Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy delivers truth bomb about reality of paying players

Having more job security than almost any coach in college football has led Mike Gundy into a few unnecessary imbroglios over the years. But it has also freed him of the burden to talk the way most coaches think they are supposed to talk.

So when Gundy asked the Oklahoma State media on Monday whether they wanted the truth or coach-speak about how his staff ended up recruiting linebacker Obi Ezeigbo as a transfer from Division II Gannon University, there was only one answer. With Gundy, his version of the truth is always going to be worth the price of admission.

“He was very inexpensive,” Gundy said after Ezeigbo was named Big 12 newcomer of the week. “The number of players we go after that were ready to play at this level, we can’t afford. So he was a good buy and a really quality young man that had had success, and has physical characteristics we can work with and develop. So that’s why he ended up here, in my opinion. We saw some things we felt like we could develop into a good player at this level, and it wasn’t going to cost us the money we didn’t have.”

Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy stands on the sidelines during his team’s game against South Dakota State at Boone Pickens Stadium.

Like many things in college football these days, from Baylor coaches wearing t-shirts that say “We Pay Players” at a practice last month to Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders appearing on a Nike billboard in Times Square, the shock value is now pretty much gone. While Gundy’s comments got attention because we just don’t hear coaches draw such an explicit line between their name, image and likeness budgets and recruiting, what he said about Ezeigbo drew almost no negative reaction.

Because it was the truth.

And that’s one of the biggest signs of progress we’ve seen since NIL became a reality three years ago.

After…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/oklahoma-state-coach-mike-gundy-195012459.html

Author : USA TODAY Sports

Publish date : 2024-09-11 19:50:12

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.