma State Cowboys and Mike Gundy have a lot on their plate following an underwhelming finish to the season, and a turbulent off-season that saw players like QB Spencer Sanders, DB Kanion Williams, DB Thomas Harper, and DE Trace Ford all head for greener pastures. Big 12 play kicks off on September 23rd at Iowa State.
