Mike Gundy: Rattlesnakes, donkeys and ... turtles?
Mike Gundy watched a little football Saturday. A little, literally, with Pitt-Penn State garnering his focus, since the Panthers are next on the schedule.
As for Big 12 teams, he saw the scores and appreciated the significant wins and what it means for the league. His focus, however, was mostly elsewhere.
“I was turtle huntin’ and skeet shootin’,” Gundy said Monday at his weekly news conference.
Naturally, he caught the room by surprise. Turtles? Is that even fair? Oh yes, Gundy said. “You get around and they jump in the water,” he said. “You’ve got to kind of sneak up on them a little bit.”
Truth is, Gundy isn’t simply preying on harmless little turtles. He’s protecting his pond and its contents.
“They eat your fish,” he said.
And believe it or not, it takes some strategy to sneak up on the turtles.
“At my place, we have quite a few of those off-road vehicles — they call them Gators — and so they’re accustomed to the sound of the Gator,” Gundy explained. “So if you drive a Gator by, they won’t move, they’ll stay there.
“But if you walk up on them, you can’t get close to them. They’re too smart, they’ll jump off in the water. We use the Gators as our friends.”
The turtle talk comes on the heels of Gundy’s brief interview with ESPN’s Molly McGrath, aired during OSU’s win Friday over South Alabama, when the coach/ rancher talked about his donkey — Blackjack.
“I’ve got a donkey named Blackjack, and he’s got a really bad attitude. So that’s why I like him,” Gundy told McGrath.
Of course, that tidbit set the social media world afire, even prompting the creation of a Twitter account: Blackjack the Donkey @ BlackjackOSU.
To be continued ...
Quotable
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi on flipping focus from a 33-14 loss to rival Penn State to facing the Cowboys this Saturday:
“It doesn’t get any easier ... No. 8-, No. 9-ranked team in Oklahoma State that we went out and battled a year ago, that we know has talent across the board, from the D-line back and O-line to James Washington and Mason Rudolph. I mean, they’re very, very talented and our focus has to go to them.”
Cowboys may shuffle at LB
Last week was rough on OSU linebackers.
Starter Kenneth EdisonMcGruder and key backup Kevin Henry were both injured in practices, with Henry’s coming Thursday during a noncontact walk through in preparation for Friday’s game at South Alabama.
During the game, Calvin Bundage, Edison-McGruder’s replacement, was called for targeting and ejected. And because the ejection came in the second half Friday, Bundage will miss the first half Saturday at Pitt.
Gundy termed Edison-McGruder as “day-to-day,” although his status is believed to be questionable.
For now, Kirk Tucker projects as the likely starter for Edison-McGruder/Bundage, while Gyasi Akem is capable of backing up any of the three linebacker spots.
On the latest depth chart, released Monday, redshirt freshman Devin Harper was listed as the backup to Justin Phillips, replacing Henry. More moves may be necessary as well.
“We may shuffle a few guys around to balance out that depth chart,” Gundy said.